From the Editor 
When you pick up a book, you want to go on a journey. This journey varies for everyone--it may be serene (like the fall sunset photo on the right), it may be an edge-of-your-seat suspense ride, and it may be a hauntingly scary tale. No matter what you prefer, the commonality across all genres is that you are captivated by and glued to the story.
Think about your own writing. Your novel's first pages are critical. You have to engage your reader, introduce your hero, and establish the context of the story. You'll also be presenting the stakes, introducing the antagonist, establishing the hero's desires, starting the main character's inner journey, and that ticking time bomb will start ticking down. To complicate the situation even more--your primary reader isn't always the end user. Quite often, your opening 50 pages are read first by literary agents and/or editors. This week's new and featured tutorial, Your Novel's First 50 Pages, will teach you how to begin your novel with the skill and intentionality that keeps all readers glued to the page.
I'd highly recommend taking out a WD Tutorials membership if you haven't already. 90+ tutorials are available to you, at least one new tutorial is added weekly, and many new tutorials are in development. Please feel free topreview the many tutorials immediately available to you through the WD Tutorials site!
Wishing you only the best!
Julie Oblander
Online Education Manager
Writer's Digest TutorialsP.S. The photo above is a lovely fall Colorado sunset--my son and I captured this photo on 11.04.2012. |
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Featured Tutorial | Your Novel's First 50 Pages
Your novel's first pages are critical. You have to engage your reader, introduce your hero, and establish the context of the story. You'll also be presenting the stakes, introducing the antagonist, establishing the hero's desires, starting the main character's inner journey, and that ticking time bomb will start ticking down. You want to do all these things without dumping a ton of backstory on your reader, misleading your reader, or insulting your reader's intelligence.
To complicate the situation even more--your primary reader isn't always the end user. Your opening 50 pages are read first by literary agents and/or editors. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to begin your novel with the skill and intentionality that keeps all readers glued to the page.
This tutorial is taught by Jeff Gerke. Jeff is the author of many works of fiction and nonfiction including such books as the Operation: Firebrand novels. He has worked as an editor for numerous publications and is the founder of Marcher Lord Press. He is also the author of The First 50 Pages and Plot Versus Character (both from Writer's Digest Books).
In this 48-minute tutorial video, you'll learn:
>>What most impresses an acquisitions editor or literary agent
>>How to maximize the odds of getting a positive response from publishers and agents
>>How to engage a reader
>>How to best start a novel: opening methods, first lines and first pages, introducing your hero
>>How to begin the Hero's Inner Journey
>>How to begin a Three Act Structure
>>What must happen in a novel's first 50 pagesPreview this new tutorial or subscribe to watch it today > |
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This Week's Live Webinar | How to Hook an Agent or Editor with Your Query
Before I tell you more about the live webinar, I must share some exciting news. This week's presenter, literary agent Kathleen Ortiz said, "From my last query webinar, I requested EIGHT manuscripts . . . and I offered on one last week!!"
This is huge--and is a compliment to all of you. When you are willing to go the extra mile and attend live webinars, watch WD Tutorials, and read books on how to improve your writing, it pays off. I encourage you to consider participating in a live WD webinar, especially if you haven't yet participated in one.
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How to Hook an Agent or Editor with Your Query
There's still time to register and attend! Session date: Thursday, November 8, 2012
Starting time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Duration: 90 minutes
The query letter is usually the first, and only, impression an agent will have of your work. With agents receiving between 75-300 queries a week, it's crucial to have a query that will stand out among the rest--but it's even more important to have a carefully crafted query that leaves the agent wanting more--and asking to read your project. Because the query is so important, this entire 90-minute intensive webinar will be devoted to it--dissecting queries that worked and queries that didn't.
Attendees will leave this session prepared to write a stellar query and a one-line pitch for face-to-face conference pitches. Instructor Kathleen Ortiz receives more than 100 queries a week and has taught workshops on "Perfecting Your Pitch" and "How to Write a Query."
This live webinar includes a critique from literary agent Kathleen Ortiz! Kathleen will critique your query--and she reserves the right to ask for more materials from any submitted queries she deems excellent. Don't miss this opportunity to have your work in front of (and critiqued by) a literary agent!
Learn More or Register Today >
Visit WritersDigestShop.com to view all upcoming live webinars > |
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