Tolstoy began his novel, Anna Karenina, with one of the most famous opening lines in literature: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

One could apply this same formula to novel openings: the great ones all manifest the same magic; while every lackluster effort or full-on flop fails for any number of reasons.

There is an art to writing your novel’s first lines and following paragraphs, and fortunately it’s one that writers can learn. Of course, you know a great opening when you read one. But what are the elements of a winning beginning—the component parts—and how you do assemble them to hook your readers and have them begging for more?

The Art of the Opening — Scene, Stakes, Structure, and Spirit will show you exactly what makes an opening great, spell out a simple process you can use to craft your opening, and sharpen the tools you need to start your book with a bang.

In the first 90-minute session, we’ll study examples of great openings and break down what makes them work so well. We’ll show you how to create a compelling and visually engaging scene, establish meaningful stakes, employ a suspenseful and often non-linear structure, and steep your opening in the spirit of your story.

In the second session, we’ll take openings students have submitted and rework them for maximum impact.

Dates: Saturday March 19 and Saturday March 26 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm ET

Enrollment limited to 5 students

Cost: $125 ($100 for current Christmas Lake clients)

Instructors: Thomas G. Fiffer and Julia Bobkoff