Next week on Unicorn Bell -- the critique site of CharityBradford, Marcy, and I -- a two-headed Giveaway and much angst.
And the Dreaded Logline/Three-Line Pitch
Check in on Monday for the details. For now, go to UB for the tools to perfect that first line.
What is it that grabs your attention as you read the first page of a new book? What turns you off in that first line? Some agents hate dialogue as the first line, others like it.
Really, it is what snares your eye. Use what trips your trigger and make that first line pop.
The first line is all about voice, and authority, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have decent query, and a two sentence pitch. But I still need to come up with that in between one.
The Dreaded Logline (DL): it's about telling the whole shebang in one sentence with enough hook to grab and storyline to intrigue w/o giving too much away.
ReplyDeleteReeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally easy, huh.
Yeah, easier said than done. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to go back to a couple of my favorite books and look. I started my first book with a line of action, the second one starts with internal dialogue.
ReplyDeleteAs long as it grabs me, I don't care how it's done. Some authors write powerful dialogue. It would be a shame for an editor to blow the work before they actually read it.
ReplyDelete