Monday, July 21, 2014

Monday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts


By: Writer’s Relief Staff

How important are the first few paragraphs of your book? Consider this: Each week, hundreds of submissions flood into any given publishing house’s inbox. Reading each manuscript in its entirety would take too much time, and with pressing deadlines it simply cannot be done. So your opening lines might be the only shot your book has of making it into the next round of reading. Here are three tips for beginning your book with some knockout sentences:

Choose Your Venue!

Having a unique, unfamiliar setting will give your novel a wow factor right from the start. Opening your story in a world your readers have never encountered will keep them curious enough to read more.

But if your story starts in a living room, no sweat! Even an everyday setting can be captivating if there’s something unexpected about it. Use your character’s point of view to focus on details in the room that the reader may not have noticed on his or her own. The crumpled letters on the coffee table, the stained curtains by the open window; use elements like these to intrigue your audience.

Starting your book with an interesting setting -- whether it’s on a distant planet or in a local diner -- will quickly immerse readers in your story.

Come Out Swinging!

Your opening sentences need to connect with the reader . . .

Read the full article HERE!

~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again: 
  1. How to Create a Compelling Character http://ow.ly/zmuFD
  2. Authors Will Soon Be Able to Sell their eBooks on Facebook http://ow.ly/zmuIy
  3. Dive In for Thrills: Location, Location—Where To Set Your Story http://ow.ly/zmuKm
  4. How to Start Your Story | Lit Central | O.C. http://ow.ly/zmuNi
  5. 3 Steps to Taking Your Character Further and Deeper With...Anger? | WRITERS HELPING WRITERSWRITERS HELPING WRITERS http://ow.ly/zmuOQ
  6. 26 Ways Writers Can Make a Workshop Successful | Write Draft Repeat http://ow.ly/zmuQB
  7. How to write an irresistible book blurb in five easy steps - Writers Write http://ow.ly/zmuRy
  8. How Authors Can (and Should) Use Author Copies | Self Publishing News For Self-Publishing Authors http://ow.ly/zmuTF
  9. 20 Ideas for Sharing on Social Media http://ow.ly/zmuUz
  10. When Real Life Happens To Your Fiction | C H Griffin http://ow.ly/zmuVu
  11. How to Live the Brave Story You Must Write | Psychology Today http://ow.ly/zmuWj
  12. How To Begin Your Book With A Knockout http://ow.ly/zmv04
  13. Let Me Explain to You a Thing http://ow.ly/zmvge
  14. Mythcreants » Five Signs Your Character Is Fully Developed http://ow.ly/zmvMi
  15. Songwriting Tip: Rhyming http://ow.ly/zmvWa
  16. Mythcreants » Distinguishing Characters in Dialogue http://ow.ly/zmvQY
  17. Anne R. Allen's Blog: How to Blog: Essential Do's and Don'ts for Author-Bloggers http://ow.ly/zn6fa
  18. Writing Thrillers. 50 Lessons Learned From Thrillerfest 2014 | The Creative Penn http://ow.ly/zn6gz
  19. 100 Writing Prompts to Rock Your Writing World, Part 1 | Wise Ink's Blog for Indie Authors about Self-Publishing http://ow.ly/zn6iQ
  20. The Art of Contract Negotiation for Women Writers | The Violet Femmes http://ow.ly/zn6ka
  21. Who Said What? Speech Tags Decoded | Lit Central | O.C. http://ow.ly/znkcg
  22. How much time should writers spend blogging and building websites? | Nail Your Novel http://ow.ly/znkev
  23. 20 Ideas for Sharing on Social Media http://ow.ly/znkgQ
  24. Insecure Writer's Support Group: Nine Things Writers Need to Know Before the Book Deal http://ow.ly/znki8
  25. Fiction University: Do Writers Practice Their Art? http://ow.ly/znkjw
  26. 7 Questions that Will Change How You Publish http://ow.ly/znkl0
  27. Kindle Unlimited: The Key Questions | David Gaughran http://ow.ly/znkmY
  28. Friendships Among Your Characters | Writing Possibilities http://ow.ly/znl1O
  29. How to Write a Negative Character Arc, Pt. 1: The First Act - Helping Writers Become Authors http://ow.ly/znl34
  30. Putting An End To Plot Conveniences | LitReactor http://ow.ly/znl8a
  31. If Writers Wrote as Some People Talk ... - § Author Massimo Marino http://ow.ly/znlac
  32. David Farland’s Kick in the Pants—Writing Your Series http://ow.ly/znlhN
Happy writing and running, Kathy

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