Constructing Powerful Openings: A first page is the first impression. The first chance to make people sit up and take notice of your work.
“Marley was dead, to begin with.” A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens.
Kick off a new year by exploring how to write a powerful story opening. Through a mixture of discussion and writing exercises, we’ll take a look at various techniques including examining one of the best first paragraphs of all time from Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Bonus: If you have the first page of something you want to bring in, please do.
$10 suggested contribution. BYO Pen & Paper!
Instructor Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons is an award-winning essayist, playwright, and teaches creative writing at York College and Fairleigh Dickinson University. She also produces No, YOU Tell It! (www.noyoutellit.com) – a reading series that “switches-up” the storytelling. Each NYTI storyteller writes a true-life tale and then flips scripts with a partner to present each other’s story. Contact her at noyoutellit@gmail.com.