WHY I BUY BOOKS

by Molly Noble Bull 

                                                    www.mollynoblebull.com

For me to buy a novel, something interesting or exciting must happen in sentence one--something that catches my interest. If it doesn't happen, I don't buy the book. And I am not alone in this. Many good books on fiction writing say more or less the same thing.

When I go in a bookstore, I read the first sentence of a novel. If it catches my interest, I read the first paragraph. If I am still interested after I have read the first paragraph, I read the entire first page. If I am still interested after I have read the first page, I buy the book, and I make no exceptions.

I'm serious. I really do this when I go in a bookstore. Maybe you need to go in a bookstore and do the same thing.

The back-cover can be misleading. Back-covers can tell what the book is about but nothing about the actual writing. I decide what books interest me and which don't by reading only the first page. 

I remember reading a book on fiction writing when I first started writing to sell, and they had a section on the opening hook. Here is an example they gave of an excellent opening hook. I really like it and think you will like it, too. Here it is. 

* He knew he was going to have a bad day when a man standing on the bridge simply leaned forward and jumped in.*

Can't you just picture that? Doesn't it make you want to read more in order to find out if the man lived or died? He, the guy, was a cop, and we probably learn his name and his profession in sentence two. But more important, we want to read more.

I hope this makes sense to you.  

One last thing before I let you go. 

Try to mention as many of the five senses on every page of you novel as possible. 

Examples: 

A chill ran down her spine. (feeling) 

Her long, wavy hair matched her rust colored dress. (sight) 

The entire room smelled like rotten eggs. (smell) 

The smooth, (texture) sweet taste of chocolate ice cream filled her mouth. (taste)

Church bells chimed in the distance. (hearing)

I hope all this helps.

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I also hope you will buy my non-fiction book, if you haven't already.

The Overcomers; Christian Authors Who Conquered Learning Disabilities is available in paperback and as an e-book. Write Molly Noble Bull in the search slot at online and walk-in bookstores.

HOW TO WRITE A BEGINNING HOOK

by Molly Noble Bull  

http://www.mollynoblebull.com/ 

 The first sentence of a novel should grab the reader’s attention instantly. We call this a beginning hook. The beginning hook should introduce a problem or reveal something about the main character. Can you spell provocative?

Think of this one sentence as a headline, book title, or chapter title. The one sentence can ask a question, and the shorter the better.

.   If you absolutely can't come up with a headline, write the first line of a dialogue. But that first line of dialogue MUST be interesting, causing the reader to want to read more in order to find out what is going on and what will happen next.

Below are some examples. 

Headline 

She'd seen him again.

(This opening came from The Rogue’s Daughter—one of my published novels.) 

Was he dead? 

Where was Sally? 

Why did he come here after all these years? 

What does he think he was doing?

A bang broke the quiet of the small library.  

Was someone following her? 

NOTE: YOU CAN NAME A CHARACTER IN A BEGINNING DIALOGUE. BUT DON'T NAME YOUR MAIN CHARACTER IN A HEADLINE. NAME HIM OR HER IN SENTENCE TWO. 

Dialogue

"I'm not marrying him, Father." Melissa North turned toward the door. "If you try to force me to, I'll run away."       

"He's the murderer, and he knows I know." Jane Scopes pulled her suitcase from the top shelf and carried it to the bed. "I'm leaving." 

"I'm taking the next stagecoach out of Tombstone—whether you like it or not."

I would like to propose a challenge. Write a beginning hook of only one sentence for either a prologue or a chapter one and post it at the end of this article as a comment. I will comment on your hooks.

GET TO THE POINT

When Writing a Synopsis

By Molly Noble Bull

http://www.mollynoblebull.com/  

A synopsis should begin with a hook just like many others types of writing. At the same time, it must get to the point of the story. Quick.

However, women in general have a hard time getting to the point in normal conversations. According to my husband, I have that problem in particular. How many times have I heard him or one of our sons say, "Get to the point." Or "Can we hear the short version?"  

The conversation below makes this problem clear--at least in my mind. Hope you agree. I also hope it will make tight synopsis writing easier. 

"Would you like to drive into the city?" the man asked.

“I’d have to go to Target first,” the woman replied. “No question about that. And I need to have my nails done.” She showed him her hands. “Just look at these. Have you ever seen fingernails this bad? Well, my toenails are worse, if you can believe it. And of course, I’ll have to phone Anita. I promised I would.” 

