Tips on Writing a Powerful First Chapter

Beginnings are difficult for most writers, but I’m here to help!

Hey guys! It's editor and author S. A. Soule with some first chapter writing tips...

Just for the record: I hate beginnings. The first pages of my novels are an inexorably torment to write because I am such a perfectionist. But after numerous revisions, I am very proud of my first sentences and my opening scenes.

This post focuses on the “hook” every story needs in its opening scene. Without strong hooks, the reader has no reason to keep reading. A good “hook” can be an open-ended question, one that leaves the reader trying to decide what the main character will do next.

It seems like it would be obvious to start a story at the beginning of the character’s journey, but unfortunately, that’s usually not a good place to start. No matter what the genre is, there are most likely several other scenes that can be used as the opening scene. Find the one that will have the greatest impact on your readers. Think of your first line as a hook that lures your reader into the story. It is your big chance to be so ingenious that your readers will not be able to put your book down.

Dream openers are cliché.

Avoid beginning your novel with a dream. This can create a very awkward beginning. Dreams in general are often seen in the work of beginning writers (it will red flag you to agents and editors) because it’s overdone. Therefore, dreams should be used with great care no matter where they happen in a story, but should never be used as an opening. Always attempt to open your novel with the immediate sense of the storyline.

Some skilled writing fails to connect the reader because the writer doesn’t get what the novel’s opening must do in order to hook a reader. Frequently, as I’m editing other writers, I find a gripping opening scene pages later in the story. Most often, a dump of exposition or backstory drags the story to a standstill.

For an unpublished writer, it’s absolutely essential that you grab the reader’s attention from the opener. Metaphorical hands should rise out of the first page, seize your reader by the collar, and yank them, helpless into the narrative.

What will compel a reader to put down your book after reading the first page?

Not opening with a strong enough first sentence or that much-needed “hook” in the first paragraph to reel the reader into your world. The first sentence is essential and each should be meticulously constructed to entice the reader into needing to find out more. Readers may forgive a less than stellar first sentence; however, the first paragraph should lure them into the narrative. Don’t bore the reader with too many tedious details, long paragraphs of inner-monologue, pages of backstory, or lengthy description.

Remember, the opener needs to be fresh, original, with a great hook in the first line. Even the first paragraph. Even more than that, the first page. Each one is extremely critical and should be crafted to bait the reader into needing to find out more.

How many times do you revise your first line?

What are some of your favorite opening sentences?

Please let me know in the comments! 

12 Surefire Tips on Writing Great Marketing Copy - Book Blurb 101

If you plan to self-publish, it’s crucial to know how to create an appealing blurb for your book—one that’s compelling enough to entice a reader into buying your novel. 

Blurbs (or called back jacket copy or marketing copy) are used in the back jacket copy of paperback novels and on the book's product page. Basically, it is the beguiling description of your novel used to entice readers into, well, reading your work.

This is marketing copy, not a synopsis. Keep it brief. Keep it interesting. Keep it engaging. Don’t bog it down with too many details about the plot or subplot. Use persuasive and strong nouns, adverbs, and verbs to describe your novel. (If you're querying an agent or publisher, then you need to slightly restructure your pitch, but it is basically the same method described in this post. And in your synopsis, I suggest that writers clearly define every plot point and reveal the ending.)

A book blurb is supposed to be about 200 words or less. Sure, I have read some that were as long as 300 words, but a writer only has a few seconds to attract a potential reader. Length matters. So “short and sweet” is usually best when writing marketing copy. Learn to trim down until only the story's heart remains.

Strive for quality—not quantity. Superb back jacket copy never explains every characters background, every plot twist, or pinch-point of your storyline. Write a blurb that is descriptive, but not all-inclusive. Think tempting, but not embellished. 

Professional copywriters know that effective promotional copy harmonizes with a storyline and doesn’t exaggerate or minimize what readers will find inside. 

Don’t assault the reader with a dense block of text. White space is your friend even in blurb writing. Remember that readers usually skim the text unless it's so gripping that they don't bother finishing it because they're already clicking the "buy button."

One way to get a better understanding of good promotional copy is to read the blurbs of other published novels in your genre. Visit a library, bookstore, or search online at places like Goodreads to read blurbs. Whenever you find a blurb that really grabs your attention, see if it gives you some ideas for your own book description. 

