Word count tracker is suspended for this past week and next week. I'm sure everyone is heartbroken, devestated, defenestrated! ... wait.
A running thread over on fantasy-writers.org has made me ponder a first sentences exercise, which I've decided to do ... as of writing this sentence, in fact. Hmm ... appropriate? In any case, I'm going to try and write a zinger of a first sentence a day for at least two weeks and, when I reach the end, scan for the cream of the crop.
This comes up because some people have claimed that you have to hook an editor by the first sentence. Even though this seems excessive to me (who could even physically stop themselves from reading more than one sentence?), I try to put a fair amount of attention into a punchy, usually short opening line that makes the reader ask questions. How much time and attention do you put into first sentences? Do you often change / rewrite them later?
Still trying to figure out my point of entrance on writing anew, but next week, I will definitely be seeking out critique on the early chapters of Scylla and Charybdis.
Be well, all!
About Me
- Lindsey Duncan
- I'm a professional harp performer, chef / pastry chef, and speculative fiction writer from Cincinnati, Ohio. My contemporary fantasy novel Flow is available from Double Dragon Publishing, and my science fiction novel Scylla and Charybdis is now out from Grimbold Books. I've also sold a number of short stories and a few pieces of speculative poetry. I write predominantly fantasy, usually epic and/or humorous, with some soft science fiction. I play the traditional lever harp with a specialty in Celtic music - but I also perform modern and Renaissance tunes. And yes, you read that right - I have a diploma in Baking and Pastry and an Associates in Culinary Arts and am currently working in the catering field at Kate's Catering and Personal Chef Services (Dayton, KY). I am a CPC (Certified Pastry Culinarian) and CSW (Certified Specialist of Wine).
3 comments:
Hi Lindsey,
The plot was a little clearer in this one, although the characters themselves shifted all the time and you didn't know who was good or bad. But they are pirates. What do you expect!
I think you'll like this one better.
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
BTW, my word count tracker works....
Coolness.
I keep my word count in an Excel document, which I haven't had access to. :-)
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