Tag Archive - first page elements

Where’s My Voice?

One of the essential elements needed on your first page (and that continues through to the end of your novel) is your voice. This term is discussed in countless books, websites, and anywhere writing is taught. It seems like a nebulous thing. Just what is voice? How can you tell when an author “has it” and when she doesn’t? What should a voice sound like as it relates to the novel you are writing? Continue Reading…

Seeing the World through Your Character’s Eyes

One of the essential things you need to do in your first scene is ground your protagonist in her setting. Just writing that made me blow out a breath. Why? Because I edit and critique so many manuscripts that contain really dull narrative about the setting. Most common is the scene that goes underway for a paragraph or two and then suddenly inserts an author interruption in which I read a number of paragraphs (or pages) telling all kinds of details about the scenery, locale, and the world the protagonist is in. The problem is this information is all detached from the POV character. Continue Reading…

The True Essence of Character

While we’re pausing a bit in this in-depth look at your first scene to examine how you introduce your protagonist, I want to add in some insights and prod your thinking about the aspects of your character’s personality. Writing instructor and screenwriter Michael Hague enriches the traditional three-act structure (his is a six-act structure) by overlaying the progressive journey of the protagonist. I found his take quite eye-opening, for although I understood the concept of a character portraying himself to the world one way while underneath he’s really a different person at heart, I never thought about the process of revealing this “inner man” until I took a workshop from him. Continue Reading…

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