Once you have a few blurbs written down that you like, find a critique partner to help you polish it. Or ask a friend or writing buddy, who’s familiar with your premise, and have them write a brief summary of your novel, noting the detailed plot points they enjoyed. This is an excellent way to gain an invaluable assessment of your storyline.

Another excellent way to help you write a blurb is to excerpt your own work. Try this, comb through your entire manuscript searching for paragraphs or phrases to quote. This method can be very effective if you find a strong passage that can be taken out of context and still make sense. 

If you’re trying to summarize your work into 200 enticing words, I suggest reading the marketing copy of other work. Start reading a ton of book jackets, video game summaries, and DVD boxes. If you’re writing creepy horror, it helps to read the blurbs of scary stories. Study book blurbs, video game cases, and DVD boxes in the genre that you're writing, then mimic. It will help inspire you because the blurb (marketing copy) is meant to entice readers. 

Keep this mind while drafting the blurb, "Conflict is the fuel that excites most readers." 

I spend a lot of time revising and tweaking my own blurbs. I go over and over them until my head hurts. Writing a good blurb with a great “hook” isn’t easy, but it is essential to a self-published author if they want readers to take a chance with their time and money on their book. It is important to create a blurb so amazing and catchy that who wouldn’t want to read this story?

***

1) Strive to keep each paragraph at 50 words or less. 

2) The tagline should be one or two short sentences and try to keep it under 15 words. 

3) The total word count (not counting the tagline) should be 200 words or less.

4) The initial GMC should be mentioned in the blurb.

5) As long as each subject is mentioned in the blurb, it can be placed anywhere. Depending on the genre, for example the external goal can be mentioned in the third paragraph or the setting can be stated in the tagline. 

6) The "hook" at the end should be enticing enough to lure the reader into wanting to find out more by either buying the book or reading the excerpt. (or both!)

7) All great plots need some conflict and tension. Make sure you include hints at those in the blurb. 

8) Powerful verbs and nouns should be used. Make every word count by choosing each one carefully.

9) It is okay to use cliches that reflect the genre or tropes that will resonate with readers. 

10) Study other blurbs in the genre that your book is written in to gain insight into revising your own marketing copy.

11) Always use a character's full name (first and last) when first mentioned in the blurb. 

12) Characters need human flaws, a weakness to make them realistic and cause the reader to feel empathy. Try to add a hint at the characters "fatal flaw" or character ARC within the blurb to create likability, too.

Still stuck? Read, "Gotta Read It!: Five Simple Steps to a Fiction Pitch that Sells" on writing book descriptions / book blurbs for more great tips.

Please read these awesome posts on writing a better blurb, which should really help as you revise your own with a more successful “hook”:

How to Write a Great Blurb

Better Book Blurb Copywriting for Fiction

SELF PUBLISHING AN EBOOK - Writing A Catchy Book Blurb

5 Tips for Writing a Compelling Book Blurb by Amy Wilkins

5 Ways a Bad Back Cover Blurb Can Kill a Good Book

How to Write a Brilliant Blurb for Your Book

Gotcha Blurbs: Easy and Fun To Write

How to Write a Blurb (Back Cover Copy)

Are you having a difficult time writing a Book Blurb? You're not alone

How to write a Book Cover Blurb

The 5 core elements of a book blurb (and why you should know them)

 ***
How long does it take you to write a book blurb? What methods do you use to create a strong "hook"? 

If you have questions, or need further help, please leave a comment.

10 Mistakes I Made When Publishing My First Book - Self-Publishing Tips Part #4 - #getpublished

10 Mistakes I Made When Publishing My First Book

Since I just finished a series of posts on the right away to promote your books and get reviews, I thought I’d share the blunders that you can avoid, too. 

I have made my share of mistakes while navigating the choppy seas of self-publishing and trying to make a living as a writer. Some days I feel so discouraged and others I feel lucky to have such an awesome job.

Before I self-published my first book, I did have a plan and a set of goals. I even hired two editors to help me polish up my manuscript, a book cover designer, and I did some online promoting. I co-own a medium eBook publishing company, but I did most of the publishing on my own.

