Below is a list of the resources I shared in my ACFW-Chicago presentation "Great Beginnings: How to Hook Readers and Keep Them Turning the Pages":
Books:
- Beginnings, Middles and Ends by Nancy Kress (Writer's Digest Books)
- The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children by Nancy Lamb (Writer's Digest Books)
- Hooked: Write Fiction that Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go by Les Edgerton (Writer's Digest Books)
- Your First Page by Peter Selgin (Serving House Books)
- Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Crons (Ten Speed Press)
Articles:
- The Deadliest First Page Sin by Peter Selgin
- Writer's Digest magazine Jan, 2011 article by Elizabeth Sims, "8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One."
- Article by Bharti Kirchner in The Writer, Dec. 2010, “The Pleasures and Perils of Prologues."
Blog posts by former literary agent turned developmental editor
Mary Kole, author of Writing Irresistible Kidlit (Writer’s Digest Books):
- The Promise of the Novel
- Writing Compelling Novel First Pages
- Your Novel's First Line
- How to Start a Novel
I didn't mention the following articles, but they may also be of help.
- How to Write a Short Story, article includes info on how to "Write the perfect first line" and links to another article specifically on that topic.
- Article listing examples of some BAD ways to start a novel.
If you have any questions about the presentation, you can post them as a comment below or email me via the "Contact" page of this blog.