4th July 2010

On Beginning to Write ....

If I say to someone that I am writing a novel. They say...'Oh I wouldn't know where to start.' Starting is easy. It is also the most important part. If you don't start you haven't a chance.

Start writing with the first sentence.

THE FIRST SENTENCE.

The first sentence is a very good place to start.

Without the first sentence, you can't write the second sentence, or the third, and so on ...

All it has to be, is what comes into your head. If you don't like it later, well, you can always change it. By then you will have a feel for what you want to write anyway.

The First Sentence, could be :

- Anything. Absolutely anything.
The dogs were barking and I couldn't get up to go to the window.

- Something someone is saying...dialogue.
'We need to get this Carnival float finished by next week,' Alister said.

- Something someone is doing
 Penny ran towards the road as though she would never stop. 

- Description of the place - smell, sound, sight, taste, feel.
The evening was dim, and the smell of the salt in the ocean hung on to every remaining beam of light that fell inside the pink painted veranda of the small wooden house, that stood solitary, overlooking the rugged drop of the cliff  to the sand beneath.  

- Something shocking - part of the plot
As Jeffery unlocked the door of the room where the children slept, he heard the swish of curtains, a rush of wind into the room, and a thump inside his chest.

- A sense of place or time
It was August thirteenth, midday, and there we were, standing on the Spanish Steps, in Rome, again. 

It really doesn't matter. You can always change it ... anytime. Even right at the end.

The first sentence could be short, medium or long. Whatever you feel like.

The important thing is, if you ever thought you wanted to write. Just start. Then continue doing some every day if you can.

Best of luck

Bye for now

Marilyn x