Nevertheless, there was still a lot that I didn’t know. And other things I did know (like using keywords), but for whatever reason, I didn’t utilize them. This post is meant to be helpful and advise you not to make the same blunders that I did when I was starting out on my publishing journey.

These mistakes are all taken from my own personal experience and in no particular order…

Mistake 1) Not setting up a mailing list on my website and blog right away. This is so important and the first thing every writer should do. Build an email list of readers who love your writing style and send out an email whenever you publish a new book or have a promo. (Be careful not to spam them too often.)

Mistake 2) Not asking book bloggers and/or reviewers to post a review on Amazon or goodreads. I just assumed that most of them would or that it was rude to ask. Make it easy for them by politely asking and providing links to where you want the reviews posted.

Mistake 3) Not having a link to purchase the other books in my series at the end of each eBook. If you have published more than one book, then make sure at the end of any and all previous published titles that you include a blurb (back jacket copy) and a link to buy your other novels. 

Update every single book you have already published whenever you self-publish a new title. (I know it sounds like a pain in the butt, however, as a self-published author you are also running a business and doing all the marketing. Never miss an opportunity to sell more books.)

Mistake 4) Responding to negative reviews. (Yeah, I’m not proud of this.) I know it’s hard (like a punch to the gut or a stab to the heart) to read anything negative about your work and not feel defensive. It is natural and normal to want to respond—but don’t. Remain professional and just try to STOP reading reviews.

Mistake 5) Being too lazy to update my keywords or use them effectively. I had read about keywords on blogs and forums and in marketing books, but I didn’t think they were all that vital. Boy, was I wrong, wrong, wrong. 

I was lucky enough to have another talented and successful writer explain how they work and why having the right ones would boost sales. Once I revised and entered the new keywords, my books sales tripled within about six weeks. (It does not happen overnight, so be patient.)

Mistake 6) Not “branding” my book series with an original series title. I just picked a random series title without researching it. “Spellbound” is so widely used that something more original would have been better.

Mistake 7) Not “branding” my book covers in my YA series. Each of my covers had a different look, so at a glance readers couldn’t tell what the reading order was. 

Mistake 8) Using blog tour companies. (No offense to the ones that are actually helpful.) I had more success and reached more reviewers on my own. Yeah, it is time-consuming, but so worth it. There are many sites that have lists of book bloggers by genre that you can use to contact reviewers on your own. Create your "review request letter" and do your own promotion.

Mistake 9) Not connecting with readers. I should have started a “street team” after the first book was published to help promote my other novels. Interacting with readers is so awesome and fun. Readers and book bloggers are so supportive and amazing that if you are lucky enough to build a fandom, they will become your biggest promoters.

Mistake 10) Sending out ARCs to reviewers, and then two weeks later, sending them a revised version after catching a typo or plot hole, because I was worried about getting negative reviews. This only made bloggers angry and cluttered their inbox. (My advice is that once you send it to a reviewer, do not contact them again. Not even to follow up and ask if they had read the book yet or posted the review. Unless, you are promoting for a pre-order and want to send reviewers a polite reminder the day the book goes live.)

I made a lot of stupid mistakes doing this on my own, and if you can avoid some of mine, you’ll have a much better chance at success with your first published book.

However, I did do a few things right, like having critique partners go over my manuscript, working with professional editors, and getting a professional book cover design, contacting book bloggers, and also studying marketing techniques.

Wishing every one of you much success on your publishing journey!

READ PART FIVE IN THE INDIE PUBLISHING SERIES

Writing Goals in 2020

A little self-reflection on 2019...

I’d like to believe that out of our struggles, disappointments, hurts, mistakes, and life’s heartaches that we learn something. By wanting to help other authors, I was trying to fill a void within myself, and that backfired the last time I did it. *sigh* 

Which is when I became more conscious of my behavior. One thing I have became painfully aware of after that recent “scandal” was that I had been in a negative, unhappy place for a while. Others had pointed out my negativity, yet I was in denial. However, looking back I realize now that my actions and words were conflicting with what I was doing and saying.

