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Posted January 4, 2021
FIRST SENTENCES
Here's an important writing tip to help you begin the New Year. The first sentence of a chapter is extremely important and should be riveting. That first sentence, if weighted with intrigue, horror, or humor, can either draw a reader in and keep them flipping pages, or encourage a reader to decide they need to dog-ear the page and walk away. Because you've just bored them into thinking vacuuming carpets or enjoying a day outside soaking up some Vitamin D is more important than the story you have to tell.
In Jerry Golden's nonfiction book Burned Alive, I noticed several of his chapters had gripping first sentences.
Chapter 1--"I had wanted to fly ever since Uncle George crashed his plane into the house." That line pulled me in right out of the gate. I had to discover what made Uncle George crash his plane into a house and was he flying a small plane or a Boeing 747.
Chapter 2--"Everything in my childhood led me toward Angola Prison." Me. Oh. My. I know a few things about prisons. I used to mentor prisoners at Brushy Mountain Prison in Petros, TN and I once took a long leisurely tour of Alcatraz after it was opened for tourists where I peeked into every nook and cranny and experienced what being sent to the hole meant. I lasted five seconds. I'd always read, however, Angola was the "Hell on Earth" of prisons. Or as some liked to call it the Southern Alcatraz. Angola was a place so dreaded, when hardened criminals learned they'd been sentenced to time there, they broke down. One out of ten prisoners were stabbed. In the 1950s, 31 inmates sliced their Achilles tendons to bring attention to their poor treatment. I couldn't wait to find out more. How in the world did Jerry survive that place?
Chapter 3--"Angola Prison was a garbage pile for the nameless discards of life." Jerry explains: "The fighting I had learned on the playgrounds and streets of West Virginia now served me well in Louisiana. In time, I became the top con of Angola State Prison, an operator who used violence and intimidation to control the prison's drug traffic and loan shark business." If you found the movie Shawshank Redemption to be riveting, you will also be pulled into Jerry's nightmare.
Chapter 6--"The wing tip outside my window forced its way into the ground, transforming the aluminum aircraft into an instant inferno." I ignored stomach growling. I was pressed to keep reading though it was past supper time, to see how this crash could be survived.
Chapter 11--"It was the afternoon of the eighth day, and I was screaming again." And once more, a page turner. What? Is he going to make it? Of course, he survives because he writes the book, but I had to know more about his process while sitting on pins, needles, and loose thumb tacks.
Chapter 12--"By the time I left Mobile on March 4, traces of eyebrows, earlobes and lips were apparent despite the jagged crisscross of stitches that tracked across my face." Sucking in my breath, I said aloud: "Are you kidding me? Does this even end well?" I had to finish the book in one sitting. The dust bunnies would have to wait.
This book does have a good ending and the bottom line message is--Jesus saves. And, Burned Alive is one of those awe inspiring stories you can't walk away from.
These days, Jerry Golden and his wife Connie live in Israel near son Joel and his family. They publish a weekly "Golden Report" about Israel's current events. A major plus: Joel's video tours of ancient sites with his beautiful wife Ola and children Eva, and Jerry. To learn more about Jerry Golden's stories, videos, and updates, please visit his website: www.thegoldenreport.net . It's there you'll learn about the Golden ministry's efforts to return the Jewish people to their homeland via boat and the Mediterranean Sea.
A pdf file of Burned Alive can be purchased through Jerry's website. I normally don't promote individual ministries on my blog, however, donating towards the Jerry Golden ministry by buying a book is definitely a contribution towards a worthy cause. By the time I finished Burned Alive, I was asking myself "how much is one soul worth and shouldn't everyone have an intriguing first sentence and an awe inspiring story ending?"
Keep writing fellow writers and readers and may your 2021 be much better than your 2020!
(Permission from Jerry Golden to use quotes and photos from Burned Alive)
Comments anyone?
If you would like to comment or have questions about this article, email me vmoss@livingwaterfiction.com
