#FirstParagraph

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[georgelthomas]

Writing A Great Opening Paragraph

Writing A Great Opening Paragraph #WriterCommunity #WritingCommunity #FirstParagraph #Opening #WriterLife #AmWriting #Senses #Writer #WritingTips #FirstDrafts

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today, I am exploring what goes into crafting the perfect opening paragraph. As a writer, one of the most necessary aspects of your craft is the ability to grab your readers from the outset of your story. A great first paragraph will have the power to pick up your readers, thrust them into the world of your narrative and hold onto them until the very end. But…

[thesunflower9690-blog]

It's funny how scars never truly leave us. Physical or emotional, we are stuck with them for life. I happen to have many scars, physical and emotional; some might call it baggage. But isn't that baggage, those scars, what make us who we are? Aren't we molded into who we are by the experiences we've had?

Excerpt from a book I’ll never write 

[i-am-racee]

If liking you is a sin, then I'm guilty

If wanting you is forbidden, please don't forsake me

My mind is strong but my desire is stronger

This weak heart keep wanting you, even if it means danger.

[cw-books]

Submitted the first couple chapters of my next novel - tons of editing left to complete on the rest of the manuscript - but I thought I'd share the first paragraph of the book for those interested. . #newnovel #amwriting #amediting #nailbiter #suspensethriller #suspensebooks #thrillerbooks #writersofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #firstparagraph #chapter1 https://www.instagram.com/p/B9UBGBGHL4a/?igshid=15x7z145559bs

[vivianamberville]

"𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. 𝗜𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲." -- This is the opening line of my upcoming fantasy novel, Vivian Amberville - The Book of Chaos.

Are you a writer? Post the opening line of your work in progress below!

[ktienh]

Don't you just love it when a book you jyst cracked open grabbed you by the heart? #firstparagraph #quote #thebeastsheart #loveozya #readalong @read3rz_revu @thecurioboutique @sydneyeditor1

[mpare5]

Deborah Abela’s hands-on writing workshop for WriteLinks on 5th August, 2017 inspired so many writers, that many bussed, trained and carred home to rework their opening paragraphs. Others who attended critique groups shortly after, saw part of their peers’ works anew. Abela, former teacher, Cheez TV writer and author of 25 books was courageous admitting her doubts about her writing ability. Audible sighs of relief signalled the audiences’ appreciation for her candidness. Abela’s 15-year writing career saw her share the ‘big things she knows now about writing for kids’. Abela exudes an energetic passion that spills onto her audience, motivating writers to share their class work.

Write A Killer First Paragraph

Abela’s first big tip. ‘Your first chapter has to be short, sharp, solid, fast. It’s got to grab your young reader. It’s got to almost have a beginning middle and end, and a cliff hanger at the end. You want to hook them… hold them and keep them reading.’ The first lines were critical to hook the reader. In positioning herself as a ‘reader’, Abela role played asking questions after reading Gleitzman’s opening lines.

Morris Gleitzman’s Once — ‘Once I was living in an orphanage in the mountains and I shouldn’t have been. And I almost caused a riot. It was because of the carrot.’

Abela as reader, ‘What do you mean you’re living in an orphanage and you shouldn’t have been? So are your parents still around… or not still around? What do you mean you almost caused a riot? And what… does a carrot have to do with anything? Morris has that beautiful balance between the very very serious and a lovely note of comedy.’ After further examples, her audience were keen to write and share their first paragraph for Abela’s feedback.

Kids to Lead the Action

The basics of writing for kids, ‘it must be kid-focused where often kids lead the action with maybe an adult nearby.’ Often Abela gets rid of the adults ASAP or sidelines them. She found the easiest book to do this was in Grimsdon where she flooded an entire city, rescued most of the people, took them somewhere else but left some kids behind. ‘The kids could do whatever they wanted. They didn’t have to be home for bedtime or have to explain the broken bones because they’d been on an adventure hanging from a plane.’

Ask Yourself

Abela regularly questions her motives for writing and encouraged others writers to do the same. ‘Why am I writing? Why am I writing this particular piece? Is it because I’m excited… Is it a period in history I love? This story won’t leave me alone… it’s driving me nuts… I wake up at 3 in the morning… can’t get the characters out of my head.’ Whatever your why, a passionate answer will see you committed to your project.

Also, ‘What is the story I’m trying to tell and are you doing it? With every paragraph, every single chapter, what is the story I’m trying to tell? With Grimsdon, I’m trying to tell about a bunch of kids who are stuck in a flooded city and are desperate to escape.’

Novels have Behaviours

Abela said her novels had their own personality and likened them to being child-like. ‘Some (stories) come roaring out… like in The Spelling Bee. It was a delightful, playful gorgeous thing and it sort of wrote itself.’

However, Grimsdon was her naughty child. ‘No matter how nice I was to it, it would not behave. It felt like I dragged every single word out of some word rock.’ Her editor advised, ‘Just write one paragraph at a time, one page at a time and you will get to the end.’ Like Grimsdon, Abela appears to have a delightfully devilish streak in her as BookLinks co-ordinator Yvonne Mes found out.

Three Story Elements 

Abela explained the elements using the cake baking analogy.  ‘At the very, very beginning, your story needs the three basic ingredients character, setting and problem.’ Put these three elements into the plot pot… take those characters, put them into an interesting setting… then we make as much stuff go wrong for them… .’

Characters

Know your characters like you’ve met and are getting to know them. Make them interesting, especially if ‘you’re asking kids to hang out’ with them for a whole novel or series.

