Story Openings + Editor Q&A | author panel with William R. Hincy, Dario Ciriello, & Gabi Lorino

What is the best way to open a story? How should I open this description? How do you hook a reader (or YT viewer)? What must an opening convey, and what promises are being made between author and reader? Join us as we discuss opening stories in the first half of the show, then dive into the important questions about how to choose an editor and what are the three most common mistakes you see in a manuscript? As a bonus, we have two accomplished editors.

Today’s drinking game: drink whenever we make “aggressive air quotes!”

Bios:
“Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to connect with readers by eschewing stock plots and generic formulas in favor of exploring characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. This unflinching but empathetic eye and devil-may-care attitude helped him earn an American Fiction Award and be named a finalist for multiple International Book Awards for his anthology of short fiction, Without Expiration. His other full-length works include But the Ripping Apart, a novel about hoarding from whence the opening quote of this bio originates, and A Fire for Christmas, a satirical collection of stories set during the coronavirus pandemic (winner of the International Book Award and two American Fiction Awards). William R. Hincy now hosts the popular podcast Writers Drinking Whiskey and lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.
WDW Intro video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lev5KHRpc5s
Website: https://williamrhincy.com/
Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Dario Ciriello is a professional author and editor as well as the founder of Panverse Publishing. His fiction includes Sutherland's Rules, a crime caper/thriller with a shimmer of the fantastic; Black Easter, a supernatural suspense novel which pits love against black magic and demonic possession on a remote, idyllic Greek island; and Free Verse and Other Stories, a collection of Dario's short science fiction work.
Dario’s 2011 nonfiction book, Aegean Dream, the bittersweet memoir of a year spent on the small Greek island of Skópelos (the real Mamma Mia! island), was an Amazon UK travel bestseller. The Fiction Writing Handbook: The Rebel Author’s Guide to Writing Beyond the Rules (Panverse, 2017) is his second nonfiction work.
In addition to writing, Dario, who lives in the Great Lakes Area, offers professional editing, copyediting, proofreading, and coaching services to indie authors.
Dario’s episode of WDW: https://youtu.be/fpDdxz5ChLM
Dario’s blog: dariospeaks.wordpress.com
Dario’s editing service: exactlyediting.com

Gabi Lorino is a writer, editor, and ukulele player. Her first book, A Magical Time Called Later, was inspired by several conversations with a disgruntled 38-year-old bridesmaid and came to her while she was washing dishes one night before Christmas 2015… hence the Christmas undertones.

Her next project was contributing to the Made in L.A.: Stories Rooted in the City of Angels anthology, which was released at the 2018 L.A. Festival of Books. Both of her stories in the first anthology tie into characters who were introduced in A Magical Time Called Later.

Made in LA Writers has since created additional anthologies, for which Gabi has also contributed stories. In addition, she has performed content editing, copy editing, and proofreading for the anthologies, spoken and/or presented at book events, and marketed these books as well.

Her upcoming book, tentatively named Single in December, travels back in time to the Great Recession and follows a group of fun, cool, socially awkward friends through 2019.
Gabi’s episode of WDW: https://youtu.be/vYMLY7frtjg
Gabi’s website: https://gabilorino.wordpress.com/about/

Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:35 Introducing the author panel
00:03:51 Round One - What makes an effective story opening?
00:36:20 Round Two - How to choose an editor
01:02:59 Round 3 - common writing mistakes editors see

Brought to you by Whiskey-Winged Lit
Fiction for the modern reader. Life is the accumulation of scars—tell the stories!

Here we go!