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Sorry been away from a comp for awhile… but that’s not why I haven’t been posting, it’s the reason I have visited your Blogs lately—I think I have caught up thou.
My mind has been in a creative tomb, desire has vanished from my sails; I lay motionless on a flat sea praying for wind.
I’ve been too busy to set down and work myself through it, so I just bagged writing anything all together.
I feel the push to get back to it, so I left work early and going to spend a few hours and see if the muse has come back.
Just being “too” busy is an excuse, and I convince myself it’s a valid one every day.
Hopefully the wind has changed and my sails will be full.
Since you’ve stopped by let me ask you this:
How important is the first paragraph to you, weather its writing or reading?
To me it really doesn’t matter, the whole piece of work needs to be just as good for the book to be good. But I heard a few opinions that it needs to be stellar, so what do you think?
Thx for stopping by and for any comment you might leave.
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I think, sometimes, too much emphasis is placed on it. It's important to getting your work sold, but nowhere near as important (I believe) to readers.
ReplyDeleteI think there's validity on both sides of the argument, but for me, the first chapter is a more reasonable thing to base it on than just one paragraph.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anyone who reads one paragraph and gives up. One chapter? Maybe. if it's totally bad.
But I agree the rest of the book needs to be just as good as that first chapter. It's frustrating as writer's because that first chapter is DIFFICULT!
The first paragraph tends not to matter too much to me actually. It usually helps draw me in if its awesome but if its not it doesn't mean I will drop the book.
ReplyDeleteI've slogged through countless books, hoping they will get better. It's the ending, for me, that is the most important. Bad ending? I'll never read another book by the same author.
ReplyDeleteAs to your "creative tomb," I hear you loud and clear. I looked back at my list of goals for summer--depressing, really, since I hardly got anything done. But now I'm finally up and running, and it's nice to have some fire. Unfortunately, it's interfering with my blog reading... I'm getting pretty awful and spotty at that, and I need to keep it up, too.
I hope your tomb becomes a shrine soon, and the creative juices flow as they should. Take care...
The thing is, Jeff, you've got to hook that editor or agent in the first few sentences or they'll stop reading...They have so many submissions that if you don't pull them in right away you might miss your shot. Your query letter has to show your voice and hook them enough to get them to that first paragraph and then they'll go from there...
ReplyDeleteI hope you get your writing mojo back...Mine's hiding...the painters and the carpenters make it hard for me to be creative...
Your muse is never really gone,
ReplyDeleteyou just need to find out how to trigger it and tap into that :)
But even now, when you think you're not writing to your best ability, the words you use are very powerful and create an image in one's mind.
That, in itself, is the skill of someone who has a talent for writing.
Rachel.
Sharon is correct, Jeff. The truth is the first paragraph IS important to snagging an agent...finding your way out of the slush.
ReplyDeleteThe first 50 pages are vital and must sing.
And every paragraph and chapter after that.
Polish it it all. Over and over again.
Then, let (several quality) CPs and betas have at it.
Polish and revise some more, based on their feedback.
And then polish it again.
Do not query it until it (and your query letter) are pristine.