The runner has warmed up, prepared himself mentally, poses behind the white line, breathes, and is raring to sprint ahead of his competitors once the signal sounds. Gaining the lead and attracting the audience’s cheering and whistling, he races through the first lap, maintains his lead during the second and third, then picks up speed to charge across the finish line for the win.

A writer can identify with that runner. Preparation for the story mimics the warmup. The plot and subplots have been outlined. Research has been done. Characters are ready and screaming to take off. Now it’s time for the challenge. 

What is the most critical exercise and toughest manuscript section the author wrestles with, sometimes ad nauseam? The beginning words. The first scene. This is often the most rewritten portion in the entire manuscript. Finding those magic words to spark an agent’s immediate interest and captivate the reader can be overwhelming.

We’ve all heard how you can’t judge a book by its cover. Yet, the first sentence, first paragraph, first page often determine whether a book-loving individual will decide whether he is going to shell out money and invest precious time taking a journey with the characters.

Just the first page? How horrifying. How is that possible? What about the rest of the fantastic, spellbinding, rich text singing with unforgettable characters caught up in twisted plots and subplots? How do I know I have the right spellbinding words?

The pressure is on. The sweat, like the runner, pours from the first words, requiring endurance and grit. A true writer stresses over it, has nightmares over it, loses hair over it. But never gives up. Like a runner’s sneakers, the writer’s words pound the keyboard in lap after lap after lap after…

Until the best words cross the finish line.