Begin your novel with the protagonist getting out of bed and seeing that it is raining outside, which perfectly mirrors his life


Jake opened his eyes and heard the rain battering against the outside of the glass window. Well, he thought grimly, it’s raining outside, and it’s certainly raining in my soul, which is about as inside as you can get.
It had only been seventeen days since he had lost his job and been dumped by his girlfriend, all of which made him very sympathetic without actually having to establish him as a character. Ever since that fateful day, he had been hearing the drip drip drip of his hopes (raindrops) and aspirations (hailstones) tumbling down onto the corrugated iron roof of his memory before disappearing forever down the drain of missed opportunities.

27 comments:

  1. Made me laugh. Cheers.

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  2. I laughed and now my officemates are staring at me weirdly. So thanks for that.

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  3. it could be worse, it could be raining men....of maybe he would like that?

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  4. I meant to say 'or' not 'of' - oh well back to my creative writing cousebook. Thanks for the distactions.

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  5. Oh no! I meant to say coursebook, not cousebook. And distractions, not distactions. Woss going on, I am usually such a pedant for spelling and grandma.

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  6. LOL @ Anonymous. That's almost as good as the op!

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  7. Funny... Yet another strange thing unfurls on the Internet. But does it blend? It's almost as interesting to read the comments as it is to read the blogpost. Who are these people? How did they stumble upon this (haha, am I giving myself away?). What do their colleagues and spouses do? Why are they giving themselves over to the anonymity, the drop-in-the-bucket inconsequence of the random blog reading?

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  8. Each and every one of these examples could have been written by Dan Brown :-D

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  9. I love you, Joel Stickley.

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  10. It was raining when I wrote this. Not outside, exactly--but inside, where it counts.

    Still, the humor (or is it humour?), like a brazen shaft of light, illuminates.

    Funny, yes. Oh. So. Funny. Like the rain.

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  11. This piece of advice seems a lot more specific than the others. How could it best be generalized?

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  12. Or start the story on his birthday. Or on Christmas.

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  13. Officially have to stop writing, as now too self conscious. Damn you! www.oneappletasted.co.uk

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  14. Is it odd that I want to read more as I think that this Jake sounds like an intriguing character?

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  15. Agree with the comment -- Is it odd that I want to read more as I think that this Jake sounds like an intriguing character?

    Can you write more?

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  16. Oh my GOD the drain of missed opportunities. I love it.

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  17. Yes. I have seen this one many, many times.

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  18. It's always good to tell your audience that the character is sympathetic without developing them at all

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