Many editors state that if they are not hooked within the
first three pages of a manuscript, they will rarely read beyond.
A few editors narrow that window of opportunity to the first three
paragraphs. So how do you go about crafting a great beginning?
1. Begin with dialogue. A bit of dialogue can quickly immerse
the reader in a character's point of view immediately.
"If you let me copy your answers, I'll make sure you're
invited to Brad's party," Sherry said.
Katie shuffled from one foot to the other. "That's
cheating."
Sherry shrugged. "It's no big deal. Think of it as
helping out a friend."
Are you hooked? What is our protagonist, Katie, going to do?
Give in and let her friend copy her answers? Or will she hold
fast to her principles?
Begin with an Intriguing Character
You will snag and keep
your readers' attention if you can make them care about the
main character(s).
Luke Mackey never knew his father. He had a dad. A
great dad. But a father? No. He'd never known the man who
had passed his genes to Luke. Did his brown eyes and dark
hair come from the man listed on the birth certificate?
Are you wondering why Luke had never known his father, but has
a dad? I hope so.
Begin with Description
Be careful of this one, though. A
carefully crafted scene can set the mood. Too much
description, however, can slow the pace and bore the readers
(the ultimate sin in writing).
The too-neat state of his twin brother's room bothered
Jake. Books marched across the shelves in military fashion.
No clothes littered the floor or the bed. Jeremy's room
usually resembled a dump site.
Notice the carefully chosen details to set the stage. We know
that Jeremy is normally a slob. What's going on with Jake's
twin brother to have caused him to clean his room?
Have you ever started a book, only to put it down within the
first pages? Did you stop to think why didn't it engage your
interest?
Below are Some Common Pitfalls in Beginnings:
No action. Or, more accurately, no important action.
Example:
Let's take the story of Carly, a sixteen-year-old girl who
decides to enter an essay competition in order to win a college
scholarship:
Carly woke up, stretched, got out of bed. She wandered into
the bathroom and brushed her teeth and showered. She decided to
wear her new jeans with the matching jacket. Then she fixed her
hair and put on her makeup.
Are you bored silly?
What if you plunge right in with Carly's feelings over
entering the competition. Is she excited? Nervous? Is winning
the scholarship the only way that she'll be able to go to college?
Let us know that.
Long passages of description that serve no purpose
Check those sections of description that you worked so
diligently to perfect. Chances are, if you love a particular
passage a little too much, it may have more to do with your
fascination with your own cleverness than with advancing the plot
or introducing the character(s).
Example:
Molly arrived at her aunt's country house where she would
spend the summer. She noticed the azure sky, the rolling fields,
the cows that dotted the distant pasture like brown paper bags.
I've painted a pretty picture, but none of those details let
us know how these details of setting affect Molly. Suppose Molly
has been sent to spend the summer with her aunt because her parents
don't like her choice of friends. Does the peaceful country
setting soothe her? Or does it stir her resentment because she
misses her friends?
Lengthy Character Background
Provide the barest hint of background in the first pages. Let
the reader absorb more information as the book progresses. Don't
overwhelm him with too much too fast.
Example:
Consider the set-up of a young boy planning to enter a canoe
race at summer camp.
Stan had an IQ of 175 and was considered a geek at school. He
had few friends and used his intelligence as a shield against
loneliness.
We want to know how Stan is feeling at the moment he signs his
name on the entry form. Why is winning the canoe race so
important.
Writers ask for an investment from their readers, first of
money, then, and more importantly, of emotion and time. It is your
job and your privilege to give that to them.
Every time.
