First Two Pages: A Season for Killing Blondes

Bestselling author Louise Penny does not mince words. In a recent article, she offered the following advice: “If you’re writing your first work of crime fiction, place the body near the beginning of your book–preferably on the first page, perhaps the first sentence. In later books this won’t be as necessary, but agents and editors like it established early, so readers know what they’re getting.”

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10 thoughts on “First Two Pages: A Season for Killing Blondes

  1. Debra H. Goldstein

    You had me at quoting Louise Penny, but really hooked me with your first line. Interesting way the pastries are the focal point, but I immediately felt I knew a number of the characters in the first two pages. Well done.

  2. Joanne Guidoccio

    Thanks Judy! I appreciate your ongoing support. 🙂

    Kaye, I like starting my novels with food. Whets the appetite for more. Thanks for dropping by. 🙂

    Debra. Good to see you here. Louise Penny is one of my heroes – a great Canadian success story . 🙂

  3. Linda Thorne

    I found this interesting. I’ve read two of Louise Penney’s books, so that drew my attention first. Her suggestion of putting the murder/killing in the first sentence or paragraph of a debut novel was interesting too. In my first book, it happens at the end of the chapter, but I think the reader knows who’s been killed in the first two sentences of the book, with the introductory statement from the protagonist.

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