@jaedansie
Send me your stuff! @jaedansie on the twitter or Instagram. Send me your first sentence or last sentence (and accompanying paragraph for context) and we may get to it in class!
• what do you want from your book? GOALS? Why does it matter? • what do you want from your book? GOALS? • you owe it to your readers • agents, publishing, and sales
Have you met ELLE? Who is elle? Elle came to your party late Elle left your party early Elle witnessed all the interesting parts because…
e . L . L . E . Enter LATE Leave EARLY
Why does ELLE matter? Elle helps make crafting great beginnings and endings easier. That way you can really hook ‘em and hang ‘em
What is a good beginning? A few samples: “The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit.” -Scott westerfield, uglies “It was a pleasure to burn.” -ray bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 “all children, except one, grow up.” -j.m. barrie, peter pan
What is a good ending? A few samples: “someone was outside, knocking to come in.” -j.k. rowling, harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone “that was, after all, the defining trait of serial killers: they kept on killing.” -dan wells, I am not a serial killer “louder than the machine, louder than the pots, was the sound of their own furiously beating hearts as Charles took their brother away.” -lemony snicket, the miserable mill
The elements in common It leaves the reader asking questions so they want to keep reading It sets up expectation Can Give us a sense of what’s coming Can give us a sense of voice Can give us the mood of the story or chapter or both It leaves the reader asking questions so they want to keep reading
Let’s get wordsmithing! Volunteers for beginnings Volunteers for endings
Let’s get wordsmithing! Work in pairs. 1. you and your partner work on one of your beginnings, from any chapter. 2. you and your partner now work on an ending, from any chapter.
Share your results!
Review time! Remember elle: enter late, leave early Hook ‘em so they want to read the chapter Hang ‘em so they want to keep reading!
question & answer time!
@jaedansie