The Most Important 250 words you will ever Write!
Hello all my favorite authors and readers!
Hope everyone is ready enjoying 2020 so far. I’ve been reading about the importance of crafting a story that draws readers in from the very first word. It’s said that you have 250 words to make an impression and entice readers to enter your story world. The number one need is getting the story to raise questions that arouse the curiosity. Then pour on the conflict! If YOU feel what your characters are going through, if you walk in their shoes, then your readers will too.
In my efforts to practice what I preach in a recent exercise, I’ve put together an opening of 249 words to demonstrate. Please share your own examples. I’d love to hear from you!
This is from the Book, OUTSIDER CODE, a conspiracy thriller I’m just beginning to write:
Jackson Knight scanned the east ridge. An uneasiness roiled his gut. The Rocky Mountains surrounding him were stark gray giants, stretching out for hundreds of kilometers in all directions, seeming like a distant planet. He had plenty of the isolation he craved this morning, catching only brief glimpses of two skiers, a few minutes behind him. One a female, judging by clothing and finesse of movement.
He was about to cross a second slide path, climbing north along Balu Pass, moving parallel to the silver ribbon of water tracing the Connaught Creek Valley. It was a treacherous stretch, and he carried appropriate gear, including a 240-cm carbon probe, collapsible shovel and a transceiver. Nothing looked amiss, and he opened his backpack to remove his water bottle, taking a quick swig of its contents. He rubbed at the symbol etched into his chest, considering. Make me worthy.
Dynamite cracked the air. No human intervention had been planned according to Parks Canada, but something had gone wrong—horribly wrong. A massive avalanche thundered down Mount Cheops’s jagged face, a virtual wall of powder determined to wipe everything from the mountain.
He forced his legs to move with inhuman speed, not forward in the direction of the sane, but back toward the two skiers, frozen and staring at Armageddon. He had seconds to reach them before the snow slammed into the valley bottom and surged up toward them. Fluid at first, it would settle into concrete to bury him, and them. Alive.
Wishing you a wonderful day! Hugs, January
Hope everyone is ready enjoying 2020 so far. I’ve been reading about the importance of crafting a story that draws readers in from the very first word. It’s said that you have 250 words to make an impression and entice readers to enter your story world. The number one need is getting the story to raise questions that arouse the curiosity. Then pour on the conflict! If YOU feel what your characters are going through, if you walk in their shoes, then your readers will too.
In my efforts to practice what I preach in a recent exercise, I’ve put together an opening of 249 words to demonstrate. Please share your own examples. I’d love to hear from you!
This is from the Book, OUTSIDER CODE, a conspiracy thriller I’m just beginning to write:
Jackson Knight scanned the east ridge. An uneasiness roiled his gut. The Rocky Mountains surrounding him were stark gray giants, stretching out for hundreds of kilometers in all directions, seeming like a distant planet. He had plenty of the isolation he craved this morning, catching only brief glimpses of two skiers, a few minutes behind him. One a female, judging by clothing and finesse of movement.
He was about to cross a second slide path, climbing north along Balu Pass, moving parallel to the silver ribbon of water tracing the Connaught Creek Valley. It was a treacherous stretch, and he carried appropriate gear, including a 240-cm carbon probe, collapsible shovel and a transceiver. Nothing looked amiss, and he opened his backpack to remove his water bottle, taking a quick swig of its contents. He rubbed at the symbol etched into his chest, considering. Make me worthy.
Dynamite cracked the air. No human intervention had been planned according to Parks Canada, but something had gone wrong—horribly wrong. A massive avalanche thundered down Mount Cheops’s jagged face, a virtual wall of powder determined to wipe everything from the mountain.
He forced his legs to move with inhuman speed, not forward in the direction of the sane, but back toward the two skiers, frozen and staring at Armageddon. He had seconds to reach them before the snow slammed into the valley bottom and surged up toward them. Fluid at first, it would settle into concrete to bury him, and them. Alive.
Wishing you a wonderful day! Hugs, January
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