Time for a check in
Greetings from southern Texas where I am doing paperback events for THE YEAR OF THE HORSES. I’m actually in Uvalde, Texas as I write— about to head to a Junior College to talk to students about the job of “writer”—what it looks like, requires, and pays to try and make your way as a professional writer in the world.
It’s a privilege that’s making me feel both lucky and incredibly nervous, talking to students as the one year anniversary of the Uvalde school shooting approaches.
Tomorrow, I’m reading to primary school students at the El Progreso library and then talking to a lunch crowd about how joining a competitive team sport as a 40 year old helped get me out of a depression.
But before I do these things, I wanted to check in before sending my next post in the Opening Pages Intensive. This is what we’ve covered so far:
In the intro to the Intensive, I outlined everything we’d be covering.
Week 1, we worked on Establishing Setting in literary fiction/nonfiction from your very first page.
Week 2, we looked at World-Building in Genre Fiction.
That same week, I shared my first round of feedback on subscribers’ opening pages (in literary fiction and nonfiction).
The last two posts didn’t get a lot of comments, so before continuing with the intensive, I want to do a check-in. Are you finding the information that I’m sharing valuable? Do you find the feedback on subscriber pages instructive? Is there anything you would like to see more of, or presented in a different way?
If you don’t have a lot of time, you can use the poll below. If you have a minute or two, you can leave feedback in the comments.
The next post in the Intensive will see me sharing the number one thing that will make your pages sing from paragraph one. I hate this term, but it is, in fact, a “hack.” I’m excited to share it!
Here’s that poll I mentioned:
Okay. I’ll talk to you all soon!
Courtney
I usually read the newsletters in my email and don’t click through to Substack to comment. But reading the opening pages and your feedback on them has been inspiring and helpful.
I’m really enjoying it and finding it very useful, especially the nuance addressed in the opening paragraphs of subscriber drafts.