Faith Kindred

Er… well… what’s the poem about? 😛

*goes slowly green in face* Uh… on second thought… I’ll admire it from a distance @Daeus! 😛

@kate-flournoy I don’t know. It might cost you an arm and a leg.

Well glad the topic was timely, @belegteleri! (Still can’t write that tag without smiling 😉 )

This is all to say that subtlety is the key to a strong character.

@Daeus— can I just frame that, and put it on my wall? 😀

A note about character voice: It’s great to have a clear character voice, especially in the hook. It helps the reader connect with the character. Sometimes though, I get annoyed by a too strong character voice. There are two reasons for this. First, with these character voices, there is often a strong sense of inconclusiveness. The character voice…[Read more]

@Ivy-Rose @zoe-wingfeather @writefury @faithdk @Daeus good thoughts, everyone!

I think, Ivy, that action hooks can certainly work, but I tend to be careful using them because if you slam your reader with immediate action they don’t really care, because they don’t care about the character, because they don’t KNOW the character. Get me?

Also, I…[Read more]

@Ivy-Rose @zoe-wingfeather @writefury @faithdk @Daeus good thoughts, everyone!

I think, Ivy, that action hooks can certainly work, but I tend to be careful using them because if you slam your reader with immediate action they don’t really care, because they don’t care about the character, because they don’t KNOW the character. Get me?

Also, I…[Read more]

As a little note, Structuring Your Novel has some good stuff on opening hooks.

Hooks these days tend to be ones that catch your attention with the first line but then transition into a different scene/style. They remind me of an ad in some ways. As I recall some of the classics though, I see that many of them used hooks too, but they were more…[Read more]

YES! Love opening hooks! 😀
This is one of my favorite ones I’ve done:
“My wormhole experiment took a little bit to actually start working. Which was great that it worked at all, but the thing was that it started right in the middle of class.”
*sigh* I need to write more on that… someday.
Also, there’s a kids’ book one that I love:
*plain, white…[Read more]

I think you’re absolutely right (and no, you’re not crazy). And wow…the beginning of Black Falcon is amazing. That would definitely get me reading past the first sentence. 🙂

Something that I think works well as a hook is starting right in the middle of the action. Here’s an example:
“Go! Go! Go!”
Lindy pumped her legs, hardly feeling the gro…[Read more]

Ooo, I like it @zoe-wingfeather! Like other people noted, I would watch out for info-dumping. For example, the writing in bold below, to me is a bit info-dump-ey…I struggle with the same thing, by the way. 🙂

I sigh. Work is so boring. I’m a secretary for a big computer company, and pretty much all I do all day is file papers.

The story is r…[Read more]

I awoke to the sound of tapping for the fifth night in a row. At first I thought it was outside… but then I realized it was coming from the mirror again. Now, I’m tough, but hey, when your mirror taps, that is creepy, especially in the dead of night. And the fact that I had just read Snow White. I reached out a shaking hand and flicked on my b…[Read more]

I awoke to the sound of tapping for the fifth night in a row. At first I thought it was outside… but then I realized it was coming from the mirror again. Now, I’m tough, but hey, when your mirror taps, that is creepy, especially in the dead of night. And the fact that I had just read Snow White. I reached a shaking hand out and flicked on my b…[Read more]

Yet another long corridor. This is crazy. What does this house look like from the outside? I have absolutely no idea what to do. Maybe I’d try a different door. Trying the next door in line I found it to be like the room in which I had awoken. The sheets were messed up, so I figured people must be somewhere close by. And then I found them. Behind…[Read more]

*nudges topic with tip of boot* This thing needs to wake up.

‘I stared disinterestedly over the top of the bar at the empty judge’s chair, drumming my fingers and trying to look cool and in control. Didn’t matter that my palms were sweating like pigs, and I was three shades whiter than a snake’s belly beneath my arrogant facade. Keep your act…[Read more]

LOVE IT MY GOODNESS. 😀 So fun!
The info dumping wasn’t as huge of a problem for me, but I think most of the stuff you said could probably be interspersed as its relevant to the story.
That, and probably make a few more paragraph breaks near the beginning. Just… less intimidating than a huge chunk of text, if ya know what I mean. XP
Give us…[Read more]

I’m back! 😛 Sorry. Meant to carry this on sooner…

My feet come to rest on a carpet I most certainly haven’t seen before. Expensive Persian fluff. No one in their right mind would ever let me near that sort of thing. Though that thought does no favors to any idea of how I got here…
It has to be a dream.
But, standing up and promptly stubbing…[Read more]

@anna-brie
I’d look into the functions more if the regular test isn’t working out for you. It’s a bit more specific that way.