“Get to the point, honey.” 

“Oh, I almost forgot about Pretty Cat. We can’t leave her behind when she's expecting kittens. I guess we could leave her in the back seat with a window down a little.” She shook her head. “No, she could become overheated. We’ll just have to leave her at home in the air conditioning. Besides—”

“Honey, I asked you a questions twenty or so paragraphs back, and there can only be one of two answers—either yes or no. So, would you like to drive into the city?” 

“My goodness, sweetie. Weren’t you listening? I already answered that question.” 

Did she or didn’t she? You can only give one answer. Either yes or no.

Does this dialogue sound like it came from the mouth of you and your husband? It sure sounds like countless conversations my husband and I have had.

The gift for gab is fine when writing a novel. But when writing a synopsis, you need to get to the point. In other words, write it the way your hubby would.

Example:

“Would you like to drive into the city?” the man asked.

“Yes.”

Don't forget to leave a comment. We want to hear about your "get to the point" hubby.

Speaking of getting to the point, I have another one.
Check out my first non-fiction book that I wrote with four other authors titled The Overcomers: Christian Authors Who Conquered Learning Disabilites by Margaret Daley, Ginny Aiken, Jane Myers Perrine, Ruth Scofield and me, Molly Noble Bull.

The Five Senses

by Molly Noble Bull
www.mollynoblebull.com

The speaker at a writers’ conference gave a testimony about the five senses once, and I will never forget what she said. Though I didn’t actually attend the writers’ conference where she made these amazing discoveries, I purchased the tapes, and I have played them again and again.
Here is what she said.
She explained that the first few novels she wrote didn’t sell. She would send them to editor after editor, and all were rejected. She wondered why and made a decision to find out. As a result of her research, she began to do things differently.
Somehow, she concluded that when she had at least four of the five senses on almost every page of a manuscript, the book sold. When she did not, the novel was rejected.
Here are examples of the kind five senses I am talking about.
Sight:
Linda’s sky-blue eyes set off her dark hair. In fact, he’d never seen a woman with hair that black—unless it came from a bottle.
Hearing: He stood at the water’s edge, listening to the rush of the sea against the rocks and the whoosh of a salty breeze.
Touch: Seated on the blue velvet settee and waiting for Jim to join her there, she traced the carving of a bird on the oak arm with her fingertips.
Smell: As soon as she entered the door, she smiled, breathing in the scent of gingerbread and cinnamon and stewed apples.
Taste: The milk was so sour it almost made warm buttermilk sound good.
Sometimes it is almost impossible to get more than one or two of the five senses on a page of manuscript. Therefore, I suggest combining two or more in the same sentence.
Examples of Combinations:
Salty breeze
Warm buttermilk
White sheets of a frozen clothesline
The vapors from the oily solution his mom had rubbed on his chest made his nasal passages open and his eyes water and burn.
Fiction novels that contain the five senses on almost every page sell, and if you can put two or more in one sentence, you might sell even sooner.

Where Are We Heading?

Last week, I rode with a friend to a paper crafting class. My friend needed to make one stop first so she drove to where she thought the address was located. We pulled onto the road and noticed the houses were in the 800 range and we needed to find 118.

Clearly, we were heading the wrong direction. We turned around and headed the opposite way. At times, our road ended and we had to pick it up again further down. We drove clear across town and still couldn't find 118 2nd Street.

We examined the information given and both felt it had to be close to where we'd started somehow. Confused, we retraced our steps in a meandering sort of way until I asked for directions to a road that met up with the one we were looking for.

Within a few minutes, we found the house. If we had driven straight up the road where we had originally turned around, we would have reached the end of the road and entered the ladies driveway. The address was located on the road intersecting with 2nd Street, not on 2nd.

What's this got to do with writing? I'm so glad you asked.

Our readers are smart people. They get an idea of where they think our story is heading early on. Many times they're even right. The pull to turn the page lies in not knowing how they will get there, and wondering if, once to the end, it turns out they were wrong.

It's the writer's job to mix in twists and turns, to lead the reader away from the real ending and throw them of track. The direction they think the story is going seems to dead end. They keep reading hoping the writer will bring them back to where they think the story ought to go.

