Recently I was interviewed on “Memoir Minute” (www.womensmemoirs.com) about how to writer kick-butt opening sentences and paragraphs, so your readers will be drawn into your stories.  (You can listen to the interview here on my website www.primary-sources.com/PressKit.html.)

I shared my three rules of opening scenes, which are:

First rule: Provide sensory details as soon as possible, so the reader feels as though they are “there.” What does the character, or the setting, look like? Colors, shapes, designs? What sounds are there? Loud voices, whistles, screams, bells, whispers? What smells? Strong like gasoline, sweet like lilacs, dirty wet dog? What tactile sensations? Soft wind on your skin? The rough scrape of a poorly shaved chin? 

Second rule: The first scene should either encapsulate or foreshadow the theme of the entire piece. For instance: in a book I ghostwrote about a man’s personal philosophy of life, the first scene is two elderly men arguing in a graveyard. 

Third rule: Know who is reading what you are writing! Remember – your writing is really not about you. It’s about your readers. Have a conversation with your reader. Show them what they want to see, don’t tell them what you want them to know. Otherwise they’ll stop reading right after the first paragraph.

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