Write it in Longhand? Gasp!

It's time to write the next chapter. You've ended your story with a great hook that will entice your reader to turn the page and see what happens next. Great! But, if you want to keep those pages turning, you have to start your new chapter with a hook as well.

One thing that has helped me is to first sit down with pen and paper and freehand what I expect to happen in the chapter. Remember each chapter should have goal, motivation, and conflict. Yesterday I had a vague idea of how I wanted to move forward with my story, but I couldn't quite get the "hook" to begin with. So, I grabbed a tablet and pen and began to write. I filled a page and a half, stopping when I had reached a point of emotional turmoil for both the hero and heroine. Then I looked at what I'd charted as the beginning. Now I easily knew how to write that hook to entice my reader to continue reading.

Actually writing that chapter became very easy. No, I'm not a true plotter. I do know my characters, I know what is keeping them apart, I know how the story is going to end (like any good fairy tale), but I don't know how they are going to get there. There will be obstacles along the way, lots of conflict, tension, and pitfalls. But when I sit and develop each chapter on paper, then I can visualize the characters as I write their actions and words. In no time at all, I have a new chapter with a great hook for the first sentence and for the last.

Hope this helps some of you who have problems sitting down and staring at a blank page.

Thanks for stopping by!

When Your Story Starts In the Wrong Moment....

When I started writing seriously, I took a myriad of online classes to learn "the right way" to write. I soon learned that every teacher had a different idea of do's and don'ts. Confusing? Very.

My head got wrapped around all the things I should and should not do, and I allowed my creativity to be stifled. So, I backed away from classes after a year or so and just wrote. I learned to use what worked for me and forgot the rest. Eventually, I became aware of certain no-no's as I wrote--like action before reaction, floating body parts (which I still think work in certain situations), starting and ending chapters and scenes with a hook, and beginning your story in the middle of action.

I started many stories right smack dab in the middle of some suspenseful scene, but the manuscripts didn't come to fruition. Hmmm. So, maybe I had misunderstood the "start in the middle of action." The all important first sentence and first chapter needs to grab your reader and make them care and want to learn more. Does that mean your character has to be immediately entrenched in angst? Well, sure, but maybe the serial killer isn't attacking her in the first paragraph. Instead, it might be better to start with foreshadowing. Show little things that pull your readers in with anticipation of "something is about to happen."

My latest manuscript has been in the works for way too long and I just couldn't seem to fix it. Then I realized I had started in the wrong moment of time. I needed to show my characters in their normal world first. A long time ago, a very dear writer friend told me this. I had forgotten that piece of wise advice. Remember the old fairy tales? "Once upon a time...."

If you are having a struggle with your manuscript, maybe you have started in the wrong moment of time. Have you shown your characters in their normal world before you plunged them into the problem?

I'm now writing chapters to precede what I've already got established. Works for me!

Thanks for stopping by!