You don’t have to grab the reader by the throat to engage them (although that might work), you can gently seduce them with a beguiling voice, you can tease them with a curious premise, you can charm them with an interesting character. How do you choose the right way to start? How do you craft a beginning that will keep the reader wanting more?
This workshop examines the importance of the opening sentence, opening paragraphs and opening chapters. It combines critical reading – looking at a range of beginnings across genres to help understand what works and why – with writing exercises, to explore the effects created by starting a story in different ways.
You will learn:
- the significance of a strong opening
- ways to approach writing your first chapter
- how to read critically and apply lessons to your own work
- how to capture a reader’s attention in an opening sentence
- revising your opening as your manuscript changes
