Two Ways For Writers To Kickstart The First Chapter

The first chapter of your book is important.

Very important.

It doesn’t seem like such a big thing, the first chapter, or does it? It’s the beginning, that which should tantalize your readers, draw them in and hold on tight. So full of promise – what adventure lies ahead?

That first chapter shouldn’t be the thing to set terror fluttering in the heart of the writer, but rather to be exciting, invigorating, fun! That first chapter can lead to so much. It can grab readers. It can hook a bored editor who’s looking for the kind of book you’ve written. It can keep a browser on Amazon reading that Kindle edition and asking for a full sample leading to that coveted sale because that reader is hooked and just can’t stop reading.

So, NUMBER ONE: don’t succumb to terror. Don’t let the white of the screen before you intimidate you.  There are all sorts of warnings out there that are a trap to intimidate writers. “In the beginning,” they say, “grab me from the first sentence!” or “Don’t waste a single word!” or “get it moving, start your story somewhere after the first couple of chapters and skip the intro altogether.” Heard this? Read this? Between writing coaches, teachers, editors, agents and script readers it feels like all they’re out there to do is to intimidate writers and scare them into giving up before they even start.

Okay, you, as a writer, don’t need all that tension. The truth is, they’re all looking for that great book and you just might have it. So relax. They aren’t actually expecting perfection from writers. They’re looking for originality and powerful. So breathe in, breathe out and get those first words up on the screen; just let the words flow. The bad and the good. Editing time will be the time to sort it all out. Oh, and by the way, as a general observation, it’s just fine to want to write a book to entertain. It doesn’t have to have a great and deep message or some thrumming theme. Write what your inner writer wants to write.

NUMBER TWO: have a light touch with description. Yes, yes, I know, you can see it all in your mind, every blade of grass, every cricket chirping at a window, every hair on the black dog’s head. Sounds, sights, emotions, textures and colors. The story you’re writing is so powerful you want the readers to be right there with you, to be immersed in the story.

But don’t feel you have to spill it all in those first few sentences in that first chapter. Sketch out the bones with enough details to give it some punch. Your readers don’t want to hear about the weather, every detail of the hero’s street and how long he’s lived there all in the first few sentences. Readers always trust writers to fill in detail as the story moves forward. What’s needed in the beginning is those few details, just a taste, just enough to give a feeling of place. Then trust yourself to add the needed information along with the forward movement of the story.

Now turn that blank white screen into a writer’s chapter to be proud of. 

From the Beginning – Five Writer’s Gripes About Novel Starts

I’m a writer, but I’m also a reader. Even if you aren’t both I’m sure there are things about the beginning of a book, the very first sentence that just bug the heck out of you.

Seriously. Me too.

So I’m going to talk here a bit about beginnings – specifically the very beginning – the first sentence of a novel which ideally is supposed to grip the reader by the eyeballs and not let them go.

Um, yeah. So here are five ‘do-nots’ from my perspective as both writer and reader.

First, it’s the beginning. I know nothing of what’s going on so let’s not start with a really long sentence. Those usually aren’t too good anywhere in the book, but at the very beginning they can be killers. A long sentence provides just too many ideas and bits and pieces of information all randomly connected for the reader to make any sense of by the time the sentence is finished. And this, as the very first sentence…not a good idea. Way to turn off the reader. Come on! It’s the first sentence.

Second, I’m not wild about books that start right out with dialog. I mean at this point, need I reiterate, it’s the beginning. The reader isn’t acquainted with any of the characters, knows nothing about the plot, where they’re at or what they are doing or intend to do. So why would the reader care what someone is saying at the very inception of the book? When I see a start like that I suspect it’s a sort of a gimmick the writer learned somewhere. I know I know, “it’ll all make sense later”. Probably not for me because that second sentence better be a doozy to keep me reading beyond that first, “So you wanna go to the park?” dialog bomb at the beginning. A beginning like that doesn’t tweak any questions or raise any interest in my brain. Just lost interest. On to something else.

Another thing (I guess this is the third) that gripes me is the revelation the whole opening was a dream or maybe a flashback or maybe a visitation from another dimension. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather keep on track. Diversions can occur later, but I want that first sentence hook to really give me something. It’s supposed to be a hook, remember?