Self-awareness is like a bitch slap to the face. It can be both eye-opening and humbling. And boy, can it sting…

I have met other people who claim to be positive, and yet, their actions and social media posts convey the opposite. Maybe they enjoy the attention, like playing the victim, or need validation that whatever is going wrong in their life has justification. But the more attention you place on a problem or person, the more power you give to it.

Why give away your power? Why focus all your energy on the negative?

In 2020, I am going to ‘woman up’ (that should totally be a phrase!) and shake off any and all negativity, like the wise Taylor Swift would say. There’s no more room in my life for excuses, denials, rationalizations, or epic pity-parties thrown in my honor. I want 2020 to be the year I become strong and determined. Happy and positive. Gentler and wiser.

I want to encourage you to do the same. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Forgive yourself more and find forgiveness for others, which I know can be hard to do. But you know what? I believe in you. Perhaps, 2019 wasn’t your year, but in 2020, I hope you join me in making it the most successful and creative year we’ve ever had.

Who’s with me? Who’s ready to be an author boss? Let's do this!!!

#positivewriterslife #indieauthorgoals #movingonfrommistakes #livingmybestlife

Please join me on Facebook "SA Soule" for self-editing and writing tips,  book marketing advice, and savvy author branding suggestions! 😀

Fiction Writing Tools Updates by Author S. A. Soule

Dear Authors,

Recently, editor and author S. A. Soule (me!) has expanded and updated all of the guides in the Fiction Writing Tools series.

If the eBook that you've purchased in the past doesn't have the same cover as these covers featured below, then you might have an older version.

The cool thing about buying a digital book is that a reader can update an eBook with the latest version at any time, and it doesn’t require buying a new edition.
You can do this at no additional cost and you do not have to buy a new book. 
 
If you want your Kindle eReader to automatically update your eBooks, you can turn the option on, and update your eBook manually.

Or you can contact Amazon and ask them to update the eBook for you. I've had to do this a few times to get the newest version of a book, but it is so worth it!

If you didn't buy your eBook from Amazon, then I encourage you to contact your online book retailer to request an updated edition.


Check your eReader, and if you do not have the covers featured below, then you do not own the latest versions.
 
Each of these guidebooks were republished under the same ASIN identification number through Amazon, so you should have no problem requesting the newest versions.

However, if you do encounter ANY problems, please contact me via email and I will send you the new eBooks. I will just need a "proof of purchase" screenshot to verify, and then I will happily send you the latest eBook editions.

 

7 Tips to Write Realistic Fight Scenes

There are many ways to tell a good story, such as movies, books, plays, operas, songs, ballet, etc. 

My favorites are films and novels. You can learn a lot about storytelling by watching movies. 

For instance, I've seen ATOMIC BLONDE twice, and I'm blown away by the fight scenes. But, ahem *clears throat* while watching it, I realized my own fight scenes are not very realistic. At all. Not even close.

Some of the fight scenes in my urban fantasy novel (featured above) have the heroine hardly out of breath or injured. Or she is perfectly fine after a knock-down-drag-out with some baddies following the very next scene. Ugh. In real life, this would not be the case. Okay, sure she does have a few "superpowers" but she's mostly human (sort of.) But having a "perfect" hero who never gets hurt or wounded is boring and unrealistic.

Okay, people, I'm about to say something that might shock some of you...

I was a troubled youth. There I admitted it. Whew. And I have been in a few real-life fights when I was a teenager. Yup, I had a mouth on me that didn't know when to shut up. And I did a lotta stupid crap that I'm not proud of, and I might've deserved an ass-kicking...or two on occasion. 

But back to the film, ATOMIC BLONDE...when the heroine (the very kickass Charlize Theron) and bad guys are fighting, they are breathing heavily, sweating, staggering on their feet from exhaustion, bruised, bloody, and also very resourceful. (They use the objects around them to hurt their opponent, like jabbing the end of a key into their eye. Gross, yet effective.)

Today, I'm doing some research on "real fighting" and reactions to give my own scenes more realism. 

Quote from the very wise, bestselling author, Chuck Wendig, ..."Write What You Know. And what you don’t know, you can always learn. And what you can’t learn, you can always steal from other authors by hitting them with rocks and opening their heads like coconuts. Each writer’s brain is like a fruit containing many seeds, the seeds of knowledge. Kill authors and eat their brains..." You can read the entire post on "A Very Good List Of Vital Writing Advice" (but beware of swears, if you are sensitive to bad words. Also, I think he has a waffle on his head and not a tinfoil hat...)


