The 7 Deadly Sins of Prologues is the only other lesson. I started a long series on structure after that. Hope this helps! 😀

Wow, thanks. I will have to stop by :D.

Even if your main character is a super hero or a spy, they will still have what is “normal” for them. A lot will depend on genre. Thrillers and suspense novels generally begin with prologues (to be discussed Monday) or a chapter that will introduce the problem. Then we likely will see a glimpse of what that “hero” does every day. In James Rollins’s “Doomsday Key” for instance, the first chapter is very similar to “Da Vinci” code. It begins with a murder. But, the first chapter that introduces the protagonist is different. We see “normal world” as members of Sigma are racing each other on high-speed motorcycles, unaware the inciting incident has occured. They are having fun when it is interrupted by…news of the inciting incident. This allows the reader to see that the members of Sigma are normal, but in an extraordinary way. In “Black Order” the main hero is running surveillance when he is introduced.

Serial killer books frequently begin with the murder from the perspective of the murderer. The next scene is our cop protagonist showing up at a crime scene, which is what they do. Working homicides is their unique normal world. Is it weird for me (a writer) to be at a homocide scene (ok, one NOT in my head)? Yes. But for a homocide detective, that is another day at the office. We get to see how she approaches her job on a daily basis….until she realizes this is no normal killing. Make sense?

Now, make no mistake, these types of stories will kick into high gear quickly, but we have to have a few pages to get our bearings. If you begin in the middle of a battle or an action scene, your audience will feel as if they got tossed into a dog-fighting arena with no warning. I hope this helps, and I am really glad you like the blog and find it helpful :D.