Writers Helping Writers^®

Openings

How to Tell the Difference Between a Hook and Inciting Incident

October 14, 2025

How to Tell the Difference Between a Hook and Inciting Incident

October 14, 2025

Opening pages are notoriously hard to get right, especially in early drafts of your manuscript. I’ve read hundreds of opening chapters of novels in my work as a writing instructor…

Writing 101: How to Fix an Infodump

August 28, 2025

Writing 101: How to Fix an Infodump

August 28, 2025

The latest post in our Writing 101 series is all about the dreaded infodump—when the author drops a landslide of information on the reader and the pace (and reader interest)…

How to Pair Your Book’s Beginning and Ending to Satisfy Readers

August 12, 2025

How to Pair Your Book’s Beginning and Ending to Satisfy Readers

August 12, 2025

Okay, fair warning—what you’re about to learn in this article might spoil movies, TV shows, and books for you forever. BUT—as a writer, you have to peel back the mechanics…

6 First Page Inclusions for Drawing Readers In

March 1, 2025

6 First Page Inclusions for Drawing Readers In

March 1, 2025

There are a lot of Dos and Don’ts for a story’s first pages. Do introduce the protagonist(s). Do start in medias res. Don’t start with a dream sequence. Don’t info…

Three Emotion Problems to Avoid in Your Story Opening

July 2, 2024

Three Emotion Problems to Avoid in Your Story Opening

July 2, 2024

As I’m sure you’ve heard roughly a gajillion times, your story’s first pages are very important. Editors and agents typically request just a portion of your story’s opening, and potential…

Three Essentials for Engaging Reader Emotion in the Setup

April 30, 2024

Three Essentials for Engaging Reader Emotion in the Setup

April 30, 2024

As authors, we all know the importance of engaging our audience within a book’s first few pages. Grabbing the reader: captivating them in a way that makes them want to…

Four Must-Haves in the First Two Paragraphs of Every Chapter or Scene

February 13, 2024

Four Must-Haves in the First Two Paragraphs of Every Chapter or Scene

February 13, 2024

Begin Each Scene in Your Book with Grounding Have you ever been running late, and found yourself scrambling around your house, looking for your car keys? Where did you leave…

Strategies for Smooth Scene Openings

September 5, 2023

Strategies for Smooth Scene Openings

September 5, 2023

If the opening line of a scene is the doorway to the party, what follows is the welcoming handshake and introductions that draw readers into the mix. Effective scene openings…

The Importance of a Great Opening in a Novel

March 21, 2023

The Importance of a Great Opening in a Novel

March 21, 2023

How you start your story is super-important, which is why your novel’s opening is crucial. In just a few sentences – yup, sentences, never mind pages! – you need to…

Story Not Behaving? Try Going Deeper into Structure

September 14, 2021

Story Not Behaving? Try Going Deeper into Structure

September 14, 2021

With all the writing advice out there, we know that some “writing rules” we hear are more like guidelines. However, story structure is important not just for our writing but…