This advise just means doing your writer homework. Yeah, it's a thing. 

I have been a writer for over ten years and I am still learning the craft and improving my skills. Don't let that big, giant, oversized writer ego of yours let you ever stop studying the craft and honing your skills. Because then you'll die as a writer. Maybe not actually die, die, but your skills will fade away.

To keep from fading, I am going to read several novels that I have with good fight scenes in them to study how the author crafted the brawls, and watch a few more TV shows and movies to get ideas on improving my current WIP.

*So deep breathe in...now out...* 

I’ll be honest here, I do not always follow the Three-Act plot structure that the majority of writers use. I don’t like doing plot outlines because I feel they kill my creativity, and not all of my characters have a life-changing personality ARC.

However, I do like to study, research, and learn new tricks to keep in my writer's toolbox. That will never, ever...ever stop. Because I desire to be the best damn writer I can be, and also be somewhat of a storytelling rule-breaker. I will wrap tinfoil around my head and summon my creative muse. 

What? *gasp!* You didn't know about this awesomeness? Tinfoil hats are usually worn by conspiracy theorists, but also it is the secret that all bestselling authors use to attract their muses. They wear these hats and write incredible stories and never tell anyone. Go ahead and make one. I'll wait... 

(Now that the secret to writing a bestselling novel is out, I may have to go into hiding. Change my identity. Or let my wish-granting black cat protect me from those witches that scare Chuck.)

But before I get derailed, (because I'm not wearing my cool, awesome, tinfoil bestselling writer hat) here are tips on writing real-life fight scenes in your fiction manuscript, along with 7 links to some helpful posts on drafting a combat / brawl / punching / kicking scene.

By the way, I did check Amazon for craft books on writing fight scenes, but I didn't find a single one worth the money. One guide was $5 and it was only 54 pages long. Seriously?

Okay so, whatever. Lots of free advice to be found online..for free. Did I mention that? To save you time, so you can get back to making that tinfoil hat and start writing the next great American novel (no offense UK-ers!), I have included in this post links to to a few awesome articles with advice on writing Fight Club, I mean a scene much with the fighting.

Quote from author, Marc Davies, Make It Hurt: "When you get down to it, fights are nasty business. No one likes to see their favorite heroine killed off, but if she gets away scot-free every time, your fights will quickly lose the element of danger that makes them interesting. The same goes for characters that are essentially invincible. Actions have consequences. Make your characters pay for their mistakes, and make them fight hard for their victories..." You can read the rest of his advise on fights here Writing Fight Scenes

More links!

The Four Most Important Factors in Realistic Fight Scenes

The Kung Fu Panda Guide to Writing Action Scenes 

Creating Realistic Fight Scenes - Part 2

Plotting a Fight Scene

How to Write an Authentic Martial Arts Scene

Realistic Fight Scenes (Part One)
 

3 Reasons Why You Lose a Reader by author S. A. Soule - #WriteTip #GetPublished #AmWriting

Today’s post is form the perspective of a reader, and not a writer or editor. For the first time in my life, I have not finished more books than I’ve read over the last twelve months. But I’m not the type of reader that feels compelled to finish a book after I’ve started it, and I never feel guilty for not finishing a book. 

Why waste my time on something that I’m not enjoying?

I don’t usually have this issue. Normally, I read two to three books a month if not more. 

Recently, I’ve been feeling somewhat burned out on the Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance genres, so I began reading more contemporary novels in both Young Adult and New Adult. I loved “Beautiful Disaster” by Jaimie McGuire and “Easy” by Tammara Webber. The only paranormal type books that I’m still loving are the Arcane Chronicles by Kresley Cole (this series is insanely good!) and C.C. Hunter’s Shadow Falls series.

Why did I DNF so many novels? Well, I personally felt like some of these wonderful stories were lacking in few areas. By lacking, I mean, not holding my interest. To be fair, most of these books were well-written by talented writers, but by page fifty or one hundred, I no longer cared how the story ended or about the characters. (BTW, the vast majority of the books I did DNF were NA novels.) 

