Post #180 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompts and Life Prompts – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Today is August 1. Do You Know Where Your Halloween Costume Is?
I used to blog regularly about powerful openings. We all know that we need to grab the attention of our audience quickly or they just might move on to another book.
We know this, but we don’t always do this.
It takes focus and concentration to craft a powerful opening sentence to your memoir. You have so much to tell that you can’t really imagine that a single sentence is going to make much of a difference. You hope the reader will understand that your message is important and that they’ll need to stick with you — even if your opening sentence is underwhelming. (Okay. It sucks.) You make a mental promise that it will get better. All your reader has to do is keep reading.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
But Before We Get to Tips for Memoir Openings, Consider Something Spooky
By now, you’ve probably given at least a passing thought to the title of this blog article … Watch Out for Halloween. After all, that is similar to an opening sentence. It was done to get your attention. If you are reading this sentence, then it worked. I don’t know how long you’ll stay with me, but hopefully you’ll stay through the video below and the writing prompts. The title was designed as short and simple — something that wouldn’t require much thought other than “That’s interesting.” or “Wonder what she means.”
Or maybe you noticed my first heading: Today is August 1. Do you know where your Halloween costume is? Again, it was meant to intrigue you — to raise a question that you want answered. Not an earth-shaking question, but one that raised your curiosity.
I used the blog title and the first heading to bring you to a short video that Kendra just finished. It is only 30 seconds and is the first of three videos she’s preparing. The third one reveals the story and the first two are meant to be openers — something to get interest.
See if you think it works. Compare it to a single sentence on the first page of a book. Might you be interested in the second video when it becomes available? That’s the point of an opening sentence — to create curiosity.
Memoir Writing Tips for Openings
Advice is easy to give. Following it is the difficult part. Experiment with the three writing tips below and see if they help lead you to a powerful opening.
1. Hint at what is to come. This is often thought of as raising a question that the book will answer. Of course, it usually isn’t in question format. It is a statement that the reader wants to know more about. It opens possibilities. It sets the story in play.
2. Say it quickly. The conventional way of saying this tip is something like “short and sweet.” Sure, you can find powerful openings that are encased in a 100-plus word sentence. But unless you are really sure of your writing craft, don’t try it. A short sentence is usually best.
3. Make it stand on its own. You write an opening sentence and tell yourself that it’s a strong one. Then you plow on through a long paragraph that supports the first sentence. Wait. Take the first sentence and put it on a page by itself. Does it still work or does it need the additional sentences. Keep working with it until the first sentence stands on its own. Then you know you have something powerful.
Memoir Writing Prompt
1. Take three memoirs off your bookshelf. Read the first sentence of each and place them on a scale from 1 (boring opening) to 10 (fantastic opening).
2. Write what you liked about each of the three opening sentences.
3. Write what you disliked about each of the three opening sentences.
4. Rewrite each opening sentence to make it stronger, more powerful.
5. Now, go to the opening sentence of the chapter or vignette you have been working on. Remember that the first sentence of the book is important AND that the opening of each paragraph or vignette is also key to keeping the interest of your reader. Re-read your opening sentence. Look at the three tips again. Look at the openings you have just been working with. Now, rewrite your opening to intrigue your readers.
This is never easy so don’t worry if you find yourself returning to your openings again and again.
And remember, tomorrow there are just 90 more days to Halloween. It’s coming.
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