Martha Conway

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Oct 23 2016

The Cold Open – Start at the Last Possible Moment

THIS IS THE MOMENT WHEN, in your story world, everything has changed. The stranger has come to town, the father has died, the mother has left, the best friend has announced that she’s moving to Pakistan. Like In Media Res, in which you begin in the middle of the action, this technique relies on triggering…

Written by Martha Conway · Categorized: Uncategorized · Tagged: chapter one, craft, creative writing, creativity, drama, fiction, good fiction, historical fiction, historical novels, how to write well, in media res, inspiration, Ohio River, publishing, reading, Thieving Forest, underground railroad, writers, writing craft, writing rules

Oct 08 2016

The Cold Open – in media res

STARTING A NOVEL, writing that very first sentence, is as exhilarating and intimidating as riding a bicycle for the first time without training wheels. Many new writers think they need to explain a good deal more than they need to explain. They think that the first chapter is about laying a foundation so that the…

Written by Martha Conway · Categorized: Uncategorized · Tagged: artist, chapter one, craft, creative writing, creativity, drama, fiction, fiction writing, good books, historical fiction, historical novels, how to write the first chapter, in media res, Ohio River, reading, underground railroad, writing craft, writing rules

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