Grand Opening

The other Inkers seem to have had experiences this week that lend to really great insight into life and writing. That's why I love 'em. They help me see what I should be doing and how.

I guess I will share the theme of my week and continue the trend. Grand openings.

It started on Saturday when I finally recieved inspiration for the opening pages of my 20th version of my work-in-progress.(I'll just let you wonder if I'm exaggerating the number of times I've rewritten this book.) Anyway I finally got a really relevant opening 5 pages hammered out over the weekend and then spent Monday deconstructing them with Deb. Thank goodness for the Zeppolli or we might never have survived that particular deconstruction. (For the uninitiated zeppolli can be found at Olive Garden on the dessert menu, make sure to ask for the vanilla creme heated as well as the chocolate.)

Anyway, Tuesday brought my creative writing class with DJ where we taught elementary students about opening pages...totally not planned ahead of time.
And then Kristen Nelson's blog Pub Rants have all been about..you guessed it...opening pages. Go read what she has been saying about them because you rarely get a chance to delve this deeply into a fantastic agent's mind.

So if first impressions can never be made a second time (and you know that in publishing this is too true--once a manuscript is rejected it is rejected for life), page one then becomes the one and only shot to make your mark. I'm rewriting my first scene. I'll polish it and hone it, and, with the help of some very wise 10 and 11 year old readers, I'll shorten my first sentence so that when it goes out to publishers it will have a GRAND opening.

Remember...Cut to the chase. Bring the Action with a Purpose and Relevance to your story and pour on the Voice. May we all create Grand Openings!!!

Some of my favorite opening lines:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. KJB Genesis 1.1

It was my aunt who decided to give me to the dragon. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George.

If music be the food of love, play on... Twelfth Night W. Shakespeare

The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit. Uglies by Scott Westerfield.