Okay, next. The fourth gripe on my list. Since this is the beginning and I as a reader have no idea what is happening, why would I care where it’s happening? I mean a writer showing off some purple prose in the first sentence without connecting how it’s relevant to the story is probably going to lose readers. Fast. Readers are in it for the story, not a detailed description of the scenery. As the story evolves the reader might well enjoy a vivid description, but please, make that description relevant. This is not a showcase for the writer’s vocabulary.

And the fifth and final frustration on my novel beginnings

list is the excruciatingly ordinary start. You know, something like: At six in the morning, on March 2, the start of his thirtieth year, John Snow climbed out of bed. There are exceptions of course and writers who can pull this off, but mostly what is there about an introductory sentence like that that would catch the attention of a reader?

So those are my gripes. Have you got any novel gripes that really bug you? Either a beginning or something else? Things that might make you just close a book and forget it. Toss in a comment below if you do…or if you disagree with any of my complaints. Go ahead, you know you want to. 

The Rules For Writing A Novel

 THE RULES FOR WRITING A NOVEL

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”― W. Somerset Maugham

It’s funny and it’s true. Of course I could get nit-picky and start talking about language and all the rules needed to write properly. I could go on about the mythology behind stories, story arcs, beats and how to construct one the ‘right way.”

But I won’t.

There must be some rules somewhere, but where? And you know what, why should we care?

After all, storytelling is as old as the human race. Look, of course we need some language rules in order to put our stories down on paper – or on the computer – and be understood. No argument, but really, the other rules are just what some people came up with to try to outline what it takes to write a story.

I’ve been asked many times for help by newer writers. How do you write your books? Where do you get your ideas? How do you write all those words? How do you cut what you’ve written when it’s so dear to you? What’s the structure of the novel as you understand it? 

Wellllll, I’m pretty much a set-of-the-pants writer though I admit to having  done some teaching. In person and online. In fact I have a romance writing course at UDEMY right now called Romancing Your Novel and in that class I provide hints and tips and direction along with encouragement, but no rules. Same for when I teach in person.

The truth of the matter is, there may be rules, but Somerset Maugham got it right, nobody knows what they are. Not really. Some act as great experts, but believe me, whatever rules there are are regularly broken as a new style, a new voice is heard from.

If you’re a reader you know it well. You try a new writer, find a new voice and you’re in love all over again.

If you’re a writer you know it just as well – and for the same reasons – in addition to many more. A new style emerges. A new crossing of genres appears. You like reading it. You love writing it. Your writing evolves as time passes and times change. Life is change. That’s what it’s all about.

So, those rules, wherever they are, can stay there. My reading and writing tastes will change. That’s okay. And I’ll come across some of those rules along the way, probably take a bit of time to understand them, then promptly break them.

That’s just the way it is.

From Writer Peggy Bechko - A Sample of Romance Cloud Dancer

This week I'm posting a sample of my romance novel Cloud Dancer. It's laced through with history in the southwest US in a time before the 'wild west'; a time when the Native Americans were beset by the arrival of the  Spaniards. It was a time of culture clashes and war and it was great fun researching and writing this novel, one of my favorites to date.  

Cloud Dancer has gotten some nice reviews and 5 star ratings on Amazon.

Enjoy the sample! 

 

