Changes to The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to... by Noah Lukeman

Added a quotation: “To reach the highest levels of the craft, above all you'll need confidence. Unshakable confidence to leap forecrully into the realm of creation.”
Added a quotation: “Of course, confidence is just the first step. The craft of wrting must be learned. The ar of writing cannot be taught, but the craft of writing can. No one can teach you how to tap inspiration, how to gain vision and sensibility, but you can be taught to write lucidly, to present what you say in the most articulate and forceful way. Vision itself is useless without the technical means to record it.”

IF YOU'RE TIRED OF REJECTION, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. Whether you are a novice writer or a veteran who has already had your work published, rejection is often a frustrating reality. Literary agents and editors receive and reject hundreds of manuscripts each month. While it's the job of these publishing professionals to be discriminating, it's the job of the writer to produce a manuscript that immediately stands out among the vast competition. And those outstanding qualities, says New York literary agent Noah Lukeman, have to be apparent from the first five pages. The First Five Pages reveals the necessary elements of good writing, whether it be fiction, nonfiction, journalism, or poetry, and points out errors to be avoided, such as * A weak opening hook * Overuse of adjectives and adverbs * Flat or forced metaphors or similes * Melodramatic, commonplace or confusing dialogue * Undeveloped characterizations and lifeless settings * Uneven pacing and lack of progression With exercises at the end of each chapter, this invaluable reference will allow novelists, journalists, poets and screenwriters alike to improve their technique as they learn to eliminate even the most subtle mistakes that are cause for rejection. The First Five Pages will help writers at every stage take their art to a higher -- and more successful -- level.

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Added a quotation: “If a writer doesn't care enough about his work to paint precisely the right picture, why should the reader waste his time reading it”
Added a quotation: “They indicate imprecision or laziness in searching for the right picture”

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The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile (edit title)