As writers, we’re often told to begin our stories “in media
res,” which translates as “in the middle of things.”
 |
| It is a truth universally acknowledged... |
Present day readers want the story to begin right away. They
aren’t inclined to read patiently through background or exposition. Authors are
challenged to find a “hook,” something which pulls the reader into the story
right away.
As kids, we’d get goose bumps at when someone read, “Once
upon a time…” we knew it was the beginning of a story. We’d settle down to wait
for the story to begin.
The next words were often, “far away and long ago.” More
goose bumps.
Many classics started with passive sentences. Who can forget
the timeless opening of Charles Dickens’ Tale
of Two Cities? “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
Or Jane Austen’s Pride
and Prejudice. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man
in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
In Frankenstein,
Mary Shelley starts with a letter from R. Walton to his sister, discussing, of
all things, the weather.
 |
| It was a dark and stormy night... |
Try to get that past an agent or an editor these days.
Charlie Brown’s Snoopy, who fancies himself an author,
sitting on his doghouse with a typewriter, starts many of his efforts with “It
was a dark and stormy night...”
The Bulwer-Lytton Contest (http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/index.html)
annually solicits and selects dreadful first sentences, paying homage to Edward
George Bulwer-Lytton’s opening for his novel, Paul Clifford. While he was not the first to use that opening, his
use of it rose to an art form.
“It was a dark and stormy night; the
rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by
a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our
scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty
flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.” — Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)
 |
| Jim Jackson's Bad Policy |
At the opposite end of the spectrum,
Thriller Fest and the ITW have started a contest for the best first sentences.
(http://thrillerfest.com/best-first-sentence-contest/)
B.K. Stevens, a mystery writer with a
number of novels and short stories to her name, including a twelve-piece series
that has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, presents a different
author each Tuesday on her “First Two Pages” Blog. The author discusses how he
or she has started a novel, what led to the choices, and how the reader is
drawn in by the beginning of the story.
On June 2, WWK’s own Jim Jackson presented the first two pages of his book, Bad Policy, (Barking Rain Press, January, 2014) and gave us his "opening six pack" designed to immediately engross the reader in his story.
And on June 9, Paul Gail Benson, another WWK blogger, told us of the special challenges presented by short stories. She used her short story, "The Train's on the Tracks," which appears in Fish or Cut Bait: A Guppy Anthology (Wildside Press, April, 2015) to illustrate how important those first two pages can be to a story that may run only ten pages or so.
 |
| Paula Gail Benson's "The Train's on the Tracks" appears in this anthology. |
And on June 9, Paul Gail Benson, another WWK blogger, told us of the special challenges presented by short stories. She used her short story, "The Train's on the Tracks," which appears in Fish or Cut Bait: A Guppy Anthology (Wildside Press, April, 2015) to illustrate how important those first two pages can be to a story that may run only ten pages or so.
And today, the site features the first two pages of Steeled for Murder, (Wildside, 2015) the first in my
Jesse Damon Crime Novel series. Yet another approach, but also intended to draw the reader irresistibly into the story.
 |
| Steeled for Murder. first in the Jesse Damon Crime Novel series |
Link to B.K. Steven's Mysteries
Blog: The First Two Pages
link: (http://www.bkstevensmysteries.com/blog/)
Do you find the first two pages of a story or novel to be "make it or break it" for deciding whether to continue reading?
Can you think of any books you like with extraordinary beginnings?
Blog: The First Two Pages
link: (http://www.bkstevensmysteries.com/blog/)
Do you find the first two pages of a story or novel to be "make it or break it" for deciding whether to continue reading?
Can you think of any books you like with extraordinary beginnings?
I know I am a bit unusual as a reader. I am willing to be patient, to let an author set up the story. What I find most aggravating with a number of published works and untold number of unpublished works I read when I was a reader for Poisoned Pen Press, is when authors start at the right place in the story and then shortly thereafter dump a page or two or even a chapter of deadly boring backstory, seemingly forgetting all they learned in the first two pages about being active and keeping the story moving forward.
ReplyDelete~ Jim
I am less patient than Jim. If a writer doesn't have me hooked in the first two pages, I joined the legion of those who got away.
ReplyDeleteOf all the books I have read only two improved significantly after forgettable openings.
If a set up is intriguing, Jim, I'm willing to be a patient reader and let it build for a good story. And I do have a tendency to want to write that way. But I don't think most people will continue to read, so I usually end up starting my story on page five or so of the original draft. Backstory is essential, but it's hard to supply it without boring readers. Some of my favorite books start with a prelude, but these days, that alternative isn't often well-regarded.
ReplyDeleteWarren, I know what you mean. There are too many good books out there to waste your reading time on ones that don't interest you right away.
ReplyDeleteI know it is strange, but I'll often dip into a story half way through and make my decision about reading it that way. Is it worth reading to get to that point? is my metric. I've become numb to the "starting off with a bang" (though I've done it myself in a manuscript because I thought it showed something important about the protagonist).
ReplyDeleteBTW, I like the way to started your story with dialogue. That pulled me in immediately.
KM, I agree with KM. I was hooked from the beginning of your book and every one in the series that followed. Like Jim, I'm willing to give a book a chance. Because my book clubs pick books that weren't necessarily my choice, I may find it slow going at first, but almost always find myself hooked and glad I'd read the book. A dead body in the first chapter doesn't necessarily hook me.I have to like the characters and want to care what happens to them.
ReplyDeleteI like for the first two pages of a book to grab my attention and transport me to another world. But I will keep reading past that point if the characters are compelling.
ReplyDeleteKM, your good advice inspired me to revise the opening of a short story that I'm in the middle of writing.
Shari, that's a wonderful idea! I must admit I never tried it. But if the middle of a story makes you wonder what happened before and how it will end, it's a pretty good indication you'd like the book.
ReplyDeleteGloria, I find my book club makes me read books I otherwise would not, and because they all tend to be good books, I've never been sorry I read them.
ReplyDeleteCharacters who make you care what happens to them are the best "hook."
Kara, it happened to me yet again. My critique group met last Saturday (we go to a lovely bistro for a late breakfast) and I handed in a short story. The first comment was, "Your story begins at the top of page four."
ReplyDeleteSigh. You'd think I'd learn.