Setting

Your setting is the same. “The single nicest thing a kid has said is, ‘I felt like I was in that book.’ It means you’ve done it. You’ve created a world and you’ve created kids that feel real. And that this (world) could possibly exist. No matter your world, whether soccer fields, haunted castles or World War II it must be authentic.”

Problem 

Know what your characters want, then create problems to achieve it. ‘What is the thing your character wants the most? It’s usually numerous things, but what is the one thing driving that character? For India Wimple in the Stupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee, what she wants is to win the spelling competition.’ But first she wants ‘not to have that feeling of throwing up in front of a group she doesn’t know.’ The things you throw at your character must be hard to get, but not impossible. And it mustn’t be frustrating for the reader.

Voice in Your Head

Abela found a way to silence the ‘voice in your head’ that often reminds you how bad you are. She learned to become so involved in her characters and their story, that it felt like she’d forgotten the ‘voice’ was there. ‘I ignore it. I don’t give it permission… I haven’t got time to listen to you… I’ve got a city to flood or I’ve got some kids to rescue… so get out!’

Drafting Process

The drafts goes through several stages – from a solid foundation to build your story on, to making sense, to rewriting, to fine tuning and then finessing. Grimsdon went through at least 3-4 drafts before sending it to the editor.

** Editor’s Notes Are Gold

In Grimsdon, her editor showed Abela how close she was to her characters and story. When the editor said, ‘I know why you like this character… I don’t know why I should.’ In her rewrite, Abela had to transfer her passion for her character to the reader so they’d have more empathy. ‘No matter what you write, you must be passionate about what you are writing.’

Abela’s books have won numerous Australian and USA awards.

http://www.deborahabela.com

Write with Passion — Hook, Hold and Keep Reader Deborah Abela's hands-on writing workshop for WriteLinks on 5th August, 2017 inspired so many writers, that many bussed, trained and carred home to rework their opening paragraphs.

[sassybrit]

#AuthorSpotlight #Interview with bestselling #author #SeanMcFate ~ An Authentic Thriller!

#AuthorSpotlight #Interview with bestselling #author #SeanMcFate ~ An Authentic Thriller!

Today we are really pleased to welcome bestselling author, Sean McFate!

High Treason (Tom Locke) by Sean McFate

High Treason by Sean McFate is an authentic thriller. The story has plenty of political intrigue and is action packed. There are explosive assassinations, heated gun battles, and trying to decipher who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.

  Tom Locke, the protagonist of the…

[dizisports]

Watch: Nationals' Bryce Harper trips over own helmet, gets thrown out at second

(Getty Pictures) Nationals proper fielder Bryce Harper was on his solution to one other double in a recreation towards the Rays Wednesday, however there was just one factor slowing him down.  if (window.SN.IS_MOBILE === false) var scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.setAttribute('src', '//player.performgroup.com/eplayer.js#db48490264a061a441ed6ecd16.1j4u77fpescn71hr56797t30se'); scriptTag.setAttribute('async', 'async'); scriptTag.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); var firstParagraph = document.querySelector('.entry-content > p'); firstParagraph.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptTag, firstParagraph.nextSibling); His own helmet prevented him from getting from first base to second as he tri

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READ MORE HERE: http://www.dizisports.com/watch-nationals-bryce-harper-trips-over-own-helmet-gets-thrown-out-at-second

[penandprompt]

[shadow-the-dog-with-a-blog]

My Intro

Hey tumblr! I’m Shadow. I made this blog to talk about finding my worth, and the struggles that I go through while being a dog in a very human world. People try to tell me I’m inferior and that I’m not worth anything. Society always tries to bring me down in some way, but my worth can’t be determined by someone else...right? I just need a place to vent. So here I am!

[lovewithoutsound]

On 'Noise'

Of all types of musical art, Noise is the most universal. Having little to no commercial interest, Noise is not bound by the constraints of a market and therefore it can couple with the human or machine mind as far as it can possibly go. From sounds created by algorythems in the earliest electronic music to the ambient dissonance of modern musicians and the film scores in between, Noise has become an unintentional bonding agent of our most creative acts. It hovers ominously in the background as a creative reminder of what the mind is capable of and gives idea to what is possible in the future.

[sassybrit]

Marshmallow Malice! #TalkTuesday #Interview with author Amanda Flower @aflowerwriter #TeaserTuesday #TuesdayBookBlog #TuesdayThoughts

Hello book lovers, welcome back!  As usual, today’s #TalkTuesday interview is also our #TeaserTuesday and First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros! Enjoy! 

Marshmallow Malice by Amanda Flower

  Marshmallow Malice by Amanda Floweris another winner.  As with all books in this series there are wonderful characters, a charming small-town setting, and a sense of community/family.  Her mixture of…

[dizisports]

NBA Draft 2018: Deandre Ayton confident he's going No. 1 overall

Deandre Ayton (Getty Photographs) Confidence is all the time essential, and 2018 NBA Draft prospect Deandre Ayton definitely has a lot. if (window.SN.IS_MOBILE === false) var scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.setAttribute('src', '//player.performgroup.com/eplayer.js#00335178e0c2309c8e8338069d.1j4u77fpescn71hr56797t30se'); scriptTag.setAttribute('async', 'async'); scriptTag.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); var firstParagraph = document.querySelector('.entry-content > p'); firstParagraph.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptTag, firstParagraph.nextSibling); Ayton, a one-yr star at Arizona, is essentially thought-about the almost certainly candidate to be chosen by the Suns later this

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READ MORE HERE: http://www.dizisports.com/nba-draft-2018-deandre-ayton-confident-hes-going-no-1-overall

[penandprompt]