Now more than ever, a strong opening is vital for a novel’s success. A manuscript has mere seconds in an agent’s hands, and in order to stand out from the hundreds of other submissions, the opening pages need to be polished and diamond-sharp. This class will cover tips and tricks for crafting a compelling opening chapter, including common pitfalls to avoid.

If you have an idea for a novel floating around in your head, but you don’t know where to start, this class is for you, too. We’ll tackle how to develop your concept, flesh out your characters, and establish your setting. From plotting an outline to polishing an opening page, the class will cover everything a writer needs to kick-start a manuscript with compelling tension and a vivid, distinct, voice, including:

• How to create a flexible outline that grows with a novel
• Simple methods for organizing a work in progress
• The six elements of a strong beginning
• How NOT to open a first chapter
• How to set—and raise—the stakes of a novel

TAKE THIS CLASS IF

• You’re starting a novel.
• You want to hone your opening pages.
• You have an idea for a novel but aren’t sure where to start.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Sara Kocek is the author of Promise Me Something (Albert Whitman, 2013) and the founder of Yellow Bird Editors, an Austin-based collective of independent editors and writing coaches. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University, where she taught fiction and poetry to undergraduates and worked as a full-time editorial intern at Random House and Penguin. Prior to pursuing her MFA, Sara graduated with a B.A. in English from Yale University, where she worked as Writing Fellow, tutoring undergraduate and graduate students in academic and creative writing.