How The Novel StartsHow the prologue of A GAME OF THRONES by George R. R. Martin breaks from the Tolkien model of starting with heavy exposition and world-building, and instead delivers a simple action scene with sympathetic characters—a scene that foreshadows the great conflicts of the novel and series.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
A Game of Thrones: how to write a prologue (video essay)How The Novel Starts2020-09-17 | How the prologue of A GAME OF THRONES by George R. R. Martin breaks from the Tolkien model of starting with heavy exposition and world-building, and instead delivers a simple action scene with sympathetic characters—a scene that foreshadows the great conflicts of the novel and series.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#writing #gameofthrones #grrm #NaNoWriMoGrowing from literary rejection #shortsHow The Novel Starts2022-04-05 | A case study from the front lines of fiction publishing: novelist/marketer Grace Flahive talks about the dos and don’ts of pursuing publication, working with an agent, hooking editors, and learning from rejection. Watch the full interview here: youtu.be/kZEw-eCOaAY --- ABOUT THIS CHANNEL What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work. --- #writing #publishing #shortsResilience vs. literary rejection: interview with writer and marketer Grace FlahiveHow The Novel Starts2022-03-29 | A case study from the front lines of fiction publishing: novelist/marketer Grace Flahive talks about the dos and don’ts of pursuing publication, working with an agent, hooking editors, and learning from rejection.
0:00 Intro 1:15 Agent sends out manuscript 3:51 Getting feedback from editors 6:19 Hooks in literary fiction 11:37 Revise or move on? 15:38 Sharing her new work 19:56 Staying motivated 21:58 Outro
--- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: ko-fi.com/howthenovelstarts TRANSCRIPT: howthenovelstarts.medium.com/99567860483b TWITTER: twitter.com/hownovelstarts/status/1508884749590351882 --- LINKS MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO * Grace Flahive on Instagram: instagram.com/graceflahivewrites * Her proudest writing rejection: instagram.com/p/Bser1PUncjC * Thames & Hudson: thamesandhudson.com --- ADDITIONAL READING AND VIEWING * My video essay on CLOUD ATLAS: surprise and language in literary fiction youtu.be/GmbaIFr-CoY * My video essay on LIFE OF PI: voice, intimacy and hooks in literary fiction youtu.be/FjUFM-3yjfc --- ABOUT THIS CHANNEL What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work. --- IMAGE ATTRIBUTIONS Author photo by Erik Naumann http://www.eriknaumann.com courtesy of Grace Flahive Like icon: freeiconspng.com/img/39121 Comment icon: iconfinder.com/icons/298753/comment_icon Mouse pointer icon: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mouse-cursor-hand-pointer.svg Subscribe button - AlfredoCreates: alfredocreates.com/youtube-subscribe-button-free-download-1 Blueprint background - Ian Barnard: http://www.ianbarnard.co.uk/free-blueprint-style-background-vector --- MUSIC AND SOUND ATTRIBUTIONS “Cielo” by Harris Heller / streambeats.com Mouse click sound effect by Alexander: http://www.orangefreesounds.com/mouse-click-sound Bell ring sound effect by Alexander: http://www.orangefreesounds.com/bell-sound-effect-ding --- #writing #literaryfiction #publishingEditor of Crazy Rich Asians on focusing your novel #shortsHow The Novel Starts2022-02-17 | Editor Jenny Jackson shares a tip to help her authors focus their novel’s intent. Watch the full interview here: youtu.be/_NemTN-gZwg --- ABOUT THIS CHANNEL What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work. --- #writing #publishing #shorts ---Finding your novel’s niche: interview with editor of Crazy Rich Asians, Jenny JacksonHow The Novel Starts2022-02-11 | Editor Jenny Jackson shares how Crazy Rich Asians found its niche and connected with readers. She also shares practical tips that help her authors focus their novel’s intent. Finally, she discusses her own transition from editor to author, and what she brought from her editorial experience into her writing process.
0:00 Intro 0:47 Her background 2:51 How Crazy Rich Asians found its niche 10:20 What genre means to the industry 16:32 Tips on finding your story’s niche 19:34 Transition from editor to novelist 27:25 Outro
ABOUT THIS CHANNEL What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work. SUPPORT THE CHANNEL on Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/howthenovelstarts
#writing #crazyrichasians #publishingHow Crazy Rich Asians hooks readers: building genre and expectations (video essay)How The Novel Starts2021-11-27 | How the opening chapters of the novel CRAZY RICH ASIANS by Kevin Kwan build (and subvert) genre expectations to hook and satisfy readers. The novel knows exactly what readers want and expect, and the opening delivers on those expectations with surprise and delight.
