Great beginnings

Now that the holidays are over, conference season is picking back up again...and with conferences come those fun first-pages sessions where would-be authors read their manuscript openings to editors and agents across the country in return for a two minute mini-critique (in front of other would-be authors). So what makes a good page? Andrea Brown says that the first page shouldn't have any grownups because, see, kids books need to focus on the kids. Erin Murphy (way back when I began my books with lengthy descriptions of setting or other non-essential info) says that first pages should NOT contain piles of back story.

No doubt about it: that first page is often your one-and-only chance to hook your reader--be he editor, agent, or bookstore browser. I thought I'd take a look at some first pages--some first lines, really--that really grabbed me:

Skin, by Adrienne Maria Vrettos: "These are the things you think when you come home to find that your sister has starved herself to death and you have dropped to your knees to revive her...."

The Wizard Hunters, by Martha Wells: "It was nine o'clock at night and Tremaine was trying to find a way to kill herself that would bring in a verdict of natural causes in court when someone banged on the door."

Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo: "My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog."

How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell: "Long ago, on the wild and windy isle of Berk, a smallish Viking with a longish name stood up to his ankles in snow. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, the Hope and Heir to the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, had been feeling slightly sick ever since he woke up that morning."

The Boyfriend List, by E. Lockhart: "Before anyone reading this thinks to call me a slut--or even just imagines I'm incredibly popular--let me point out that this list includes absolutely every single boy I have ever had the slightest little any-kind-of-anything with."

What do they have in common? Some have such an intriguing situation that I want to know what happens next. They ALL have that nebulous quality of a distinct voice. Sometimes I think that my best writing happens when I manage to sound the most like myself. Hmm. Does that mean that Cressida Cowell speaks with Frequent Capitals?

:) Cheryl

Speaking of Voice....

Since my current projects all seem to be YA (instead of MG, which is what I usually write) I've been revisiting my journals from high school. Ah, such fun. Here's your teenage-Cheryl quote for the day:

6 February 1985
...So when I get frustrated by so much work (as I invariably am this time of year!), or when I'm angry and bewildered by how others act, I'll read a book. No matter what I choose, it will be something to help me figure people out. That's not an easy task...I'll need all the help I can get.

Wisdom from the '80's: when in trouble or in doubt, read a book! Who can argue with that?

~Cheryl

Voice in Freak the Mighty

Okey-dokey, I just had my morning cry. My son brought home a book I've long wanted to read, Freak the Mighty, and I devoured it. Gripping characters, great character names (a personal weakness!), and a plot that keeps you turning the pages...yeah, I'd definitely recommend this one.

It's a particularly great read for the children's writer, because it's the story of a boy finding his voice as he writes this book. It's also a great read for the children's writer because it's such an awesome example of voice. Check out this opening:

I never had a brain until Freak came along and let me borrow his for a while, and that's the truth, the whole truth. The unvanquished truth, is how Freak would say it, and for a long time it was him who did the talking. Except I had a way of saying things with my fists and my feet even before we became Freak the Mighty, slaying dragons and fools and walking high above the world.

The main character's voice is self-deprecatory, humble, and endearing...and completely his own. I bet I could read a random paragraph of this book anywhere, names changed, and recognize this voice. Wow. This one's on my read-again-to-study-craft list.

:) Cheryl