Must Do List by C. Lee McKenzie

I'm thrilled to have C. Lee Mckenzie here as my guest today. She's going to share four things she's feels are necessary for those terrific books she writes. Don't forget to stop by her blog, TheWriteGame where you'll always find an interesting post and follow her on Twitter

Since I started writing, I’ve collected a few “Must Do’s from the Get-Go.” Here’s some I have on my list:

  

1) My first scene must pull my reader into the story.

I think I started three stories with people traveling to a destination, staring into a mirror, studying. Why? Who knows? But now I really try to have them at their destinations, already in trouble or about to be in trouble. They never stare into the mirror.  :-(

2) At the start I must create questions the reader wants answered.

This is my favorite first line, but I haven’t written the story for it yet.

“The first thing she did was hide the knife.”

Like it?

3) Right away, the reader has to know a lot about my MC, and want to know more. In Sudden Secrets here’s one place I tried to give the reader some insight into my MC’s problem.

“Mom was desperate to move. I was desperate to move, too, but not here. All I saw was a spooky, dangerous place.”

4) The last line of chapter one must pull the reader into chapter two.

Here’s the one from Sudden Secrets.

“As we pulled away, I glanced out. A shadow flickered across the upstairs window of the vacant house. It was only a split second, but somebody moved inside that place. I was sure of it.

Those are my most important Must Do’s. What are yours? I always like adding to my list.

 Sudden Secrets

 one Secret

            Cleo has struggled to heal after her baby sister’s death, but the flashbacks to the accident won’t go away. With the move, she vows to keep her tragedy a secret and avoid pitying looks.

one Mystery

Something’s strange about the abandoned house across the street—flashes of light late at night and small flickers of movement that only someone looking for them would see.

Everyone says the house is deserted, but Cleo is sure it isn’t, and she’s sure whoever is inside is watching her.

another Secret

In one night, Belleza’s life changes forever. So famous, her only choice is to hide her secret from the world so she can silence small town bigotry.

Then Cleo happens.

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Thanks for visiting, Lee. What do you think of her list? What would you add? Don't you love that name, Belleza?