What will cause/entice reader (or a publisher) to read your book? For a novel or memoir, for example, your intriguing title might cause someone to pick up your book. But what’s going to keep him or her reading? Your opening line. The trick is to grab the reader within the first line or paragraph. Wait too long to introduce something interesting, mysterious, exciting or captivating, and you may lose readers and, by the way, that publisher you want to attract.
What makes a good opening line or theme? Many first-time writers tend to start at the beginning. One technique for creating an intriguing opening is to start at the most exciting/dramatic place in the story. Give enough of a snapshot to whet the reader’s appetite, but not so much that it spoils the suspense. At the same time, watch out for the tendency to barely touch on the event. If you don’t give enough, you won’t attract an interest. Instead, you may confuse, thus turn away your potential reader.
For some stories, it works to describe a scene and then tell your story from there. Some authors are expert at starting at the end and bringing the story forward. Some good books begin with a simple, but shocking, ironic or totally off-the-wall statement. The rest of the book seems to be developed around that statement.
If you’re skilled enough, you can actually create an excellent opening by starting at the beginning of your story, but NOT using one of the following:
• Joshua was born to Emma and Jake Laughlin in a log cabin in 1875.
• This is the story of a logger and his challenges.
• Once upon a time in a small city in New England…
Unless your second sentence is truly captivating, don’t even try this.
If you are working on a book, check your opening sentence/paragraph. Is it full of emotion? Does it grab the reader and make him or her want to continue reading? Does it incite questions or promise delicious things that the reader can’t resist?
This weekend, I suggest that you study your opening line. Have others read it and ask them the following questions:
• What do you know about this book after reading the opening?
• How do you feel about pursuing this book after reading the opening?
Read the opening lines in other novels to get an idea of what really works.
Good luck. And I invite you to share your findings here at this blog site.