Chuck Sambuchino of Writer’s Digest had a recent
post on Writer Unboxed titled What NOT to
Do When Beginning Your Novel: Advice from Literary Agents.
VOICE
“I know this may sound obvious, but too much ‘telling’ vs.
‘showing’ in the first chapter is a definite warning sign for me. The first
chapter should present a compelling scene, not a road map for the rest of the
book. The goal is to make the reader curious about your characters, fill their
heads with questions that must be answered, not fill them in on exactly where,
when, who and how.”
- Emily Sylvan Kim, Prospect Agency
PROLOGUES
“Prologues are usually a lazy way to give back-story chunks to the reader and can be handled with more finesse throughout the story. Damn the prologue, full speed ahead!”
- Laurie McLean, Foreword Literary
EXPOSITION/DESCRIPTION
“The [adjective] [adjective] sun rose
in the [adjective] [adjective] sky, shedding its [adjective] light across the
[adjective] [adjective] [adjective] land.”
- Chip MacGregor, MacGregor Literary
CHARACTERS AND BACKSTORY
“Many writers express the character’s
backstory before they get to the plot. Good writers will go back and cut that
stuff out and get right to the plot. The character’s backstory stays with
them—it’s in their DNA.”
- Adam Chromy, Movable Type Management
Ray
Free sample chapters—click here for a PDF
“As an aspiring author in the Internet age, I thought there was enough information out there in the blogosphere to provide me with everything I needed for my arsenal. Boy, was I wrong. I wish that I had purchased Flogging the Quill months ago. Had I bought the book when I first learned about it, I'm confident it would have saved me a tremendous amount of time and effort in the crafting, writing, and rewriting of my first novel.” Shannon
© 2013 Ray Rhamey