SKU: 17081643961

Awesome First Pages: How to Start Your Story Right

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Description

Awesome First Pages: How to Start Your Story RightYou only get one chance to make a first impression,and that one chance with a reader lasts only minutes. It's no longer acceptable for a book to get good on page 40." From your first sentence to the first pages of your novel, it's critical to hook readers immediately,whether that reader is an agent, editor, or patron in a bookstore. Not only do you want to quickly pull readers in with your story, you also need to establish your narrative voice as

You only get one chance to make a first impression,and that one chance with a reader lasts only minutes. It's no longer acceptable for a book to “get good on page 40." From your first sentence to the first pages of your novel, it's critical to hook readers immediately,whether that reader is an agent, editor, or patron in a bookstore. Not only do you want to quickly pull readers in with your story, you also need to establish your narrative voice as reliable, believable, talented, and authoritative.

So how do you best accomplish this?

In this webinar, instructor and literary agent Kate McKean shows you how to catch a reader's eye with your first sentences and pages. After sharing her own best principles, Kate examines first pages from published books to show you the dos and don'ts of opening your novel/memoir (including: never start with your main character getting out of bed), and the common mistakes that drive agents crazy and stop them from reading the rest of your work.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• Why it's important to hook the reader from the first sentence
• Why a prologue may do you more harm than good
• Common mistakes of first sentences and first pages
• Overused beginnings and clichés that can drag down a work
• The benefits and pitfalls of starting with action
• How to hone the compelling details of your initial story set up
• How writing awesome first pages is simpler than you think

INSTRUCTOR

Kate McKean is a literary agent at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency in Brooklyn, NY, where she has agented for 6 years. She earned her Master's in Fiction Writing at the University of Southern Mississippi before starting her publishing career, and enjoys both the creative and business aspects of her job. Her clients include the New York Times bestselling humor book I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?, YA and Adult fantasy writer Delilah S. Dawson, and blogger, designer, and creativity expert Noah Scalin. She is most interested in contemporary women's fiction, middle grade and young adult fiction of all stripes, craft, sports, and pop culture.

WHO SHOULD LISTEN?

• Writers currently composing a novel who want to make sure their work gets read
• Writers who have been rejected by agents and editors, and want to evaluate why their novel didn't make the cut
• Writers who are getting page requests from agents, but falling short after that point
• Writers whose stories “get good on page 40"
• Writers who want a professional critique by a literary agent
• Anyone with non-novel publishing credits considering making the jump to fiction writing

OnDemand Webinars do not include a critique.

Writer's Digest does not offer any refunds for the webinar. All sales are final.

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SKU: 17081643961

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4.1 ★★★★★
Based on 8 reviews
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Benjamin P. Ahles
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
accurate and timely service
Format: Flexibound
Kept my grandson interested in the city while we visited
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2019
J
Jami Lilo
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 5
Awesome Information for Kids - History, legends and fun facts
Format: Flexibound, Format: Flexibound
Packed with interesting and entertaining facts and legends for kids (and adults but def geared towards kids). My youngest could only read in small doses because it’s A LOT of info packed on the pages. They really enjoyed learning about Barcelona’s affinity for giants, dragons, and good versus evil. So many fascinating tid bits got them excited about our summer trip (we are going to Barcelona!). Highlights: executioners would sell dead people’s shoes which the townspeople put in front of their houses to ward off evil spirits. Gaudi didn’t use straight lines because there are none in nature. He was so obsessed with the basilica plans he stopped hygiene and wore shoes made of woven plant roots. My kids loved the section on chocolate and candies (my vote is churros) and the tradition of the poop log 💩 Overall we really enjoy this book and it will join us on our travels. It got my kids excited to see the giant goldfish sculpture, see the sharks at the aquarium, the amusement park, fountains, statues and so many of the history rich areas of Barcelona. Highly recommend if you’re planning a trip with kids to get them engaged, or for a report for school, or just to learn about other places and cultures. Please note - this is not a travel guide for adults. No hotels, tours, prices etc are included.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2019
L
Libcath
Phoenix, US
★★★★★ 4
Lots of great ideas and suggestions - but lacking some practical details
Format: Flexibound
Each of the 16 walks featured in this book have between 3 to 6 pages covering sights, tips and trivia. The graphics are very appealing with a nice variety of layouts and colors. My 5 year-old can’t obviously read this on her own, but she enjoys pointing to the pictures and hearing the descriptions about this amazing city that we’ve visited in the past. For self-guided trips, this book offers a way to get school-aged travelers with planning what to see and selecting foods to try. The book is not really geared for navigating/orienting other than just the starting point for the walk. The only map just inside the cover contains a view of all the starting points in relation to the city. The places featured within a walk seem laid out in a logical fashion, but you will definitely need another travel guide and/or smart phone to be sure you make it to the various destinations noted. I felt the book did justice to the awesome sights by Antoni Gaudi and I was pleased to find the Palau de la Musica Catalana also featured. The books is bursting with ideas for kid-friendly things to do. Even though it is geared to a younger audience, I am deducting a star as practical information seems to be lacking either in the section for the walk itself or in a summary/overview section. Examples of details I’d like included: a map view for the specific walk of where things are within relation to each other, the distance between sites, how much time to allow getting to each of the sites, how to best get to them (foot vs. public transit), the total distance of the walk, the minimum recommended time to complete the walk, and if there are walks that would be best grouped together for a full-day or half-day. As the book does not have these details, you’ll need to figure them out on your own and tailor it to what your family can manage.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2019
W
W. Simpsen
Draper, US
★★★★★ 5
Great kids' travel book about Barcelona
Format: Flexibound
Lonely Planet has some wonderful books designed to make an intimidating city full of interest and fun for kids. Most travel guides have way too much information for young travelers. This one about Barcelona has the most interesting information broken down into bite sized pieces for kids. All the pages are lively and colorful. They have photographs and illustrations. The guide contains what you want to know about zoos, museums, food, history and more. The blocks of text are short enough for young readers to get through and absorb the information. There are also details presented in text boxes. Because it's not page after page of a lot of written information, it is very inviting for young readers. While the Table of Contents doesn't explain very clearly what each section contains, there is an index at the back to help guide you. This book is recommended for ages 9 to 12. I think it might be better for a younger range, like 7 to 10. Either way, I think it's a great choice for any child traveling to Barcelona. While we have no plans to go anytime soon, my kids still looked through the pages of this book and enjoy learning about this foreign city. It's a good one to keep on our bookshelf and look through time and time again.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2019
P
PaulM
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 5
More Tapas Please!
Format: Flexibound, Format: Flexibound
If you are bringing kids along to a new city like Barcelona, the Lonely Planet Kids book provides a great introduction for the children. It has very little of the adult stuff about hotels and restaurants and nothing on how much they cost. It is all about sites and experiences. This lonely Planet book is divided into sixteen trails. There are marked starting points for each one on a map of the city, but no directions about getting from one attraction to the next along the trail. That must be the job of the adults. The groupings include history, castles, shopping, sports, parks, outdoor recreations, and food. I think that there should be more on food. There are over eighty pages in the book. Each page is rendered in bright color drawings and photographs. The images and the explanations each take up about the same amount of room, although I think that the images have the advantage. This is a great book for the kids and for adults who want to get the essence of the city without getting bogged down in details.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2019

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