InkScribe
Because
You Can Write Better.
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"CREATIVE
BEGINNINGS"
(c)1999
SA Manuel
"Make a
PUNCH of a beginning."
Workshops upon workshops, and
articles upon articles will give
this same advice. Write really
good beginnings to draw your
readers in. Sustain the momentum
with action, then come up with a
good climax, and an ending that
will make your readers ask for
more.
But momentum, climax, and endings
would be a different story. We'll
focus on beginnings.
One good way to improve in this
area is to collect beginnings.
Re-read your favorite books and
find write down the kind of
beginnings that your favorite
authors write. Put it your
"Beginnings File".
Here are a sample of my favorite
beginnings:
"Nicholas was trying to
concentrate on the letter to his
mother, a letter that was
probably the most important
document he would write."
(Jude Devaraux, "A Knight in
Shining Armor")
"Once upon a time in a house
by the sea, lay an old woman, a
special old woman who had the
gift of magic." (Lois
Duncan, "A Gift of
Magic")
"She undressed slowly,
dreamily, and when she was naked,
she selected a bright red
negligee to wear so that the
blood would not show."
(Sidney Sheldon, "If
Tomorrow Comes")
"The old woman remembered a
swan she bought many years ago in
Shanghai for a foolish sum. This
bird, boasted themarket vendor,
was once a duck that stretched
its neck in hopes of becoming a
goose, and now look! - it is too
beautiful to eat." (Amy Tan,
"The Joy Luck Club")
These are only a few of the
beginnings that are in my
"Beginnings File" - and
I have yet to collect beginnings
from poetry, short stories,
articles, and essays. But always,
the rule will apply: Make Your
Readers Want to Stay and Read
On... And don't be afraid to
experiment!
Copyright 1999,Sheila Ann
Manuel
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