Prologue November 30, 1598 Beneath the vast expanse of the shimmering blue sky, Juan de Zalvidar and his thirty soldiers rode hunched against the biting cold of the New Mexican winter. The wind, relentless, blew out of the east. The rhythmic scrape and thud of the horses' hooves was a familiar sound of comfort to the men as were the soft jingling of bridles and the clank of armor. There were no clouds this day, but already in days past the men had seen white patches along the river, and the smell of snow was upon the air. As he rode at the head of the column, Juan de Zalvidar's stature and carriage easily marked him as the leader. At twenty-eight, his air of authority floated about him like a cloak; there would be none who would dispute it. He and his brother, Vicente, had already done much to explore and begin to tame this wild land. They were backed by the power of their uncle, Governor Onate. Juan's thoughts strayed as he rode. His tanned face creased in a smile as he remembered the tales his younger brother, Vicente, had told of his own attempts to capture the buffalo herds in cottonwood corrals built near a river. Vicente had returned after fifty-four days of travel to and from the buffalo plains with none of the beasts. When Juan had taken his leave of his brother, setting out with his thirty soldiers to reinforce their uncle in the west, Vicente had still been good- naturedly swearing that he would not give up so easily; he would try again to capture the buffalo. Putting aside the thoughts of his brother, Juan turned to the young soldier at his side. "We will reach the pueblo of Acoma soon. There we will get corn for our horses and meat for us. The people of these pueblos raise turkeys in great numbers. We may even have a feast!" His companion chuckled against the chattering of his teeth. "I relish food in my belly," he admitted, "but I relish even more the thought of being warm once again! I will barter for blankets and firewood as well! There is so damned little of it in this godforsaken country. I want a large, roaring fire. How these people can manage with such tiny fires to warm their homes I don't know!" "They are used to this miserable cold," Juan de Zalvidar pointed out, bowing his head against the chilly breeze that had suddenly sprung up out of the north at cross-purposes with the wind from the east. "They were born here. They were not softened and spoiled by the gentler climes to the south," he said with wry amusement at his own discomfort as well as that of his men. He could afford to laugh, for soon they would know full bellies and warmth again. The Pueblo peoples were tame Indians, who would provide all that was needed. The king of Spain had ordered his armies not to steal from the simple natives, but to trade instead, so Zalvidar's party had brought along plenty of items, hatchets being of particular appeal, to negotiate with the Indians. But the Pueblos had recently begun to balk at trade. At first they had been open and friendly with the Spanish, but now they seemed reluctant to give up their corn, deerskins or blankets. Still, Juan was not worried. Should it become necessary he had a great enough force with him to take what was needed from the Indians. After all, the king of Spain was not riding at the head of a column of cold, hungry soldiers. These Pueblo Indians were easy to manipulate or coerce. Onate's colony had arrived too late in the year to build or plant in preparation for winter, so the colonists had traded for and taken what they needed from the Indians. Already they had dispossessed almost the whole pueblo of San Juan to obtain shelter from the bitter cold of the New Mexican winter. A few of the Indians of San Juan had stayed, making themselves useful in carrying wood and water for the colonists in exchange for being allowed to remain in their homes. Juan knew that his uncle had stopped at Acoma on a past exploratory trip; the Kere of Acoma had been no more difficult than the other Pueblo Indians. And while Juan had no intention of bullying the natives unnecessarily, he and his men would have what they required to continue their trip to meet Governor Onate at Zuni. "There!" The soldier beside Juan jabbed his finger in the direction of a great rock in the distance, thrusting into the sky. "There is Acoma! Soon we will be there." Juan laughed. "Distances are deceiving here, my friend. We will camp tonight at the foot of Acoma. Tomorrow we will climb to the heights and obtain our supplies." A wave of curiosity, excitement and apprehension swept through the Pueblo of Acoma when the report came that Spanish soldiers could be seen at the foot of the mesa. For months they had talked, planning what they would do if the Spanish arrived again demanding the food and blankets that the people of Acoma could ill spare with the long winter still ahead. Standing with many of the Kere, Cloud Dancer peered down from the heights at the strangers. "They have come again," she said to her sister, Woman of the West Wind, who stood by her side. "I had hoped they would not." Her sister nodded slowly in agreement. "I think we all hoped they would not come again." She touched Cloud Dancer on the arm. "Come, we must move away from here. Chief Zutucapan and the men will handle the Spanish, and they have said we should not stay outside." Cloud Dancer nodded her agreement, but found she felt more than a little reluctance to be tucked away in a kiva or hidden inside one of the mud houses. Why must they always do what the men decided? She sighed and quashed the rebel­lious thought, returning with her sister to their home. Both daughters approached their mother in respectful sience as they entered, for she was working the clay. Woman of the Willows smiled her greeting, her hands moving swiftly, dexterously about their chore, smoothing and shaping the clay into a vessel of great fineness and beauty. It was the Kere custom to work the clay in silence with respect for the spirit that it contained. When Woman of the Willows finished, setting the pot aside to dry, Cloud Dancer informed her quickly, "The Spanish have returned." Woman of the Willows's eyes darkened and her mouth set in a tight, grim line. Her eyes went to the small doorway open to the outside, searching. "Your father will be with the others. We must remain here." "But what are they going to do?" Cloud Dancer demanded, forgetting her woman's place in her agitation. Woman of the Willows smiled indulgently at her younger daughter. Cloud Dancer always had been the impatient one, always questioning, never satisfied with the way things were. "Your father has said it was decided we would give no more supplies to the Spanish. We will trade with a few old blankets and skins if they so desire, but they will have no cornmeal, pumpkin, pine nuts or other important stores. If we trade those, our people will go hungry when the deep snow comes. If the Spanish demand what we cannot willingly give, our men will attack." Cloud Dancer's face glowed. Her older sister's paled. "Good!" Cloud Dancer exclaimed. "The Spanish must be taught they cannot take whatever they wish from us." "It is very dangerous," Woman of the West Wind murmured. "It is very dangerous," her mother agreed. **And if you'd like a bit more of a sample,  head on over to Amazon and read a larger sample for free.

