in a story, what the reader feels is driven by what the protagonist feels.

Is something happening, beginning on the first page?

MYTH: Beautiful Writing Trumps All REALITY: Storytelling Trumps Beautiful Writing,

As John Irving once said, “Whenever possible, tell the whole story of the novel in the first sentence.”12

Stories allow us to simulate intense experiences without actually having to live through them.

Is there conflict in what’s happening?

Elmore Leonard famously said that a story is real life with the boring parts left out.

The seminal element—the protagonist’s issue—stems from something we mentioned in the last chapter: the story question, which translates to the protagonist’s goal. But remember what we said? The story isn’t about whether or not the protagonist achieves her goal per se; it’s about what she has to overcome internally to do it. This is what drives the

Is something at stake on the first page?