Effective writing advice for aspiring writers
“Help!” someone cried out. “Get me out of this! My leg’s fractured! Is anyone there? Help!”
“Who was that?” Victor said.
A terrible noise came from a mansion. Hammering on doors could be heard. Screams echoed in the area.
“Sounds like he’s in trouble,” Dave replied, worried.
“Fractured? How? Why?”
“Let’s find out.”
Imagine what you’d feel if you came across these opening paragraphs in a book.
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Of all the novels I’ve read, I (and you) prefer those who have a compelling opening chapter. The chapter which draws us in and leads us smoothly throughout the book to the end. If we are not “hooked” by the chapter, we close the book snap shut. Which means the author has failed to do his job.
But you don’t want to be that author. You want your novel (or any form of fiction) to be a bestseller. Widely read. Widely praised. You want your reader to be hooked in. You want him/her to finish the book and not close the book until the last word has been read. You want your book to stand the test of the reader’s patience.
But how do you actually achieve this things?
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