Saturday 14 March 2015

Writing Competition: The Historic Beginning Challenge

For many authors, re-publishing in digital formats means the title, cover, blurb and opening sentence become even more important, because that’s all prospective buyers see. Sometimes the online catalogue or listing allows prospective reader to look at a sample page and often this includes the opening paragraph.

Your challenge is to write two different 100 word openings to the same short story, novel or non-fiction piece. Each must introduce the character, setting and conflict. Content can be the same. It must be your original story and probably is your W.I.P.(work in progress). Labelled Buzz Words Historic Beginning Challenge, these can be emailed to hazel@hazeledwards.com  

Closing date is 30 April. The winner who will be announced in Buzz Words will be sent an e- copy of Authorpreneurship: The Business of Creativity http://www.hazeledwards.com/shop/item/authorpreneurship-the-business-of-creativity and Fake ID the YA family history mystery for adolescent readers,

http://www.hazeledwards.com/shop/item/fake-id plus some other autographed print titles such as Chopper Rescue Stories and Activities for mentoring and guided writing.


Below is the opening to my novel, Fake I.D., a YA family history mystery where Zoe investigates who her gran really was.

 ‘NOT TO BE OPENED UNTIL AFTER MY DEATH.’

It was printed in black on the package.

So I opened it. Gran was dead. So in one way, it was OK to open her envelope. On the day of your gran’s funeral, you expect to say goodbye to her, help pack up the house and her belongings and even arrange for her dog to be looked after. But you don’t expect to find out that she was someone else.                                                                                                                                        
Fake ID, that’s what my gran had. For years and years. Now I don’t know who she really was. But I’m going to find out. I have to.

Check out www.hazeledwards.com  for background articles, especially

  
For a free issue of Buzz Words, an online magazine for people in the children's book industry, write to dibates@outlook.com 

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