The Pilot Show of Writing

Have you ever watched the pilot series of your favorite T.V. show AFTER being hooked for a few seasons?

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The pilot is that very first show...the one they produced to see if the T.V. network wants to pick up that series. It introduces the audience to the characters and the show's premise.

Well, in my opinion, it usually takes a season or two for a show to really get in its groove where the actors really shape the characters they portray.  Not that the pilot is no bueno, but as the series evolves, the show tightens its characters' distinctness and the premise.

An example I can think of is Friends. Around that third or fourth season, I noticed the characters

really hit their sweet spots...believability and consistency from episode to episode. Whenever that pilot came on as a re-run, I could hardly watch it without thinking, "This is so forced!" They were TRYING to set up the series in that one pilot episode.

As a writer, I have noticed this in my manuscripts. After plugging away for 90K +, I learn a thing, or ten thousand, about my characters. I ALWAYS end up massaging the characters in the first few chapters based on the knowledge of who they really are as the story "ripens".

Believability and consistency from chapter must be executed in the very beginning during that next round of edits, or I will have a story that might seem like two different authors wrote it.

Be sure to take the time to edit your first chapters with this in mind. You want your audience to keep on reading...and if your writing is stilted and forced at the beginning...there might not be any readers for the rest of your book!

And unlike a t.v series whose audience grows along with the seasons, authors have to get it right in one fell swoop...we don't get to build in character development over a season or two!

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Angie Dicken is a full-time mom and lives in the Midwest with her Texas Aggie sweetheart. An ACFW member since 2010, she has written five Historical Romance novels, has a Historical underway, and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency. Angie also spends her time designing one-sheets and drinking good coffee with great friends. Check out her author page at www.facebook.com/dicken.angie and her personal blog at angiedicken.blogspot.com 

Showing C.A.R.E. in Your First Chapter

Last year I had the opportunity to participate in my first speaking engagement as a writer. I lecture often in my job as a university instructor, so speaking on Autism or Speech-Language Pathology to a group of people isn't such a big deal.
But presenting about writing? Well, that was new. Fun, but new.

As I was preparing to chat with a writer's group about the importance of first chapters, I thought of a cute acronym to go along with my teaching.

So - what keeps the readers reading in your first chapter?

Showing C.A.R.E. as an author. That's what!

C - Character relate-ability - If readers don't care about our characters in one way or other, they are less likely to keep reading. This doesn't necessarily mean that our characters have to be noble and righteous. It means they have to be relatable. An 'aha' moment of "I know how that feels" or "I've felt that way before", or "I've been there or done that" before. Somehow we have to relate.

So, if we enter the world of Narnia with Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, a reader might can't relate to the fears of WWII or stepping through a wardrobe into a magical world, but we can relate to being scared of something (like the children were of the bombs dropping in London) or of being in a new place (like in the Professors house), and we can remember 'dreaming' of imaginary places. It's wonderful.

A - Arrest the Readers Attention - Within the first page (preferably) an author must grab the reader's attention. Beginning your story in the beginning is not the best place, usually. Beginning the story IN MOTION is vital. Fairytales of years gone by which started with Once Upon a Time and then were followed with a five page narrative about the poor lost girl whose life was miserable, aren't hooking readers' attention or curiosity anymore.

Example: How do producers hook viewers for a 1-hour weekly series? The first five minutes (or less) of the show (before commercial break) begins with some arresting development. A body drops from a twelth story window onto the car of the hero/heroine; a recap of last weeks' ending reminds us that the heroine walked in on her boyfriend kissing another woman. Somethng happens to grab our attention and hold us through that commercial break.

The same is true for our writing.

R - Radiate a Sense of Place - Story Worlds are powerful places. From Middle Earth to Scarlet O'Hara's Deep South, to Dickens' London, or Brian Jacques' Redwall Abbey, place plays a big role in a reader's immersion into our stories.

One of the BIGGEST reasons why fiction readers read is to escape their world  or be entertained by someone else's story. Creating Story Worlds that do just that feeds the fiction reader's need, and makes them want to keep reading.

E - Emotions Draw Readers In - Relatability is one thing; An Emotional Connection is another. When the reader has an emotional response, he/she is usually hooked into reading more. If the response is caring, then great! If it's intrigue, good. If it is shock or fear (not my favorite ones, but some people like them), then they are more liekly to keep reading.

Jamie Carie begins her novel, Love's First Light, in the middle of the French Revolution with the hero's sister being executed. Emotional? Oh yeah! Mary Connealy usually begins her novels with the characters in peril. Emotional? You bet. Laura Frantz starts her novels off with historical beauty and depth of characters that create longing. Emotional? Definitely. And let's not forget humor! Like Janice Hanna Thompson or Deeanne Gist.

So, what do we need to do as writer?

Show our first chapters (and our entire books) a lot of C.A.R.E. and we'll really set the stage for a beautiful story.

Of the above 4 elements, which do you think is most important? Which one are you good at writing? Which one do you find most challenging?

First chapter: Chop it or be Chopped!

I am a Food Network junkie. And my favorite show? Chopped. Ooh, I love a good competition and quick results! The competitors get a basket of ingredients and must come up with a meal course in 30 minutes. At the end of each round a competitor gets “chopped” if their dish is the most criticized.

The competitors are usually full-time chefs. They are good enough to cook food to sell in their everyday lives. And they only get minutes to prove their ability to the judges.

While I was reading some great advice from James Scott Bell in The Art of War for Writers, he reminded me that we as writers, are in our own episode of Chopped-- over and over and over again.

The chefs must impress the judges in a limited amount of time, with a limited amount of ingredients. Bell states:

“Wow agents and editors by grabbing them with your opening chapters.” 

Just as the use of ingredients in Chopped sell the dish to the judges, Bell refers to your opening chapters as your “selling documents” to agents and editors. Bell gives some great tips to make those first chapters shine, and I recently found one help in my recent submission to a publisher:

“If your first chapter absolutely precludes the use of dialogue, consider throwing it out and making chapter two your new chapter one.”

At first, I resisted cutting my first chapter...I loved my first chapter! It was the first breath of life into the character in my head. But once I sat down and tried to start from chapter 2 (more action and dialogue), I realized that most of my chapter 1 could be summed up in a few sentences, and shown through out the rest of the first few chapters.

If you watch Chopped, you'll see that the chefs might find their original plan must be changed to keep up with the clock and create a tasty and impressive dish...it's tough for them to do since they're racing against the clock, and for us, it's tough to cut those words that flowed from fresh inspiration. But try it...you might find they were the ground work for a winning dish!

Come up with that winning appetizer to intrigue those agents and editors to move on to your main course. Don't get chopped after those first chapters!

What techniques have you used to tighten up your first chapters for submissions to agents or contests?
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 Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across cultures. She is an ACFW member and CEO of a family of six.