0:00 Intro 0:50 Plot summary 3:03 A simple structure 4:28 What is genre? 6:27 Building genre in the text 10:55 Outro
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
---The Book Thief: how to write a prologue (video essay)How The Novel Starts2020-09-28 | How the prologue of THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak delivers an impressionistic look at the plot ahead, without spoiling that plot or even setting it up. Also, how the prologue teaches us to read the novel’s unique narrative voice without interrupting the story’s dramatic action.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#writing #bookthief #NaNoWriMoHow Saga hooks readers: Starting with action (video essay)How The Novel Starts2019-09-06 | How the comic series SAGA starts with a bang, dropping us into the middle of a story already in progress, and how its exposition delivers drama instead of information. Also, how SAGA's structure follows in the footsteps of the pilot episode of LOST and the opening of the first STAR WARS film.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#writing #comics #saga #NaNoWriMoHow Hunger Games hooks readers: Bringing a premise to life (video essay)How The Novel Starts2019-03-21 | How author Suzanne Collins creates a compelling high-concept premise in the opening chapter of The Hunger Games, how she brings that premise to life through character, world-building, and language, and how that premise conquered the literary world.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#hungergames #writing #novel #NaNoWriMoHow The Road hooks readers: Rooting for the underdog (video essay)How The Novel Starts2019-01-14 | How author Cormac McCarthy creates vulnerable characters that engage our emotions in his Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Road. Also, how the literary theories of Greek philosopher Aristotle still apply today, and what the modern anti-hero gets right and wrong.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#writing #novel #underdog #NaNoWriMoHow Cloud Atlas hooks readers: Delivering the unexpected (video essay)How The Novel Starts2018-11-21 | How author David Mitchell uses unexpected structure and unexpected language to hook readers in his novel Cloud Atlas. Plus, how the psychological concept of flow applies to great writing.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#writing #NaNoWriMo #cloudatlasLearning from Coraline by Neil Gaiman: Building a world (video essay)How The Novel Starts2018-09-12 | Great writers build spaces for compelling stories and settings that capture our imagination. Here's how author Neil Gaiman hooks readers using exploration and discovery of a setting in Chapter 1 of his novel CORALINE.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#writing #NaNoWriMo #worldbuildingHow Neil Gaiman starts American Gods: Start of a new life (part 2) (video essay)How The Novel Starts2018-08-14 | A big change in a character’s life sets them on a new path and a new story. It’s an effective way to hook a reader at the start of a novel. Let’s see how Neil Gaiman uses the start of a new life to hook readers in his novel “American Gods.”
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#writing #NaNoWriMo #americangodsHow Neil Gaiman starts American Gods: Start of a new life (part 1) (video essay)How The Novel Starts2018-08-14 | A big change in a character’s life sets them on a new path and a new story. It’s an effective way to hook a reader at the start of a novel. Let’s see how Neil Gaiman uses the start of a new life to hook readers in his novel “American Gods.”
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#writing #NaNoWriMo #americangodsHow Susanna Clarke starts Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: Big questions (video essay)How The Novel Starts2018-07-23 | How author Susanna Clarke asks the right questions to hook readers and drive the story in the opening chapter of her fantasy novel "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell." Also, how the philosophy of Romanticism comes alive in the story and setting, and what writers can learn from kids cartoons.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#writing #NaNoWriMo #fantasyLearning from Life of Pi: The power of first-person narrators (video essay)How The Novel Starts2018-07-07 | In Life of Pi, Yann Martel searches for the “spark that brings to life a real story.” Life of Pi itself uses first-person storytelling to light that spark. Let’s see how Yann Martel uses the power of first person in the opening chapters to hook the reader, and why the novel starts before the first page.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
#writing #NaNoWriMo #lifeofpiHow the first Harry Potter novel hooked readers: Voice vs. Exposition (video essay)How The Novel Starts2018-06-26 | How the first three chapters of "The Philosopher's Stone" hooked readers, agents, and editors, using voice, mystery, and nostalgia.
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So, instead, I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On How The Novel Starts, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.