tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post3915860589347884214..comments2023-11-18T03:15:19.102-06:00Comments on Straight From Hel: Openings MovedHelen Gingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-2759432293978596202010-06-09T14:49:24.303-05:002010-06-09T14:49:24.303-05:00Yep, you hooked me.Yep, you hooked me.Lizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16170701034715108039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-18188202884269682792010-06-08T22:09:23.871-05:002010-06-08T22:09:23.871-05:00I love the opening line and ultimately think you d...I love the opening line and ultimately think you did the right thing in making it appear later in the work. Although I truly have no qualm with subplots getting dibs in the opening as long as it works well. :)<br /><br />I write and rewrite the opening more than any other section of the work. Current wip's original opening is now somewhere around page 15 and for no other reason than needing a quicker immersion into the world than my previous opening enabled. Thanks for sharing, Helen!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-38094831476964189002010-06-08T01:24:38.302-05:002010-06-08T01:24:38.302-05:00Story of my life. Write and rewrite. But I love it...Story of my life. Write and rewrite. But I love it. Wouldn't have it any other way. Eventually I'll get there, with the help og my editors.<br /><br />Stephen TrempAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-26996909386263624412010-06-07T23:31:44.976-05:002010-06-07T23:31:44.976-05:00Excellent writing Helen. I enjoyed your intro, and...Excellent writing Helen. I enjoyed your intro, and for me nothing comes easier--the opening or anything else.Slamdunkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13087161268629251860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-86648820105203369982010-06-07T19:53:10.717-05:002010-06-07T19:53:10.717-05:00I know what you're saying, Miriam.I know what you're saying, Miriam.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-3075548776184732802010-06-07T19:45:35.181-05:002010-06-07T19:45:35.181-05:00I usually think my opening lines are amazing. Then...I usually think my opening lines are amazing. Then somewhere around draft 2, I figure out that while the line or scene itself may be great, it isn't doing the job I need it to. So my openings always change, eventually.Miriam Forsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08773194271144793485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-89696025212602984772010-06-07T17:53:03.886-05:002010-06-07T17:53:03.886-05:00You've definitely got a hook there!
Most time...You've definitely got a hook there!<br /><br />Most times, my first sentence stays. Every other sentence in the darn thing gets tweaked or deleted or added. And the beginning gets changed most of all because so much rides on it.Theresa Milsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03477761307315565259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-90973996004331128842010-06-07T17:24:25.259-05:002010-06-07T17:24:25.259-05:00That's a great snippet! Love the twist.
I ten...That's a great snippet! Love the twist.<br /><br />I tend to let the opening roll around in my mind for a bit before I start. I may change it anyway, but I like eliminating tons of options before I start typing.Jemi Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02214408467456320167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-24074220290808998142010-06-07T15:45:17.184-05:002010-06-07T15:45:17.184-05:00They were attached to the chickens, Sia.They were attached to the chickens, Sia.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-38495868543519439022010-06-07T15:32:41.627-05:002010-06-07T15:32:41.627-05:00Opening line? Most of the time, no, it doesn't...Opening line? Most of the time, no, it doesn't come easy. Or if I have one, I go back and change it later. Like you, I've started in one place and it becomes a chapter later in the book. <br /><br />But I'd love to know what the glazed eyes were attached to in that freezer, lol!~Sia McKye~https://www.blogger.com/profile/08470562659597351033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-71682341202920133022010-06-07T15:27:08.459-05:002010-06-07T15:27:08.459-05:00Cold as Heaven, I had her say "Police didn...Cold as Heaven, I had her say "Police didn't do nothing." because she and Hoyt are country folk (and we talk that way sometimes).<br /><br />A lot of us tend to end up cutting pages so that the book starts in the action. You'd think we'd learn!Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-45066161722331760762010-06-07T15:24:00.068-05:002010-06-07T15:24:00.068-05:00I write and re-write. If I keep the original openi...I write and re-write. If I keep the original opening sentence, it is somewhere else in the manuscript.Jane Kennedy Suttonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12519340747761460017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-71336305393914081082010-06-07T15:03:17.026-05:002010-06-07T15:03:17.026-05:00Well, it definitely got my attention! And my first...Well, it definitely got my attention! And my first lines get worked over considerably before I'm satisfied with it! They may come easy, but then I rework them to make them better!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-10124987551245588432010-06-07T14:00:38.217-05:002010-06-07T14:00:38.217-05:00Opening lines come fairly easily to me...its the e...Opening lines come fairly easily to me...its the ending lines that send me into a dither :-)Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086101058759923788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-85613724173537527912010-06-07T13:08:55.939-05:002010-06-07T13:08:55.939-05:00Both openings were very well done, and I loved the...Both openings were very well done, and I loved the details of the old man and the place and the sister-in-law. There was something very compelling about those people that came through the details.<br /><br />That said, I do agree that the other opening is better for setting up the novel. And the reader can enjoy this scene in another place.<br /><br />I usually end up chopping the first 8 to 10 pages of a book so I can start in the thick of things.Maryannwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479027709233807149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-36293434337308179172010-06-07T11:59:44.562-05:002010-06-07T11:59:44.562-05:00"Police didn't do nothing"