Wolves and the Writing of Stormrider

Wolves. 

 

Amazing creatures. Family oriented, intelligent and loyal, which in my estimate puts them heads and shoulders above lots of people I’ve known. 

Today I decided I’d talk a bit about one of my favorite books to write, Stormrider, what went into it and how it came to be.

 

I’ve always loved nature and animals and wolves have had a tender spot in my heart for as long as I can remember. 

A friend had a hybrid wolf-dog which was more wolf than dog and it was fascinating being around her. The wolf, Bonita, was certainly not docile, but neither was she vicious. It always seemed though that she was most definitely in charge. From her I extrapolated my main character, StrongHeart who was the ‘gentlemanly’ leader of the pack of Nashirian wolves in Stormrider. The pack would be considered misfits, each with a draw-back, a hinderance (StrongHeart an outcast from his pack, One-Eye blind in one eye, Little Foot with a deformed paw), but all supporting one another. And there is one more member of the pack, Stormrider, aka, Tanith Aesir, a Janissary, warrior woman and protector of the weak, she finds she had a mental link and emotional tie with the wolves, a gift of the amazing planet on which she dwells, and is drawn into the pack. But even then she can’t give up her quest to bring peace to her war-torn world and put a stop to the crazy man who wants to rule. So, the wolves join their strengths to hers in her quest.

Now, admittedly ‘normal’ wolves can’t talk, mentally or otherwise (though their howls are amazing communication between them), but on Nashira they can. Not only that, but they can be smart-alecky, snarky and irritated, yet there is unwavering loyalty between them – including their human pack member. 

All that is patterned on actual wolves and their habits and behaviors. If you take the time to watch a few videos or a movie like Never Cry Wolf, or National Geographic’s page on wolves  or NOVA’s site on wolves you’ll get a general feel for their behaviors which inspired the creation of the three powerful wolves in Stormrider. 

Creating them as characters with distinct personalities in the novel I wrote, Stormrider, I used such resources as mentioned above to spin each wolf’s individual personality. Obviously I stretched things and created new twists, but it’s the research that provided the backbone and the jumping off place of where to begin. When I begin a book such as this it’s always best to know some solid facts before beginning to fantasize a tale. Grounding the story in reality, even when it’s a science fiction or fantasy story, makes it stronger and breathes more life into the characters and the background, hopefully making it a much more enjoyable read, one that draws the reader into the story and doesn’t jostle them out.  

The research for the book also unearthed things like wolf howls that I used in creating the accompanying book trailer http://bit.ly/12jDKmP to create a more in depth feel of being there.

Come on into a writer’s brain and read a sample of Stormrider  and see how the reality of wolves can blend with the fiction of an adventurous story. 

Stormrider Book Trailer 

Stormrider Facebook Fan Page

 -come visit, like, and stay tuned for Stormrider give-aways 

Interesting Wolf Facts 

Wolf Sounds – audio 

Wolf howls – audio via YouTube