Sunday Morning Musings

Good morning!

I didn't get as much done yesterday as I wanted to, but that's okay because it's a new day!

How do you grab and keep your reader's attention? Is it your first line? Your first paragraph? First chapter? Do you keep conflict and tension high through every scene? It doesn't mean there has to be constant conflict. That would be too tiring. But there should be internal conflict, always something at stake if whatever action is happening doesn't work.

What are some of your favorite first lines from your own work? Think about those, figure out what type of message you're sending and then go back and look at some first lines that didn't make your list. How can you make them better? More interest-grabbing? Once you've done that, take a good look at the first paragraph, figure out what works and what doesn't add anything and remove the excess. Do this throughout the first scene, the first chapter, etc, until your story is wrought with tension and conflict.

Then all you have to do is have a compelling story, with characters your readers care about, and you have it made. Sounds so simple, doesn't it? Reality is, it takes A LOT of work. Pounding out the first draft is so much easier for some than where it goes from there. The editing and revision process can (and often does) take longer than writing the novel!

Good luck with your writing, editing and revising!

Until later...

Keep writing!