Chapter One:
It was a dark and stormy night…
Stuck in a rut? Can’t figure out how to get started with a bang for your opening chapter?
Try this copy-and-paste method:
Find an opening paragraph of a book that you like.
Copy it.
Then copy it again. One more time.
Now, close your work and write your own opening paragraph. It will have the flow and essence of what you just copied but be in your own words.
This is not plagiarism. The only copying you did was as a writing mental exercise.
For instance, let’s say you copied the opening sentence “It was a dark and stormy night.”
Naturally, you don’t want to use the same words, so you change.
In fact, you change quite a bit:
“It was another dark night with the wind blowing as if it determined to beat the hell out of someone.”
It’s quite different now, actually. It’s definitely a take of the “dark and stormy night” bit, but who would know?
Copying writing as an exercise is a time-tested exercise for learning to write better. Some professional writing courses insist that their students copy pages and pages of text to get them into the flow of mastering a new type of writing.
If you find yourself stuck in writing. Pick up a book by your favorite author and give it a try. You will be surprised how powerfully this works!
At Wheatmark, we believe in helping authors with every step of the writing and publishing process. Whether your book is is in the beginning or final stages to tell us about your project, tell us about it.
