Another Chance for bonus points

[witchyemerald.livejournal.com]

So, we are on our last two days. Here is another quick bonus for you. Let us know how you liked your stay at Hogwarts. All post are screened, and it is worth five points


<b>Name:</b> <b>House</b> <B>Have you ever done anything like Welcome Back to Hogwarts before?</b> <b>What was your favorite assignment?</b> <b>What was your least?</b> <b>What was the most unusual?</B> <b>What did you think about the length of time?</b> <b>On a scale of 1 (I’ll never do this again) to 10 (I’ll be marking my calendar) how likely are you to do this next year?</b> <B>Anything you want to add?</b>

WELCOME BACK TO HOGWARTS - YOU HAVE LESS THAN TWO DAY LEFT!

[hd-writers-mod.livejournal.com]

LESS THAN TWO DAYS TO TURN IN ALL YOUR ASSIGNMENTS
as of 4 am PST
Also quick note - In case you didn't see it, a post to help with #18 is HERE

ALSO - LOOK FOR MORE BONUSES!

( POINTS, POINTS POINTS! )

Have fun my students!

FRIDAY CHECK-IN!!

[tryslora]

Is it the end of Friday already? Then it's time to check in! Only one day is gone, so you've still got three whole days (including the weekend!) to get your muse talking. Intermediary check-ins are completely optional, but if you want some extra encouragement come and tell us how you are doing and encourage your fellow writers also!

Remember you can always find encouragement here, in the chatroom or in Serious Business Writing Room.

It's not too late to join in the war! Just check in at the original post right here.

So... how's it going so far?

<b>Total Word War Goal:</b> <b>New Words Written:</b> <b>Total Words So Far:</b> <b>Projects Worked On:</b> <b>If You Set Other Goals <i>(get characters to hook up, find a way to work in some smut/angst/fluff, reach a certain plot point, whatever)</i>, Are You Progressing?</b> <b>Anything To Share (flailing, requests for butt-kicking, pep-talks, snippets, etc.)?</b>

Time is ticking away!

[witchyemerald.livejournal.com]

For all who have asked, the countdown clock to end of term!

Writing? Get SRS? - Get it right now!

[drarryisgreen]

( You're about to view content that the poster has marked as potentially inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Practice Corner - Starting your story

[witchyemerald.livejournal.com]

Starting your story - things not to do.


What make you want to read a story? Well, the summary for one. But, even with the best pairings and tag lines to get them to click that link, if you don’t hook your reader in the first paragraph, or so, their out.

With so much fanfiction to read, (or things in general) what will catch your reader's eye? What will turn them away?

Here are some tips on what not to do, from The Writing Cafe.

Starting with Dialogue

When you start with dialogue or an onomatopoeia is a bad idea because your readers don’t have any context about:
Characters
Point of View
Narrators
Setting
Current Action
It can confuse the reader rather than intrigue them. Most readers don’t have the patience to read on to figure out what that dialogue is about, who it was directed to, and who said it.
I know there are a lot of books that begin like this, but very few are able to get away with it.
Other bad beginnings/cliche beginnings may include:
Waking up
A daily routine (shower, breakfast, etc.)
Moving
Irrelevant weather
Info dumps
Excessive back story/exposition
Dreams
Flashbacks
Too much description


What do you think? What makes you turn back? Or what hooks you in?