The Publishing Industry Puts A Lot Of Emphasis On The First Lines Of Works Being As Attention-grabbing,

The publishing industry puts a lot of emphasis on the first lines of works being as attention-grabbing, unique, and, well, perfect as possible. The first impression of your work will always be the most important moment in the entire piece, followed very closely by the last lines and the climax scene. This pressure often makes starting one of the hardest things for a writer. It seems to be especially difficult when the work is projected to be at one of the two extremes: long or short.

The shorter the length, the less wiggle-room you have, and the sooner you need to make an impact, for the sake of the story.

The longer the length, the more wiggle-room you have, but you still need to make your impact and hook soon—early, and I mean as early as possible. I mean, first sentence early. This is less for the sake of the story and more for the sake of the reader.

Your first lines—first paragraph or two, really—create a contract between the book and the reader. Either it’s going to be a binding or non-binding contract. Either you’ve hooked them and they’re with the story until the end (of this book or the series), or you haven’t and they may shirk the story at any time, shaking it off like water on an exceptionally wet dog.

If you haven’t hooked them, what’s the point of them continuing?

It’s a lot of pressure for a writer. Even the most seasoned writers can be stymied by a blank page and how to begin a new project. Luckily, the pressure’s off!

The most important thing to keep in mind as you’re setting out on a new project is that you don’t have to keep it that way. Your first draft, especially, is just you feeling your way through the dark. In that lies your freedom. Pick a scene close to the planned beginning of your story and write.

Here are some ideas for starting:

In the middle of a conversation

In the middle of a car chase

In the middle of an arrest

In the middle of a heated argument

In the middle of an exchange of nefarious goods

In the middle of … anything. You get the drift?

Starting in the middle of things is one of the best and easiest ways to hook a reader in because they’re curious. Who is this person? Why are they saying those things? What are they doing? Where are they going? These sorts of situations work to our natural human personalities to draw the reader in. Once you have them, don’t leave them hanging. The surest way to set someone off the work is to not give them something for their investment. Start in the middle of something, yes, but make sure you explain setting and a little bit of what’s going on through the eyes of your  narrator within the first page (or second, if your first page starts 3/4 of the way down). If you don’t clue them in soon, the reader will become frustrated, confused, and may quit the piece.

Can I start with description? Yes, as long as it’s well-written. Here’s a tip: Don’t worry about the quality. I subscribe most to the “start in the middle and figure it out later in the scene” method, but that doesn’t make it right for all situations. If it’s easier for you to start with a description, then do it. Just do it well. But not yet! You don’t have to have the perfect form as soon as you put ink to page, digitally or traditionally. That’s what the editing stage is for.

Very few published works are published with the same beginning as when they were written. This sounds horrific! What do you mean none of this angst and worry I’m pouring into these few lines won’t matter? Don’t worry, it’s great news. There’s no need to panic. Start wherever and however you want. Just get something down. Often times, no matter how well we think we have our story figured out, it will always show us new facets of itself as we’re writing. There may be a theme or a character arc you didn’t realize was as important as it became. What’s that phrase? Hindsight is always 20/20? The most glorious thing about writing in our current era is that nothing we write is set in stone (unless you’re doing some sort of magnificent historical testing, in which case, more power to you). We can write and rewrite and move things all we want.

As you go back once you’ve completed the work, you may decide to rework the first scene. This is totally acceptable and 99.9% expected. Work with what you have. Try rearranging it to see how the flow changes. Figure out what sort of a pace you want at the front of the book and tweak things to fit that pace. Your first pass isn’t going to be perfect. That comes later. Just get something on the page to start with. 

(a side note: your “something” that you get on the page doesn’t have to be story or plot-related. Sometimes just talking about anything on the page helps alleviate the blank-page terrors. You can go back and remove the ramble when you’re done. Doing that will allow you to ease into the story, which may feel less abrupt and clunky for some writers.)

Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language

We are always told to use body language in our writing. Sometimes, it’s easier said than written. I decided to create these cheat sheets to help you show a character’s state of mind. Obviously, a character may exhibit a number of these behaviours. For example, he may be shocked and angry, or shocked and happy. Use these combinations as needed.

by Amanda Patterson

I’m all in for those ships where one is really cute and looks so innocent but can cut your neck if you piss them off and the other seems all rough and tragic past and all but it’s a big cute puppy who will follow the other to the ends of the earth.

Information from this post received from financedegreecenter.com, all image credits and information go them. 

I think this is a question we’ve all been wondering about.

Did you know that organ trade is illegal in every country except Iran?

BODY PARTS THE LIVING CAN SELL

$337 per pint of blood.

$70 for ten inches of hair.

Men’s hair is reduced to an amino acid used in baking goods.

Women’s hair is turned into wigs and weaves.

Bone Marrow

The most valuable part of your body sells for a high of $23,000 per gram. You can donate bone marrow, but it’s illegal to sell it.

Eggs: $12,400 per IVF cycle in U.S.

Egg donation is legal, but some choose to avoid hospital fees and buy eggs illegally or abroad.

Surrogate Wombs: $20,000-30,000 in India, $80,000-150,000 in the U.S.

Kidneys

Make up 75% of the global organ trade due to diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems.

Theoretically, your body is worth up to $45 million dollars (But that’s only if you could harvest every usable chemical and part from it.)

FROM THE DEAD

Corneas: $24,400 implanted

Hearts: Legal–$997,700, Illegal– $119,000

Livers: Legal–$557,100, Illegal–$157,100

Kidneys–From U.S. $262,900

China–$62,000

India–$15,000

Ligaments and Bones– A few thousand dollars, depending on which one.

Skin–$10 per square inch

Skeletons–$2,993-5,500

SOURCES OF BODY PARTS

Legal:

Donated by Family, Friends

Charities, non-profits

Illegal: 

Looted Graves

Crooked morticians

Paid donors (often very poor)

Executed prisoners

Live prisoners

Blood Farms

250 ways to say ‘went’

Buy the Poster: WriteAtHome