First Lines

Sometimes you only have one chance to capture a reader’s attention. Sometimes that chance lies in your very first sentence.

The is holding a FIRST LINES contest. 36 books, 36 first lines, and whoever matches the greatest number wins a collection of 2k7 arcs. Even if you don’t play, these first lines are fabulous! Deadline is May 18.

Not only was my first line changed in the editing process, so was the first paragraph...so was the first chapter. In fact the first chapter ended up becoming Chapter 3. Figuring out exactly WHAT my first chapter took up a huge chunk of the official editing process. Jill and I went back and forth literally for weeks, and when she suggested I simply write a new Chapter 1...bang! Perfect. It was one of those "tense" periods of revising you swear you'll never survive--whataretheydoingtomybook/ican'tdothis/leavemealone/helphelp/ichangedmymind!

Then when it's **OVER** you're utterly transformed. You looove your editor. You love your book. You love the world. You even start to feel a bit sorry for Paris Hilton. Well, maybe not. But everything is COOL.