I'm in the middle of another revision for my YA book, Beyond the Trees. So far, I've sent out a total of 30 query letters (over the last year and a half), and no one (not one) has asked for even a partial manuscript. Which means that I need to revise something...the query letter, the first pages, maybe even the whole book.
So yesterday, I looked at the first three chapters (the ones that most people will ask you to attach with your query letter) and realized that I'm not happy with the opening. I don't have a memorable first line, and while I do think the actual story is good, I need to make sure people want to read from the beginning. (I think I knew this before I started querying, but by golly, I want to get this book out there!)
Hence, my quest to find a great first line, a wonderful opening chapter, and a means into the reader's heart.
Of course, I have my own thoughts on what makes a great first line, but as I learned from a writing conference I attended in the spring, a first line should allow for an opening of narrative space. You should be able to go anywhere with the first line. Even somewhere a reader wouldn't envision. (The same holds true for the first line of every chapter.)
And so I thought to myself, what sort of opening line might be able to pull off a miracle? I couldn't go with "It was the best of times and the worst of times..." as that one is already taken. And the quintessential "It was a dark and stormy night." is overused. (Plus, there is a debate surrounding that one. You have two camps: those that love it and those that don't and think it is one of the worst first lines, ever.) Would I be able to come up with something better than what I had?
I think I have. Is it the best I can do? I'm not sure. But with the new line, I also have a new thread that can weave through the story. That thread might enhance what I've got. I can only hope...and keep revising.
So yesterday, I looked at the first three chapters (the ones that most people will ask you to attach with your query letter) and realized that I'm not happy with the opening. I don't have a memorable first line, and while I do think the actual story is good, I need to make sure people want to read from the beginning. (I think I knew this before I started querying, but by golly, I want to get this book out there!)
Hence, my quest to find a great first line, a wonderful opening chapter, and a means into the reader's heart.
Of course, I have my own thoughts on what makes a great first line, but as I learned from a writing conference I attended in the spring, a first line should allow for an opening of narrative space. You should be able to go anywhere with the first line. Even somewhere a reader wouldn't envision. (The same holds true for the first line of every chapter.)
And so I thought to myself, what sort of opening line might be able to pull off a miracle? I couldn't go with "It was the best of times and the worst of times..." as that one is already taken. And the quintessential "It was a dark and stormy night." is overused. (Plus, there is a debate surrounding that one. You have two camps: those that love it and those that don't and think it is one of the worst first lines, ever.) Would I be able to come up with something better than what I had?
I think I have. Is it the best I can do? I'm not sure. But with the new line, I also have a new thread that can weave through the story. That thread might enhance what I've got. I can only hope...and keep revising.
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