Start the story when the kettle is boiling and not when you’re filling the tap

Good advice! I am still trying to put together my synopsis and first 3000 words for the Debut Dagger - although this morning I seem to have murdered my laptop!!

The action should open when your character is facing some sort of crisis. It ends when the conflict is resolved, but first there is a struggle to overcome. An accomplished first scene contains the seeds of the story to come, reflects the atmosphere of the novel, introduces at least one important character and enough mystery to entice the reader to turn over to page two, and from page two to the end of the chapter. That is where you establish the pace of your story, a pace you must maintain to the finish. Things must be going on in which readers can become immediately and easily involved. The opening needs to seduce and attract the readers attention e.g. ‘I should have seen it coming’.