This will be quick.  I have approximately 39 hours to convert two steno pads of notes into my novel, B-24. I already have 25 typed pages―single-spaced, no brakes. So, I figure that between what I have already, plus my notes and some elaboration, I should finish with a respectable page…

Whether it be a novel or a short story, the opening paragraph is often the deal breaker. If the first paragraph, and especially the first sentence, doesn’t grab the reader’s imagination, no matter how wonderful the rest of the story is, chances are that the reader won’t be there to…