Home » Writing & Publishing » Publishing Short Fiction » The All Important Beginning (Part 2 of 2)

The All Important Beginning (Part 2 of 2)

© Laura Elvin

Perhaps the best and safest beginning is for the writer to present immediately someone interesting doing something interesting. (Phyllis Whitney)

Write viscerally... Open a scene where you want to be, where something is happening. (Dorothy Salisbury Davis)

We hook the reader by using action verbs and developing an immediate conflict. (William Noble) See my 2-22-00 article entitled: Adjectives and Adverbs are NOT Good Description

... we need an opening that forms a building block under the subsequent story. The block must contain: -- an event that will prove pivotal later, -- one or more characters who will figure prominently later on -- a writing style that will set the tone for all that follows (William Noble)

I hope some of this helps. I constantly scour writing books and articles for things that I will remember that may improve my writing. I volley back and forth from thinking about these things to seeing how my own writing relates to them.

As usual, thanks for listening!