Bethany Henry: Writing & Wellness

Earlier in the month we took a look at the importance of crafting satisfying endings to our story. Today we’re backtracking a bit to look at the story’s start! The first page (and often the first sentence!) of our novel needs to hook our readers and introduce them to our story. It is  critical  that these initial paragraphs catch the readers’ attention and keep their interest. Once they read past that first line, the next few pages play the important role of setting up the story, introducing our main character, and at least hinting at a problem. Each piece of our story should keep the reader interested (and reading). Today we’ll break down strategies for crafting our first sentences and then look at how to structure our first pages. Note: Most of this work is best done during the revision process! We don’t need to get it perfect right away. It doesn’t make sense to agonize over the word choices of our first sentence in our first draft if it’s just going to be changed...

What are the qualities of a “good” book? Everyone has different aspects they enjoy when they’re reading, whether it’s humor, worldbuilding, or a tricksy plot. And no novel can (or should!) try to please everyone, that’s just a recipe for a mess! But there  are  core components of storytelling we should strive for that are central to resonating with readers. So that when they put our book down they say  yes  that was satisfying and good. Today we’re looking at our story’s ending. This is where things (ideally) get wrapped up and we leave the reader with that beautiful feeling of having experienced something great. The ending is key for a satisfying story. Now, the rest of the book is critical as well! It is only on the entire story’s foundation that we can build the satisfying conclusion. If we find ourselves struggling with the endings of our stories, chances are we need to step back and examine the story as a whole. Satisfying Stories: 3 Keys To A Good Ending 1- Ful...