When they can't take much more, we show them a glimpse of the destination. Then we throw them one more small hurdle before finally reaching the end.

This ending has to be satisfying to the reader. We've brought them through a maze and they need closure. Sometimes this will be a happy ending. The one they thought would greet them.

Other times, the ending is a complete shock. They never saw it coming. This one can still be gratifying as long as they see there was no other way. The story had to end this way. With a wistful sigh, they close the book content. They have closure.

Where are we heading and will our readers accept where we lead them? Will they throw the book at the wall or hand it to a friend?

Lesson #1: Writing Via Dwight Swain

Since I don’t know the writing background of those who will be reading these lessons on fiction writing, I am starting at the very beginning. For me, that means Dwight Swain because in my opinion, his book Techniques of the Selling Writer is the best of the best. This lesson is easy, but they will get harder as we move along.

I have included three discussion questions. Please take part in these discussions (My Questions. Your Answers) by commenting on this lesson.

Molly Noble Bull
www.mollynoblebull.com

Questions and Answers

1. What is a story?
Dwight Swain, author of Techniques Of The Selling Writer (University of Oklahoma Press), says a story is never about anything. Instead, a story is someone's reaction to what happened. A story is how someone deals with danger.

2. What is danger?
Danger in a story is change. When any given situation is altered, the results are a different situation.

Example: At the beginning of Gone With The Wind, Scarlett had Tara, her land. She thought she also had Ashley. But her situation changed, giving her the goal of trying to get back Tara and Ashley. Events changed her situation, causing her to develop new goals.

3. Why do readers read fiction?
Readers read fiction because it creates a pleasurable state of tension and escape for them.

4. What is reader tension?
Reader tension is the desire to know, immediately, what will happen next to the characters in the story.

5. What is a hook?
A hook is a writing device designed to catch, hold, sustain or pull the reader along from sentence one to the end of the story or book.

6. Why is a beginning hook important in fiction?
When I go into a bookstore to buy a book, I read the first line on page # 1. If the first line pulls me into the story and makes me want to read more, I read the first paragraph. If I like the first paragraph, I read all of page #1, and if I read all of page #1, I buy the book. Readers want to keep on reading books that begin with a reader hook because it keeps them interested.

1. Example (Strong hook based on an event): For several minutes he'd been watching her, standing there on the high bridge. Suddenly, she just leaned forward and jumped off into the icy water.

2. Example (Hook based on dialogue): "Why did you lie to me, Sally?" Tom demanded.

3. Example (Weak hook based on setting): To the east, the sun pushed its way from behind the rocky mountain, dusting the dawn with orange paint. A chilling wind whistled down the valley below, but it didn't seem to notice.


My Questions. Your Answers:

A. Why is example one a strong hook? What is it about it that makes you want to read more?
B. Why is example two a strong hook? What is it about it that makes you want to read more?
C. Why is example three a weak hook?

Please send your answers to these questions as a comment to this column. I will announce the names of those that got them all right next week and explain more.


7. What is a plot?
A plot is the skeleton of a piece of fiction.

8. What is conflict?
In fiction there are always two opposing sides. The two sides war against each other, resulting in conflict for the characters in that story. In a short story, those two sides could be something as simple as Tommy’s wishes as opposed to his mother’s rules. In a novel, conflict could be described as the good guys on one side and the bad guys on the other.

9. How is conflict related to fiction goals?
Each of those opposing sides just mentioned have conflicting goals. For example, the Jones family own land, and their goal are to keep their land. The Browns want the land belonging to the Jones family, and their goal is to take the land away from the Jones family.

10. What is meant by a story’s major conflict?
In fiction, there are often many problems and conflicts, but there is only one major conflict. The major conflict is the one, big problem the two sides are really fighting over. Land was the major conflict between the two families above.

11. How should the reader be informed of the fiction goals mentioned above?
In fiction, the opposing goals of the two sides should be stated clearly in the manuscript by the main character either, in the dialogue or in the narrative.

12. What is the difference between a character’s stated goal and a character’s true goal?
A stated goal is what a particular character says that he or she wants. A true goal is what a particular character really wants. The two goals may not always be the same.

Example: Scarlett’s true goal in Gone with the Wind was to keep her plantation, Tara. To Scarlett, Tara represented love and security. However, at first she said she wanted Ashley.


Don't forget to post your answers as a comment. See you again next week.
Molly