7 Keys to Write the Perfect First Line of a Novel

7 Keys to Write the Perfect First Line of a Novel

Earlier this week, I read “Poppies,” a short story by Ulrica Hume, one of our authors on Story Cartel. Initially, I had only planned on skimming a few pages, but the first line hooked me. Before long, I was finishing the last page.

Great first lines have that power, the power to entice your reader enough that it would be unthinkable to set the book down. How, then, do you write the perfect first line?

Christmas Writing Prompt

Christmas Writing Prompt

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! The Write Practice will be on hiatus from December 23 through the 28.

In the meantime, here’s a Christmas writing prompt to give you some creative inspiration over the holidays.

What did you accomplish in your writing in 2023?

It’s the end of another long year, and so I’m curious. What did you accomplish this year in your writing? Did you reach any major goals or milestones? Did you publish anything? Did you write something you loved?

In these last few days of 2023, before we set our goals for next year, let’s take a second to sit in what we accomplished over the last year.

Why Do We Write? 4 Key Reasons Why Telling and Sharing Stories Matters

Why Do We Write? 4 Key Reasons Why Telling and Sharing Stories Matters

Why do we write? Non-fiction and fiction writing has been an instrumental way for people to connect to one another in the real world.

Stories are about change, and by reading and watching them we, ourselves, can change for the better.

But do people write for different reasons, and are some of those reasons more meaningful than others?

Are you sitting at your computer right now, possibly plunging through your first draft (or much later draft), and debating whether or not a writing career is the one for you?

Do you wonder if the written word is how you’ll make your mark on the world—and if it is, is a writing career what you want in life?