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Writers are often told that the first line/paragraph/page is one of the most important. "You need to hook the reader," people say. "Make them want to read on, grab their attention from the first sentence." (Novels get a little more time to pick up, but if you've written a ten page story, the first two pages had better not be character description.)

A bad hook will get your story rejected or put down within a few lines. Editors will only read until you give them a reason to stop. And not just editors, but readers as well-- I know I've gotten pretty tired of bad books. I'm much less forgiving than I used to be, because I only have so much time. I've found that I can usually tell very quickly whether a book will work for me or not, and the beginning is (part of) what I use to gauge that.

Starting in the middle of the action.

Sounds good, right? Start when something actually happens as opposed to your character waking up to their alarm clock, getting dressed, looking at their face in the mirror, and having breakfast. And I agree that this opening is overdone and boring.

But I feel like the other suggestion too often results in a loss of tension rather than an increase. Starting off with a nameless, faceless character fleeing an unknown pursuer in the woods or having a last-second escape from some other great danger is just not that exciting. Why should I care whether they live or die when I don't know anything about the character or their motivations yet?

This doesn't mean that you need a physical description of the character or a lot of back story. But you should probably include some setup. To me, this means getting in some dialogue. It's one of the best ways to "blow something up." Good dialogue is so important to establishing your characters.

(Edit to add-- I do realize that the intent of the suggestion to start with action is not chase scenes. I just think that it's the way it's often interpreted.)

Starting with a gimmick.

A wacky opening line is not enough. A lot of editors are tired of writers using these kinds of openings to try to grab interest. If you read enough of these things, they do get tiresome.

For example: "Everything was normal, and then I turned into an alien!"

And do not try to use an interest-grabbing hook as a placeholder until you can get to what you really wanted to start with. Too often, writers will start off with something like this:

"I walked into the bank to deposit a check and suddenly I saw a flash of light and felt like I was being pulled through the wall. I found myself in a strange meadow surrounded by fairies! The day had started off normally enough. I woke up and had my usual breakfast of toast and jelly. Then I dressed and headed to work..."

The point of a hook is not to grab the reader's interest so that you can sneak in your boring background information or back story afterward! The point is to cut that out entirely and learn to insert necessary information into the story as you go.

What I think works.

I think too many people feel like they have to go all out in their opening lines. They try to shock the reader with dead bodies (save it for later-- the higher the body count is in the beginning, the less impact death will have later in the novel), explosions, escapes.

Once you're established, you have more leeway. You can have a slower start, because the reader trusts you based on your past works. When you're new, you don't have that luxury, and you need to prove yourself quickly.

Interesting dialogue. Give us a hint of a character. No boring, routine conversations unless something unexpected happens, and quickly. Arguments can be wonderful things. People say things they don't mean, bring up past grudges, respond in ways that don't really address the issue at hand.

Setting. But only use this if there is something interesting about it, and preferably do it from the point of view of a character rather than from a distance. And don't describe the weather unless it's important to what's actually going on.

So.

What kind of openings work for you? Know any published writers who write brilliant beginnings that we can learn from?

What about openings you hate? What are you tired of seeing in the first paragraph? Are you willing to admit to doing any of the things you shouldn't in a story or novel?

I usually start with a murder investigation because I tend to write murder mysteries. I hate starting with a dream, dialogue, or a flashback. To me, that's just a sad way to start any story.

I usually start by trying to capture the reader's senses.

Here's one of my openings

I like to start in the middle of the action, but like with any other writing method, it has to be done well. I've seen it both used and abused. I think to do this, the writer has to have a clear intention and a picture in mind that they want to show to the reader.

My story opens with my MC in stuck in a fire in her apartment. It's blocking the door, so she breaks a window to climb out onto the fire escape. You don't get any details about why she lived alone or why she didn't bother collecting any items until you get to know her later in the story. I just don't feel that the reader's going to care about any of that before getting to know her. So I hold off on it. If people get attached to her and want to know, they're welcome to stick around biggrin

I guess I feel like you shouldn't FORCE your story on the reader, especially in an opener. Don't shove half your novel at them in the prologue, or there'll be no reason for them to finish it. I think by giving them a snippet of the picture you have in your head, you stand a pretty good chance of having someone read on to get the rest of the puzzle.

I personally don't care for abstract openers. For instance, I don't believe your hook-sentence should be a profound insight into the nature of the human soul (unless you're Plato or Aristotle). I mean, what IS a soul? Something to that effect is totally intangible and, in my opinion, too lofty for the reader to bother connecting with. Start out with something true - a taste, a sight, a sound, whatever. Something that people can get a picture of.

I tend to write in the first person, so I may as well begin with something my character is thinking about, that reflects his or her nature, or an event that has just occurred, or an event that will occur.


--Working Title