Want me to read your first act?

Published: Tue, 02/09/21

You’ve written a fantastic query letter and sent it off to the perfect literary agent.

She has not only responded to your query letter, but, to your amazement, she has requested pages.

What pages does she want to see?

The book’s climax?

Your favorite chapter?

Nope.

She’s going to ask for the first ten pages of your book, or, if you are lucky, the entire first act.

Those opening pages sure are important for traditional publishing.

But, hey, maybe you’ve decided to self-publish instead of querying agents.

You’ve worked your butt off to market your book and have convinced a good number of readers to buy your novel.

What part of the story are they going to read before deciding to stick with the book or put it down for something better?

The opening chapters, of course!

Once again it’s all about your first act.

Beginnings are SO important.

That’s precisely why I undertook an in-depth analysis of the hit Disney animated film Moana, and will be revealing my findings at a live online seminar in less than two weeks.

The seminar is called It Calls to Me – An Act One Seminar, and I would love for you to be there.

Click the image below to get registered now:

We are going to cover how Moana’s opening act:

utilizes archetypes to quickly establish characters to encourage viewer identification
aligns its story beats perfectly with Joseph Campbell’s monomyth and Christopher Vogler’s hero’s journey to ensure maximum story impact
continually and effortlessly raises the stakes before the real adventure has even begun
serves as a perfect example of Shawn Coyne’s five commandments of storytelling
elegantly establishes its world-building (without info-dumping)
and much more!

Moana’s first act is a masterpiece of writer’s craft, but it’s not the only opening we will be discussing.

We will also review examples from the first act of other classic films, including:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone
The Matrix
Star Wars: A New Hope
The Wizard of Oz

These are all beloved stories, and their first acts are responsible for a lot of that affection.

But this seminar isn’t just about learning writing techniques.

It’s about applying those techniques to YOUR book.

In fact, following the seminar, I will personally review the first act of your manuscript, and provide you with one page detailed analysis about what’s working and exactly where you can improve your opening chapters.

This is the kind of feedback you would typically only get as one of my one-on-one coaching clients.

So don’t miss this incredible opportunity to develop the best first act possible for your story.

It Calls to Me will take place live via Zoom on Saturday, February 20, 2021, from 1 to 4 pm Eastern time.

Get registered now.

I’ll see you there.

Your pal in writing,

Kevin T. Johns, writing coach

P.S. Have questions about the seminar? Hit reply and let me know.