So I thought I’d share my views on what might turn some readers off. Maybe you’ve been querying literary agents and you've been repeatedly rejected, or you’re an indie or self-published author who is getting numerous bad reviews, or sales just aren’t taking off like you’d hoped on your newest release. Or perhaps you’re working on your current WIP and your CPs are telling you that the story is dragging in some places or the pacing is too slow. Whatever the reason, I hope these tips and suggestions help to improve your awesome narrative.

First let me say this…

I get it. I really do. Your book is like your baby, and you love it and you’ve poured your sweat and blood and tears into it. But sometimes you need a take a step back and look at the writing from a reader’s perspective…

Reasons why a reader doesn't finish a book.

Reason 1:

The first half of the novel is mostly filled with introspection or backstory. Which means: pages upon pages of internal yammering without any action or dialogue. 

Inner-monologue or internal exposition is one of the essential ingredients used to create a comprehensive story. Unfortunately, it’s all too often one of the most misused elements in storytelling. Since internal-monologue is slower and can be boring for the reader, find ways to bring it to life through Deep POV, action, and/or dialogue. Don’t let your character’s mental babble (long blocks of introspection) go on for pages at a time without a break by either dialogue or action. 

Dialogue illustrates characterization quicker than any amount of exposition. If you disrupt the action and dialogue to include colossal chunks of detailed description or introspection, it will remove the reader from the story. These are some of the drawbacks of too much introspection, otherwise known as info-dumps, inner-monologue, internal dialogue, exposition, or author intrusion. 

Yet, if I’m being honest, I have to admit that I’ve written a couple of bad novels. And had them published under a pen name many years ago. But that was long before I sharpened my writing skills and studied the art of fiction writing with a crazed intensity. I read articles on editing and revision, books on the craft, and studied style guides. I love learning new ways to improve my writing, so hopefully you gleam some insight from this post.

Reason 2:

The novel has some intriguing dialogue and action, but between it (or even worse, right in the middle!) the characters have long, bloated paragraphs or pages of internal-monologue. One book that I recently read by a bestselling author had her characters talking, and then suddenly in the middle of the conversation, the main character stopped speaking and there was three pages of introspection. Three. Pages. Now picture this in real life, you’re having a conversation with someone and they abruptly stop talking and stare off into space for five to ten minutes. 

Wouldn't you think that was odd?  

When a writer does this, I always wonder what the other character is dong while these wordy internal-monologues are going on, and I find myself skimming over the wordy text to get back to the dialogue.

Too much introspection can hinder the flow of a scene and smack of author intrusion by yanking the reader out of the story. Especially, smack dab in the middle of dialogue. If you feel it is important, then please try to keep the exposition to no more than a few sentences or a very short paragraph. 

Reason 3:

The story starts with a great “hook” and a compelling opener, and then the author pushes pause on the story to insert a flashback of backstory that goes on for pages. These scenes stop the action, can be puzzling to the reader, and prevent them from getting on with the plot, which is generally more attention-grabbing for them. I suggest that writers try to stay in the present moment.

And I recommend never including an info-dump of backstory in your first chapter. And never attempt to dump it in long speeches of dialogue, either. This is also a form of telling rather than showing the reader. And this applies to any flashbacks and memories and thoughts (thoughts = characters pondering stuff). Or having the character ask him/herself a lot of rhetorical questions within the first few pages. This is considered weak writing when a writer uses too many rhetorical questions to drive the narrative forward when that same forward motion could be achieved by just showing the conflict or doubt or confusion through deep POV. 

An info-dump of backstory is one of the worst offenses you can make as a writer in your first two or three chapters. (Hence, the phrase info-dump, because you’re dumping information on the page in long blocks of text.) Introspection and backstory should be elegantly woven into the storyline much later. Don’t ramble on for long paragraphs at a time, or try to force it into becoming dialogue. It’s considered weak writing because it’s jarring for the reader. Often times, info-dumps yank the reader out of the story because it reminds the reader that they’re reading and the author has intruded. A concise paragraph placed throughout the narrative is fine. 

I’m sure there are lots of valid reasons for not finishing a book, so please add yours in the comments. 

Why do you put a book down?

What are your pet-peeves as a reader?