(#5) brass tack time 🥑

(Scroll to the bottom for an editing discount!)

Sometimes I wish establishing my writer’s identity were this easy:

In Mulan, it takes Li Shang four seconds to establish a tone, a killer song, and a vocal stim worth fighting for. We instantly know this character and his attitude.

As writers, we don’t have visual and aural aids—just our words.

So how can we use those words to establish an identity that says “Oh, that’s gotta be Goodprose McPageturner”?

There are SO many ways, and the first one that comes to mind is the opening line.

Hook your audience, always—but how do you hook them?

Sharp humor? Immersive action? Evocative description? Emotional depth?

This applies for the opening lines of books, but also chapters, scenes, and even conversations within scenes.

If you stretch it, this concept even covers the first sentences of your paragraphs.

Here’s an example from epic fantasy.

Sanderson promises a lot in one sentence:

• complex worldbuilding with unique and interesting terminology and customs

• action scenes

• political upheaval (‘cause assassinating a monarch is a big deal)

• heavy symbolism (white is a color of purity, which makes this a fun subversion)

What do your opening lines promise your audience?

Try the following exercise:

• Read the opening lines of five books in your genre.

• Define why each line hooks you (or doesn’t), e.g., for the reasons listed above.

• Define why your writing draws readers in.

• Put that in your toolbelt.

In the spirit of strengthening prose, I’m offering a limited-time discount:

The next author who books a free sample LINE EDIT gets 10% off a line editing package.

But I’m only offering this for one week…

Get your free sample edit here.

Got questions about right writing rites? Reply to this email with your query; I might include it in a future Bite.

Thanks for reading Avocado Bites!

^{Avocado Bites is a publication of Avocado Tree Press, LLC, that helps you revise your stories one bite at a time. We love working with indie and traditionally published authors on fiction manuscripts—and if that’s you, welcome to our target audience.}

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^{Addison Horner is the chief editor of Avocado Tree Press. Here’s his newsletter. It’s different but still pretty good.}