Where to Begin: Opening lines in novels

Starting a novel is a nerve-wracking endeavor. In a few lines, you must: set the tone for the whole book, capture the interest of your prospective audience, impress them enough to buy your work, and avoid millions of cliches (“It was a dark and stormy night…”) Around 1995, I remember Penguin Books ran a contest, […]

“Or else it gets the hose again!”

It has now been almost two weeks since I abandoned all routine, left work, and began my own personal quest for artistic fulfillment in the guise of sitting at my home computer, staring blankly at my keyboard, wondering how the hell to write a novel. I have one year to figure out the answer to […]