Purple Prose:
first chapter

©Stina Lindenblatt

Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise. Author Unknown

Nothing is more frustrating than being the recipient of empty promises. Especially when they come from the same person. Again and again and again. When you make a promise and you know at the time it’ll be impossible keep, it’s no longer a promise. It’s a lie. Make too many of them, and you lose credibility, and no one wants that, right?

Right.

In writing, broken promises can be both good and bad. When you write a query or synopsis, you’re making a promise to the agent or editor. If you’re promising a book filled with mystery and intrigue, your book better live up to that promise.

©Stina Lindenblatt

Thou ought to be nice, even to superstition, in keeping thy promises, and therefore equally cautious in making them. ~Thomas Fuller

The dreaded first chapter is the king of promises. If your first pages are filled with grammatical errors, awkward sentences, and typos, guess what you’re promising the rest of the book will be like? If your main character is flat, then the agent expects he won’t improve much beyond the first chapter. These are two promises you want to break. Unfortunately, agents won't stick around to find out if you do.

If the beginning is humorous, the reader expects this tone to continue throughout the story. If your first chapter is kickass great, you’ve promised the rest of the book is the same. Professional critiques from conferences and workshops are wonderful, but you need to make sure what was said in those pages carries through to the end of the book. These two promises are ones you don't want to break.

©Stina Lindenblatt

What do promises and hearts have in common? They're meant to be kept but always end up broken. Author Unknown

Broken promises in your story can add conflict, and this is when broken promises rock. If your character’s boyfriend keeps making promises he doesn’t keep, this will ultimately shape the story and affect her character arc. If a character’s dad always made promises he didn’t keep when she was a kid, that will shape who she is at the beginning of the story, and how she acts in given situations. Because of her dad’s empty promises, she doesn’t trust men. Think of all the story possibilities waiting for you given that scenario, especially if your book is a romance.

How do broken promises make you feel? Do you use them in your stories?

Most of you have probably heard of Donald Maass’s book Writing The Breakout Novel. I ordered the workbook by the same name this weekend and, assuming it’s got some kickass advice, will review it in the New Year.

In this post, I want to focus on his great advice from The Fire In Fiction: passion, purpose, and techniques to make your novel great. Seriously, what is it with all these incredibly long titles for non-fiction books about writing fiction? Geesh!

We all know how important the first line is when the reader checks out the first page of a novel. I mean, who can resist first lines like these?:

Phoebe and her friends held their breath as the dead girl in the plaid skirt walked past their table in the lunchroom. (Generation Dead by Daniel Waters)

Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day. (The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan)

Three things I know this second: I have morning breath, I’m naked, and I’m waking up next to a boy I don’t know. (The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney)

There’s a big difference between death threats and love letters—even if the person writing the death threats still claims to actually love you. (Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead)

We slave, we stress, we sweat, all while struggling to create that perfect first line. But according to Donald Maass, that’s not enough. The first and last line of each scene should be rocking. I know, you’re all groaning. Wasn’t perfecting the first line of the book bad enough? But it makes sense when you think about it. With the scene’s final line, you want to keep the reader from putting the book down. If the next scene has a great line like the first one of the book, then you’ve just enticed your reader to keep reading (assuming she’s enthralled with your story or her eyes lids haven’t drooped shut because it’s 2 am.)

Now, the final line of each scene doesn’t have to be a cliff hanger, but it does have to leave the reader wanting more. Right? And I do think you have some leeway with the first sentences. They can’t all be as great as your first one. But it is worth the tears to make them as strong as you can.

Has anyone tried this technique before, or is it something you haven’t given much thought to?