The Opening Pages of HOUSE OF SNOW
A first look at my novel-in-progress, after a year of research, rewriting, and reckoning.
As promised, here are the opening forty pages of HOUSE OF SNOW, my novel-in-progress. Thank you to those of you whose feedback has helped shape the work over the past year. I’m grateful for your close reading! 🙏
If you want a refresher on the project, this post will catch you up.
When you’re ready to dive in, you can listen to a cozy, audiobook-style reading of the manuscript - the voiceover sits just above.
Or you can read the opening pages as a PDF via the button below:
Enjoy! I’d love to hear what you think as I continue to develop HOUSE OF SNOW in the background. And of course, thank you all for being here. I’m keen to share new musings on cinema, travel, and everyday life in the months ahead.
I’ve also enjoyed meeting those of you who’ve already booked free 1:1 storytelling consults with me. There are still some spots open if you’d like to connect. Let’s talk shop and help you get unstuck in your creative work this year!
If you’re navigating a creative pivot and want a focused 1:1 conversation, I offer free storytelling consults. We talk projects, direction, & how to shape your next chapter.
Evocative! And some great imagery. But I'm wondering if you're jumping around a bit too much. You have a number of different openings -- four, I counted (sorry!) -- and then proceed to a series of flashbacks. Why not open on a scene of action, the discovery of the journal? Then proceed to tell us THAT story in a solid chunk, let us engage.
As a general rule, action = interesting, exposition = boring. So I always use action to "buy time" in order to give exposition. This is a complicated one because you're telling two stories, but the same rules apply. Give us consistent steady ACTION to engage us with both stories (the two inciting events, both fleshed out) -- basically chapters one and two -- then you can give us the necessary exposition with subsequent chunks -- chapters three and four.