That first meeting - the one where the hero and heroine start the slow burn that takes the whole story to turn into true love - is the single most important part of the whole book. Nail it, and you've won yourself readers.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Every first thing is always a miracle. The first person you fall in love with. The first letter you receive. The first stone you throw. And in my conception of the novel, the letter becomes important. But what's more important is the fact that we need to continue to tell each other stories.
I love the novel because it's like a love affair. You can just fall into it and keep going, and you never know where it's going to take you.
I look for two things when I am about to launch into a book. First, there has to be a dramatic arc to the story itself that will carry me, and the reader, from beginning to end. Second, the story has to weave through larger themes that can illuminate the world of the subject.
Sometimes, my books start with a scene I see in my mind, such as a woman in a wedding dress running away from her wedding like in 'Embers of Love.' Sometimes, a book can start with a character.
And I don't want to begin something, I don't want to write that first sentence until all the important connections in the novel are known to me. As if the story has already taken place, and it's my responsibility to put it in the right order to tell it to you.
There is no 'right' way to begin a novel, but for me, plot has to wait. The character comes first.
I don't necessarily start with the beginning of the book. I just start with the part of the story that's most vivid in my imagination and work forward and backward from there.
Once I fall in love, finishing a story leaves a hole in my heart. The characters become your friends.
The first book you write because of the way it makes you feel. The second one you can't help but wonder how it's going to make the reader feel.
When you meet someone for the first time, that's not the whole book. That's just the first page.