Adventures Up North

Last month, I talked about writing first sentences .  Thanks to all of you who read that post, and special thanks to Hannah Heath for tweeting about it!  I owe you. :)  So today, I'm going to continue that topic into something that includes the first sentence: the first chapter. Chapter One is IMPORTANT.  In many ways, it's the most important chapter in your entire novel.  This is because most readers won't keep going if they don't like your first chapter too well.  That's a lot of pressure on the author. The ultimate purpose of the first chapter is to introduce the story and hook the readers so they want to keep reading.  That's a lot easier said than done.  So without further delay, here's my list of everything that should be true of (basically) any first chapter: 1.  The first chapter should hook the readers in.  That doesn't necessarily mean a fast-paced beginning, however.  The hook can can come in all forms: an ...

First, a huge thanks to my friend Rachel for guest blogging for me last week!   She’ll probably be back in a few months, after I give my other friends a chance to guest blog for me first. :) One map is more helpful than an entire travel guide.   Maps visually reveal the location of important countries, cities, and landmarks, and even more important, where all those places are in relation to each other.   All that can be shown on one screen or sheet of paper.   That kind of information is invaluable. So obviously, then, you need a map for your novel! I have gone through several drafts of maps for my novel’s world (I drew my first map for the book I’m currently editing when I was thirteen), but the basic directional locations stayed the same.   Now, I’m completely satisfied with my novel’s map, and hopefully some of the tools and techniques I used can help you in some way. In my opinion, every novel needs a map, at least a reference map for yo...

Alright, I guess I'll just jump right in.  Hi, I'm Rachel.  I'm a friend of Luke's.  I've know him for probably about four years, maybe only three, but it seems like longer.  We met through our home-school group.  So yes, I was also home-schooled.  I say was, because I just graduated high-school this past May/June.  I have been traveling for the last month.  And in case, you're wondering, no I'm not going to college right away, but that's a topic for another time. Anyway, I love reading.  Reading has always been a huge part of my life.  Writing?  Not until middle school.  That's when I started writing poetry.  I started story writing some time around that time, I don't remember, but I wasn't quite as interested or concerned about how well I wrote until a couple years ago.  So I thought I would share some things that I have learned with y'all. Here are some tips for you. 1. Write when you're inspired or have...

So on Saturday morning I woke up, turned my computer on, opened all my usual websites (Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest), turned on some music, and finally opened Blogger.  That's when it hit me. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?! I had completely forgotten that I needed to write a blog post (in case you didn't catch it already, I'm blogging every Saturday).  And I put off writing one until today because I felt so guilty.  So I'm completely doing an impromptu post, and it might be a big mess.  Just a warning. Last week was crazy, let me tell you.  Now, that's no excuse for being late, but just so you know, I do have reasons. So today I thought would be a good time to just write a quick post about me, my life, and what this will blog will be about. So first up, me.  Here's me in a nutshell: -I'm Luke Hartman. -I'm a high school Senior. -I live in Northern Wisconsin. -I have two amazing parents, an older brother named Ben, and a little 11-year-old cat named...

Call me Ishmael. I'm sure we've all read our share of incredible first sentences like this one.  Usually, it's something simple, yet utterly profound and intrigues the reader so much that they cannot help but keep reading.  Sometimes the first sentence in funny, other times crude, and sometimes a mixture of both. The first sentence is probably one of the hardest sentences you'll have to write in your entire novel.  Why?  Well, for starters, it's also probably one of the most important sentences.  Unless your reader skipped around a bit before reading page 1, the first sentence will likely be the first, or one of the first, sentences that is read.  That's a lot of pressure on the author. Also, because this is the first sentence, it will be your reader's first taste of what is to come.  Even after just one short combination of words and punctuation, your reader will already be guessing your writing style, point of view, and even key plot points ...

As an author, I feed off inspiration.  And one of my favorite ways to get inspired is to just sit back, plug in my headphones, and be transported to another world with the power of soundtracks.  Here are ten of my favorite scores that will both delight and inspire the listener: 10: Titanic (1997) Just because you haven't seen a film doesn't mean that you can't still enjoy its soundtrack.  In fact, you may end up enjoying the soundtrack even more.  The famous 90s film Titanic is no exception for me.  This glorious score is glazed with nautical themes, sounding authentic and original.  A fascinating listen. 9: Avatar (2009) Not to be confused with the Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series (which also has a great score), Avatar  displays sounds completely unique in a new approach to soundtracks.  The film is based on the supernatural, so why wouldn't the soundtrack host some of the supernatural as well? 8: The Hunger Games (2012-2015) Fou...