a good beginning ...

so i think i might have over-reached last time - i said i'd write a note about my lesson and then give you a taste of what i had written for the assignment that week. well - writing about the lesson seems like a lot of work and i'd have to re-write my notes, plus i feel like it'd be cheating the teacher who had put the notes together. but, i will still give a brief summary - but it's just a summary. and of course, with any of the lessons that we get and rules we're told, it's important to remember that rules are made to be broken - you just have to be aware of why you're breaking them and be doing it for a good reason. a writer must be very aware of what he is doing and ensure there is a purpose for it.

anyway - back to a beginning. what makes a good beginning? we had to bring in some first sentences in books that we thought were good and then discussed some other examples. my favourite was from a molly peacock book and went along the lines of "when i was three, i decided not to have children." ... the example i brought in was from "portnoy's complaint" (philip roth): "she was so deeply imbedded in my consciousness that for the first year of school I seem to have believed that each of my teachers was my mother in disguise."

but what does make a good beginning? everyone seemed to have a different definition - among them, it has to be something to pique your interest, to raise questions - to make you want to continue reading. it could help put you in the time, in the place, meet a character - it can help introduce you to the genre (for example - from "1984": "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.")

these discussions are interesting because it really helps you think about what kind of reader you are personally ... after this week's workshop (where we talk about ppl's work) - i realized that i really like beginnings that introduce me to a character. a character can be much more important than a setting. if the character isn't compelling or interesting, how can they take you through the whole novel? although, i do also like beginnings that let me know i'm going to learn something from the novel (i do like the well-researched, historical books).

i would type more - but i'm starting to lose circulation in my fingers. the house was 16 degrees when i woke up - and now the thermostat tells me we've made it up to 19 ... i guess i shouldn't complain. it's still almost 50 degrees warmer in here than outside ...