Hooking the reader from the beginning of your story is very important. Therefore, the most important elements of your novel manuscript are your first paragraph and your first page. Readers, much like agents and editors, need to be engaged from the moment they pick up your book.
How can you do this? What will ensure the reader signs on for the journey through the story? Here are a few ideas for learning how to improve your beginnings:
- Read what others have written.
- Watch movies to see how directors do it.
- Develop a relationship with a character from the first line.
- Use an unexpected element that grabs the readers’ eye.
Read, read, read
Pick up your favorite novels or one of the latest bestsellers in your chosen genre. Pay attention to the first line, paragraph and page. See how other authors do it. Then ask yourself the following questions:
- How did the author hook me into the book?
- What happened in the first few paragraphs that made me want to keep reading.
- What makes me want to keep reading after the first page?
- What character began the story and what was it about that character that made me what to learn more and see how their fate was revealed?
- Did I know from the beginning what kind of story it was going to be – mystery, action, romance, suspense, etc. – and what clues did the author give me?
Analyze the information you come up with and apply it to your own work when you revise your own beginning. Don’t copy – find your own words. The beginning you come up with must reflect your own voice and meld with the style of your book.
Go to the movies
Another way to learn about great beginnings is to take a trip to the movies. When the movie opens, something always happens to engage the audience – an action scene, a love scene, a spooky scene, someone expressing anger, etc.
James Bond films are classic – something wild and crazy always happens right at the beginning so that you are already hooked by the story before you get to such quieter scenes as James enjoying a little “down time” with one of the famous Bond girls — which can also hook some audience members!
Build a bond with a character
Using the name of a character in the first line and paragraph can automatically build a bond with the readers, making them want to learn more about that person. It can be the main character or someone who is involved in a key opening scene.
For example, “Sean was angry, no, not angry, enraged. If that little creep Cyrus thought he could fire him and get away with it, he’d show him. Sean gunned the engine of his truck, then floored the accelerator. The tires spun, spitting gravel across the parking lot. He aimed the truck towards the highway. He didn’t have a plan but he knew where he needed to be right now. And it wasn’t here.”
If the book is a murder mystery, then you could start off with something like: “Jane looked into the eyes of her kidnapper and knew that, despite his promises, she wouldn’t be going home again. Tears well in the corners of her eyes and she bowed her head as he began to laugh. What had she done in life to end up this way? Why her and not her sister Karen? Dad would pay even more money to get her back.”
The unexpected
Use the unexpected to hook your reader. You’ve set up an opening scene that is good but has no sparkle – what can you do to ramp it up? One story I wrote was about a single mother and how she coped with three teenagers and her demanding job at the same time. My original manuscript had her taking care of her house on a Saturday morning, already exhausted by noon and wondering how she would get through the rest of her day. It was kind of a downer beginning.
I adjust my beginning paragraph and threw in something unexpected. My manuscript’s original first line was “Liza dragged herself around the house, desperately trying to get her Saturday chores done before she ran out of energy.” The story ended up starting this way: “Liza knew this was not going to be an ordinary Saturday when she opened the front door and found a gorilla on the doorstep.” (Hint – it was Halloween!) It was a much more effective first line that made the reader ask all kinds of questions and continue to read in order to find the answers.
So, as you write your novel or story, keep in mind that you will need a great hook. Take note of elements you could use – but finish your manuscript first. Then go back and write a new first paragraph and make sure it melds with your revisions to your opening pages.
Engaging a reader, be it a friend, colleague, agent or editor, from the first words is what can help you work towards successful publication. Keep on writing.
