Silja Swaby, half Jamaican, half Finnish, is a marine biologist and author. Funded by Arts Council England, she has won competitions, and been placed in prizes and awards. She is working on a series of futuristic thrillers, featuring a female biologist whose quiet academic life takes a drastic turn. Silja has taken creative writing courses at Cambridge University and more recently Yale University, USA.

Silja tutors writers, gives workshops, and provides a critique service. She is happily unmarried and lives in deepest Somerset, UK.


Silja Swaby is pronounced Sil-yah Sway-bee.

July 24, 2008

Beginnings

I came across some good advice in Gabrielle Mander’s book Just Write. - The beginning of your novel should introduce the reader to the theme of the story, settle quickly into the context in which the narrative takes place, introduce the main characters and let the reader you know what to expect. She is right when she says the opening line is crucial and should grab the reader’s attention, and quotes this killer one liner.

It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. George Orwell. 1984.

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