ISBN : 9780199575282
New to this Edition:
Whether you are a novice writer or a veteran who has already had your work published, rejection is often a frustrating reality. Literary agents and editors receive and reject hundreds of manuscripts each month. While it's the job of these publishing professionals to be discriminating, it's the job of the writer to produce a manuscript that immediately stands out among the vast competition. And those outstanding qualities, says New York literary agent Noah Lukeman, have to be apparent from the first five pages.
The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile reveals the necessary elements of good writing, whether it be fiction, nonfiction, journalism, or poetry, and points out errors to be avoided, such as:
- A weak opening hook
- Overuse of adjectives and adverbs
- Flat or forced metaphors or similes
- Undeveloped characterizations and lifeless settings
- Uneven pacing and lack of progression
With exercises at the end of each chapter, this invaluable reference will allow novelists, journalists, poets, and screenwriters alike to improve their technique as they learn to eliminate even the most subtle mistakes that are cause for rejection. The First Five Pageswill help writers at every stage take their art to a higher - and more successful - level.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
PART I: PRELIMINARY PROBLEMS
1: Presentation
2: Adjectives and Adverbs
3: Sound
4: Comparison
5: Style
PART II: DIALOGUE
6: Between the Lines
7: Commonplace
8: Informative
9: Melodramatic
10: Hard to Follow
PART III: THE BIGGER PICTURE
11: Showing Versus Telling
12: Viewpoint and Narration
13: Characterization
14: Hooks
15: Subtlety
16: Tone
17: Focus
18: Setting
19: Pacing and Progression
Epilogue
Index
Review from previous edition
Intelligent, important, valuable, and entertaining instructions. . . . It should be read by all novice writers - and by those whose books are already published but intend to write more. - Richard Marek, former editorial director of Kirkus Reviews
Mr. Lukeman has written a definitive handbook on the pitfalls to avoid in your work. . . . I highly recommend The First Five Pages to anyone who is serious about their writing. - PlanetShowbiz.com
Tricks of the trade add to The First Five Pages' value, as do tips on grammar, style, voice and dialogue, and writing exercises. . . . A bargain when you consider all the information packed into [it]. - San Antonio Express-News
Novice and amateur writers alike will benefit from literary agent Lukeman's lucid advice in this handy, inexpensive little book. Carrying the craft of writing beyong Strunk and White's classic Elements of Style, this book should find a wide audience. . . . Writers' groups and workshops will want multiple copies. - Library Journal