You know the great opening lines: Ishmael, Manderley, the last camel. Why do those work? And how can you create one for your own novel? And then–what about that crucial first paragraph? And a first page that will entice editors and enchant readers? How can you set the proper expectations for the story to come—and make every word work?<\/p>\n
In this class, suitable for any genre, we will dissect and analyze acclaimed first lines and opening paragraphs, and reveal the writing secrets these brilliant examples offer. If you are brave enough–Please bring your own first line! Hank and the class will offer advice and guidance—to set you and your book off in the right direction.<\/p>\n
Hank Phillippi Ryan is the USA Today<\/em> bestselling and five-time Agatha Award-winning author of 13 thrillers, winning 37 Emmys for investigative reporting in Boston. Her newest thriller, Her Perfect Life<\/em>, is garnering starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, which called it “superlative.” It is now an Agatha Award nominee.<\/p>","excerpt":"","slug":"great-beginnings-how-to-start-your-novel-by-perfecting-page-one-with-hank-phillippi-ryan-virtual","image":{"url":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/great-beginnings-how-to-start-your-novel-by-perfecting-page-one-with-hank-phillippi-ryan-virtual-d1setxaz.jpg","id":7528,"extension":"jpg","width":1600,"height":901,"filesize":189209,"sizes":{"medium":{"width":300,"height":169,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":10698,"url":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/great-beginnings-how-to-start-your-novel-by-perfecting-page-one-with-hank-phillippi-ryan-virtual-d1setxaz-300x169.jpg"},"large":{"width":1024,"height":577,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":63009,"url":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/great-beginnings-how-to-start-your-novel-by-perfecting-page-one-with-hank-phillippi-ryan-virtual-d1setxaz-1024x577.jpg"},"thumbnail":{"width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":5040,"url":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/great-beginnings-how-to-start-your-novel-by-perfecting-page-one-with-hank-phillippi-ryan-virtual-d1setxaz-150x150.jpg"},"medium_large":{"width":768,"height":432,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":41179,"url":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/great-beginnings-how-to-start-your-novel-by-perfecting-page-one-with-hank-phillippi-ryan-virtual-d1setxaz-768x432.jpg"},"1536x1536":{"width":1536,"height":865,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":119331,"url":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/great-beginnings-how-to-start-your-novel-by-perfecting-page-one-with-hank-phillippi-ryan-virtual-d1setxaz-1536x865.jpg"}}},"all_day":false,"start_date":"2022-11-19 00:00:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2022","month":"11","day":"19","hour":"00","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2022-11-19 23:59:00","end_date_details":{"year":"2022","month":"11","day":"19","hour":"23","minutes":"59","seconds":"00"},"utc_start_date":"","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"1970","month":"01","day":"01","hour":"00","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"1970","month":"01","day":"01","hour":"00","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_abbr":"EDT","cost":"","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"$","currency_code":"","currency_position":"prefix","values":[]},"website":"https:\/\/www.tinyurl.com\/greatbeginningswriting","show_map":false,"show_map_link":false,"hide_from_listings":false,"sticky":false,"featured":false,"categories":[{"name":"Community","slug":"community","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","description":"","parent":0,"count":1157,"filter":"raw","id":5,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/pt-br\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories\/5","collection":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/pt-br\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories"}},{"name":"Free","slug":"free","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","description":"","parent":0,"count":1094,"filter":"raw","id":10,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/pt-br\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories\/10","collection":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/pt-br\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories"}},{"name":"Workshops + Seminars","slug":"workshops-seminars","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":12,"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","description":"","parent":0,"count":396,"filter":"raw","id":12,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/pt-br\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories\/12","collection":"https:\/\/www.downtownworcester.org\/pt-br\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories"}}],"tags":[],"venue":[],"organizer":[],"json_ld":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Event","name":"Great Beginnings: How To Start Your Novel By Perfecting Page One with Hank Phillippi Ryan (Virtual)","description":"<p>You know the great opening lines: Ishmael, Manderley, the last camel. 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