by Vivian Conroy, @VivWrites
When the editor called me to offer me a 3-book deal for my Lady Alkmene Callender 1920s’ mysteries, she told me that after reading a sentence or two she already knew this book was something she’d want to buy. Of course my book had to deliver as a whole (appealing characters, a solid plot) but her remark made me realize something extremely important for writers: whether you are submitting to a contest, including pages with a query to an agent, or sending in requested work after a conference pitch, your first sentence or first paragraph has to hook the reader right away.
The first sentence has to do many things at once: set the tone of the story, show that something is about to happen that the reader wants to be a part of. When I typed the first sentence of my manuscript, I saw a very clear picture in my mind that I wanted to convey: an unconventional aristocratic woman at a party, reaching for a lighter to relight her cigarette and overhearing a few whispered words that pique her interest and involve her in what is to become her very first murder investigation. Continue reading