Class

Crafting Irresistible Opening Pages: Insights from Publishing Professionals

What does it mean when a publishing professional says your story “didn’t grab them”? An experienced editor and agent will tell you what they’re looking for in a novel opening. We’ll discuss voice, characterization, stakes, worldbuilding, and setting genre expectations, as well as how reader preference and interpretation can impact whether or not your story pulls them in—and how you can accomplish a lot in very little space. Jennie and Catherine will provide examples of successful and less successful openings before reviewing the pages that students submit before the class, to be followed by Q&A. If you’ve been wondering why your stories aren’t gaining interest, and how to fix them, this is the class for you! Students must email the first two pages of their novel in progress, 12" font, double spaced, via standard word doc, no later than five days before the start date of class, to [email protected] with Teaching Artist C Lundoff and J Goloboy, Summer 2024 Loft Class in the subject line.

This class takes place in-person, at the Loft at Open Book; we encourage participants to be fully vaccinated and masked in the interest of everyone’s safety. Please see the Loft’s website for the most up to date information about the Loft’s COVID policies.