Great writers build spaces for compelling stories and settings that capture our imagination. Here's how author Neil Gaiman hooks readers using exploration and discovery of a setting in Chapter 1 of his novel CORALINE.
TRANSCRIPT on Medium: http://bit.ly/CoralineEssay
UPDATES on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownovelstarts
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MORE ABOUT “CORALINE” AND NEIL GAIMAN
* Coraline book synopsis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coraline
* Neil Gaiman’s website: http://neilgaiman.com/
* Coraline (film): http://bit.ly/2NBIFyo
RECOMMENDED READING & VIEWING
* A Wrinkle In Time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wrinkle_in_Time
* Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland
* The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion,_the_Witch_and_the_Wardrobe
* Peter Pan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan
* Calvin and Hobbes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes
* CBC retrospective on Calvin and Hobbes: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/episode-392-roseanne-s-racist-tweets-trans-mountain-pot-stocks-come-to-canada-calvin-and-hobbes-and-more-1.4685592/let-s-go-exploring-the-story-of-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-1.4685643
* My Neighbor Totoro: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Neighbor_Totoro
* The Shining: http://bit.ly/2QlVg7g
* Annihilation: http://bit.ly/2x8A3pi
* Read Chapter 1 of Annihilation: https://io9.gizmodo.com/read-the-mesmerizing-first-chapter-of-jeff-vandermeers-1520682658
* Geoff Manaugh interview with Patrick McGrath about architecture and fiction: http://www.bldgblog.com/2007/07/the-possibility-of-secret-passageways-an-interview-with-patrick-mcgrath/
* Geoff Manaugh blog post about "an architecture of death": http://www.bldgblog.com/2007/05/at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/
ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS
* Wolf Children: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Children
* This One Summer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_One_Summer
* The Devil’s Backbone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil%27s_Backbone
* Mountains of the Mind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountains_of_the_Mind
* The Appeal of Lonely Places: https://youtu.be/OIF5QtnPA3A
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ABOUT THE CHANNEL
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
SUPPORT THE CHANNEL on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/howthenovelstarts
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MUSIC ATTRIBUTIONS
"Holiday Gift" by Kai Engel
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel/Sustains/Kai_Engel_-_Sustains_-_03_Holiday_Gift
"A List of Ways To Die" by Lee Rosevere
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/The_Big_Loop_-_FML_original_podcast_score/Lee_Rosevere_-_The_Big_Loop_-_FML_original_podcast_score_-_10_A_List_of_Ways_to_Die
"I Was Waiting For Him" by Lee Rosevere
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/The_Big_Loop_-_FML_original_podcast_score/Lee_Rosevere_-_The_Big_Loop_-_FML_original_podcast_score_-_17_I_Was_Waiting_for_Him
"Brooks" by Kai Engel
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel/Chapter_Two__Mild/Kai_Engel_-_Chapter_Two_-_Mild_-_03_Brooks_1014
"Love Wins" by Lee Rosevere
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Love_Wins/Lee_Rosevere_-_Love_Wins
IMAGE ATTRIBUTIONS
At the psychiatric ward photo by Ján Jakub Naništa
https://unsplash.com/photos/z9hvkSDWMIM
Subscribe button by AlfredoCreates:
https://www.alfredocreates.com/youtube-subscribe-button-free-download-1/
Blueprint background:
http://www.ianbarnard.co.uk/free-blueprint-style-background-vector/
#writing
#NaNoWriMo
#worldbuilding