Why are story openings important

You must make the reader want to read more and you must do it quickly. A reader is not all that different from an agent considering your manuscript.

Go to your local library and spend some time reading the openings of one book after another. Look at the best sellers as well as obscure novels you never heard of. What is it in the openings that make you want to continue reading? You are pulled deeper into the story. You have just been hooked. Many years ago I read a detective novel, long since forgotten, possibly by Raymond Chandler.

Tonight the regulars were there, sitting by the cash register, drinking beer, talking idly, watching the bugs fly into the big lighted sign. We want to know more. Work on your opening lines until you are convinced that they will grab readers with a clenched fist. Introduce us quickly to a character that we can identify with, whether or not the protagonist. If the author opens the novel with information she thinks we need to know before getting on with the story everything is immediately slowed down.

Exposition always slows a story and too much of it turns a story boring. As an opening it basically kills a novel before it even gets breathing well. You can explain later. Another beginning to avoid is to open with a dream. Once you have your opening hook you can then start building your plot. The sooner the better even if it is only alluded to, not shown in detail.

The details can be worked continually through the story events. The lead character is thwarted. As she comes close to resolving the problem, she is slammed into another obstacle. Continue to build the tension by having her run into one issue after another if you can. At the very least stretch out the resolution to her problem until we as readers are ready to tear out our hair.

It is critical to hook the reader but equally important to keep her on the line. There is only one job that will marry your love for fine cuisine with your impressive written communication skills and cutting wit.

Here's how to do. When his motivations and history are explained not only is the reader already hooked but they have a reason to care about the information. Not so much the flip-side of an information dump but rather an extension of it. Again the stranger the world of your story the more the reader needs to know. To really nail an opening think of it as an introduction to the tone of the novel.

Potential readers will use your opening to decide if they enjoy your tone. The good news is that the readers who will enjoy your novel will be hooked by an interesting, uncomplicated introduction that showcases a tone and style they enjoy. Do your characters the favor of some breathing room before their official introduction. Allow your readers to get their bearings in a new world before they learn its unique history.

Above all, remember that story openings are for tone, personality, foreshadowing, and excitement. For more on the details your readers need to know, and when they need to know them, check out our article Are you killing your book with too much detail? Is there a style of opening you particularly enjoy?

Are you the kind of person who actually loves an info dump in the first chapter? Let us know in the comments. Great article and I actually agree with you with the exposition and prologue section to an extent.

A prologue for me is supposed to set up the tone and theme of the book without overloading the reader with too much info. If done correctly it can hook the readers in. The problem starts when prologues become too detailed and long-winded. This can distract from the rest of the story and in some cases, it can put people off.

Character-based openings rely on a well-developed, well-rounded protagonist and a strong narrative voice. Without these, openings that rely too heavily on following an interesting character are likely to fall flat.

Setting-based openings are some of the most difficult to pull off, because your setting has to be really good. And you have to be really good at translating it to the page. A lot of the time, stories that open with an emphasis on exploring the setting turn out to be more about the world than about the characters, or even the plot. Setting-based openings rely on pulling the reader into a world so gripping and strange that they will continue to read if for no other reason than to learn more about this alien place.

Many stories combine two or more in a balance, with a slight emphasis placed on one in particular. You may even notice that within some of the examples above. Which one would interest you the most? If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment and share it with a friend, or join the conversation on Instagram!

A couple of examples of stories that do setting-based openings well are: Lord of the Rings Alice in Wonderland Setting-based openings rely on pulling the reader into a world so gripping and strange that they will continue to read if for no other reason than to learn more about this alien place.