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My opening paragraph used to be a mess until I tried a 3 sentence limit

I used to write these huge intros for my short stories, like 8 or 9 sentences just setting the scene. Last month I read a tip online from some indie author who said cut every opening to 3 sentences max. I tried it on a draft about a breakdown on I-75 outside Atlanta and it totally changed the pace. Now I force myself to stop after those 3 sentences and jump right into the action or dialogue. The feedback I got from this group on that version was way more useful than before. Has anyone else tried a hard limit like that for their own first drafts?
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2 Comments
west.claire
Cutting to three sentences forces you to ditch all that boring setup.
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david123
david1233d ago
Whoa, 8 or 9 sentences in an opening? That's like a whole page before the story even starts.
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