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This is a thread inspired by the old Post the first 3 sentences of your WIP! thread.
That thread, over time, veered away from the original purpose, which was this:
Also, please don't put them in a quote box. The way quoting posts on AW works, when the readers go to quote your post, anything in a quote box is not quoted, so then they have to copy and paste them from your post, etc. It's kind of annoying. So format things like this:
--------
Hey all, I'm going to try my hand at this! Here's my sentences:
Gripping first sentence that captures your attention. Stunning second sentence that acts as a bridge. Amazing third sentence that causes your heart to pound and fingers itch to turn that page, but alas, there is no more.
----------
See, that was easy, right?
Readers: Are the sentences gripping? Do they read well? Would you keep reading? What questions do these sentences inspire about the character or story?
The idea of this thread is not for folks to provide an in-depth critique of the beginning of your novel, but to gauge whether the beginning is hooky enough to keep a reader interested.
If you would like an in-depth critique and discussion of the beginning of your novel, I would highly suggest checking out the Share Your Work section of AW (password vista).
Finally, remember the golden rule of AW is Respect Your Fellow Writer. Be excellent to each other.
ETA: Sentences from WIPs are fine, though I would strongly caution against posting the first three sentences of your brand new NaNo WIP on November 2nd. You know? I *would* like them to be from novels, though, since this is the Novels forum.
When I talk about detailed crits, I'm more talking about line-by-line crits and picking apart every word, since those are better done when there are more words than provided by three sentences.
ETA2:
For those that are posting for the first time to this thread, you know that adage about being careful of what you ask for?
That applies 100-fold to whenever you ask for a critique.
Be very very very very sure you are willing to hear what people honestly think about your writing before posting in this thread.
People on this thread will be honest. Sometimes that honesty will seem harsh and like a personal attack, since all writers are very close to their words.
Remember, you are not the words. Someone not liking your words or having issues with them does not mean they are attacking you.
You can always disregard a poster's comments. They may be wrong. But they took the time to answer, so either thank them or ignore them and move on.
ETA3: The spirit of this thread is to improve our writing, not showcase it, therefore please only post your own unpublished work.
There's another thread, called Favorite lines you've written, that is for showcasing (and not critiquing) lines from your work. Feel free to post your favorite lines from your published works there.
ETA4: Please don't delete your previous posts if you decide to update your sentences. Also, give people the chance to critique before revising. This isn't a race.
ETA5: There's nothing wrong with some line by line crits or explanations on why a hook doesn't catch you. There's also nothing wrong with someone asking folks to limit it to just whether the hook catches them, or to be gentle in any extra crit.
There really ought to not be paragraphs upon paragraphs of critique for three sentences. If someone can't be succinct in their commentary, that's not the fault of someone's first three sentences--that's on the critiquer's head.
If you don't like someone's commentary, scroll past. If you feel that it's egregious in its content or abusive, click the report post triangle.
That thread, over time, veered away from the original purpose, which was this:
Posters: Three sentences only. (No, really. Post three sentences only. Trust me on this.)This thread is inspired by the "first five pages" thread. Quite a few people expressed the opinion that it's not what happens, it's how it's said that hooks the reader. Personally, I read the back of the book to get an idea of whether I'll like the plot; then I open the first page and read the first few sentences to see if I like the style. If I get to the end of the page and I've read without skipping, I'll buy it.
SO-- post your first three sentences! Are they gripping? Do they read well? I feel like the opening sentence of any novel is as important as the closing sentence.
Also, please don't put them in a quote box. The way quoting posts on AW works, when the readers go to quote your post, anything in a quote box is not quoted, so then they have to copy and paste them from your post, etc. It's kind of annoying. So format things like this:
--------
Hey all, I'm going to try my hand at this! Here's my sentences:
Gripping first sentence that captures your attention. Stunning second sentence that acts as a bridge. Amazing third sentence that causes your heart to pound and fingers itch to turn that page, but alas, there is no more.
----------
See, that was easy, right?
Readers: Are the sentences gripping? Do they read well? Would you keep reading? What questions do these sentences inspire about the character or story?
The idea of this thread is not for folks to provide an in-depth critique of the beginning of your novel, but to gauge whether the beginning is hooky enough to keep a reader interested.
If you would like an in-depth critique and discussion of the beginning of your novel, I would highly suggest checking out the Share Your Work section of AW (password vista).
Finally, remember the golden rule of AW is Respect Your Fellow Writer. Be excellent to each other.
ETA: Sentences from WIPs are fine, though I would strongly caution against posting the first three sentences of your brand new NaNo WIP on November 2nd. You know? I *would* like them to be from novels, though, since this is the Novels forum.
When I talk about detailed crits, I'm more talking about line-by-line crits and picking apart every word, since those are better done when there are more words than provided by three sentences.
ETA2:
For those that are posting for the first time to this thread, you know that adage about being careful of what you ask for?
That applies 100-fold to whenever you ask for a critique.
Be very very very very sure you are willing to hear what people honestly think about your writing before posting in this thread.
People on this thread will be honest. Sometimes that honesty will seem harsh and like a personal attack, since all writers are very close to their words.
Remember, you are not the words. Someone not liking your words or having issues with them does not mean they are attacking you.
You can always disregard a poster's comments. They may be wrong. But they took the time to answer, so either thank them or ignore them and move on.
ETA3: The spirit of this thread is to improve our writing, not showcase it, therefore please only post your own unpublished work.
There's another thread, called Favorite lines you've written, that is for showcasing (and not critiquing) lines from your work. Feel free to post your favorite lines from your published works there.
ETA4: Please don't delete your previous posts if you decide to update your sentences. Also, give people the chance to critique before revising. This isn't a race.
ETA5: There's nothing wrong with some line by line crits or explanations on why a hook doesn't catch you. There's also nothing wrong with someone asking folks to limit it to just whether the hook catches them, or to be gentle in any extra crit.
There really ought to not be paragraphs upon paragraphs of critique for three sentences. If someone can't be succinct in their commentary, that's not the fault of someone's first three sentences--that's on the critiquer's head.
If you don't like someone's commentary, scroll past. If you feel that it's egregious in its content or abusive, click the report post triangle.
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