5 Ways to Write Stronger Opening Scenes

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

The opening scene can make or break your novel, so make sure you write a strong one.
There’s a wide range of advice when it comes to writing opening scenes. Many say not to worry about it, because odds are the real opening is several pages (or scenes) into the book and you’ll toss the opening anyway. Others say you won’t really know the right opening scene until you’ve written then ending, and then you’ll go back and rewrite it. Then there are those who can’t write the book until they get the right opening scene, and it won’t need to be changed later.

I agree with all of this, because every writer is different. You might need the “throat clearing” a throwaway opening scene gives you, or you might like to start off strong and build from there. Whatever works for you, works. I’m a “get it right the first time” writer myself and can spend weeks (or longer) just coming up with the perfect opening line.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com