First Impressions: Rocking the First Line and Paragraph
Streamed January 12th, 2026
First Impressions: Rocking the First Line and Paragraph
Save up to 80% with a Membership.
12-month access $249
Enjoy 12 months of exclusive access to events with bestselling authors and top publishing professionals from the Reedsy Marketplace.
📚 Overview
You only get one chance to make a first impression. Faced with seemingly infinite options, editors and readers will often glance at the opening paragraph before deciding whether to keep reading or move on to the next thing. To grab their attention, you need an opening line that will hook them immediately.
Sign up for this masterclass where Noah Charney will show you how to craft a rockin’ first line and paragraph to draw readers in and make them hungry for more.
Schedule
15:00 - 16:00 EST
First Impressions with Noah Charney
In this hour-long masterclass you will learn:
- What makes an irresistible opening line – and how to craft one
- How to establish tone, voice, and point of view from the very first paragraph
- Common opening clichés and pitfalls to avoid
- Techniques for creating intrigue and momentum without confusion or overload
Following the presentation, Noah will answer your questions about making a strong first impression and crafting opening sentences during a live Q&A.
Speakers
Noah Charney
Reedsy Professor of Writing
Dr Noah Charney is the best-selling author of more than 30 of his own books, including a Pulitzer finalist. His latest book is The 12-Hour Author: Everything You Need to Know to Get Published and Become a Successful Writer (Bloomsbury). A professor of art history, he teaches online for the Smithsonian, the National Gallery (UK), and Yale. Noah has ghostwritten and edited books for Reedsy clients, and is Professor of Writing at Reedsy Learning.