To me th..."Police didn't do nothing"<br /><br />To me this intuitively means that the police did something. I know this kind of double negatives are sometimes used in English, but I always find it strange, maybe because we don't use it in Winterlandic. <br /><br />I liked you opening, Helen. I don't think you have too much of anything, neither adjectives nor description. Both simplistic and complex styles may work well, if it's done consistently, and with an individual voice.<br /><br />Anyway, creativity is about breaking rules. Maybe that's the most important >:)<br /><br /><a href="http://cold-as-heaven.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> Cold As Heaven </a>CA Heavenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07558100567878233142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-71950325364299890512010-06-07T10:56:59.308-05:002010-06-07T10:56:59.308-05:00Oh Helen, great re-write! The first beginning was...Oh Helen, great re-write! The first beginning was good, but the edited version is AWESOME!Jenn McKayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08096584277185808602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-15818508951039153832010-06-07T09:50:18.468-05:002010-06-07T09:50:18.468-05:00Great start, but I agree: if it's a subplot th...Great start, but I agree: if it's a subplot then best not to open with it. <br /><br />I am struggling right now with my opening line. It's very flat and needs a lot of punching up, but as much as I stare at it, I can't think of anything!Talli Rolandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04780882465745107715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-59908327075278717132010-06-07T09:50:00.987-05:002010-06-07T09:50:00.987-05:00My opening lines look nothing like the first draft...My opening lines look nothing like the first draft. Heck, the whole chapter looks nothing like the first draft. ;)Stinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11415189347501942340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-47921027024381486952010-06-07T09:28:05.353-05:002010-06-07T09:28:05.353-05:00I write and rewrite my openings. If I have ten dra...I write and rewrite my openings. If I have ten drafts, I'll have ten different openings.<br /><br />This is an example of an opening that would turn me away from the book. Four people are looking at body parts in a freezer. Which one is confused about what they are? Which one doesn't know they are chickens? The reader. This is a "gotcha" opening. It's not a mystery. The mystery begins in the last line: "...there wasn't no law against a grown woman killing all her chickens and hightailing it away from home." That should be the opening line because it represents a change on the part of a character, Mabel, and it poses a question for both the detective and the reader. Why would someone suddenly kill their chickens and disappear?Mark Troyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10746027017657987261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-27078078866330936452010-06-07T08:33:16.154-05:002010-06-07T08:33:16.154-05:00Simple answer: NO!
I write, edit, rewrite. Again a...Simple answer: NO!<br />I write, edit, rewrite. Again and again. The opening is rarely easy for me.<br /><br />Now I'm going to check out your revised one.Carol Kilgorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15168273312704732896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-17470551563457650122010-06-07T08:16:33.371-05:002010-06-07T08:16:33.371-05:00Chickens! Well you had me with this one. I though...Chickens! Well you had me with this one. I thought there were 9 human bodies in there, or human heads at least! That was a great twist going on.<br /><br />I start my stories in the thick of some critical action that will influence the rest of the story.Joannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03972054718663959694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-30599553510321915462010-06-07T07:21:22.741-05:002010-06-07T07:21:22.741-05:00I've always struggled with the opening of my b...I've always struggled with the opening of my books and usually begin writing a few pages from where the story actally begins.L. Diane Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425864276166334896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-28545507116485809782010-06-07T06:21:12.144-05:002010-06-07T06:21:12.144-05:00My original opening line for chapter one is still ...My original opening line for chapter one is still there.<br />However, I was encouraged to go back and write a very short prologue to set up the back story and start the book off with a bang.Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-51629918806838392182010-06-07T05:58:06.188-05:002010-06-07T05:58:06.188-05:00usually my first chapters are too interior. I love...usually my first chapters are too interior. I love them but they aren't where the story starts. I'm hoping that isn't true with the one I'm working on now but I can't be sure! I read somewhere if your book starts with your protagonist lying in bed thinking about the day to come - axe it - if she awakes from a dream - axe it - if she ponders the future while staring out the window - you got it - axe it!Jan Morrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01771180344305042855noreply@blogger.com