Sometimes, a story’s opening lines seem to come to you effortlessly. You listen to the muse, you write, and your words open a door to step through, helping you to keep on drafting. Ahhh…this is how to write a novel opening! And you feel great knowing that soon your readers will be hooked by your first words and become engaged with the rest of your brilliant book. It’s the way your story was meant to begin.
But … how to write the start of a book when it isn’t effortless?
So, what do we do when those amazing opening lines aren’t immediately, almost magically available? It can have a way of stunting our efforts when we’re writing our first draft. Not only that, we know how important the first sentence and the first few pages are in grabbing and holding our readers’ attention. How do you get there when your mind feels blank?
In my experience, there are four helpful things you can try and think about when figuring out how to write the start of a book.
#1 Start your story where your story starts
This sounds obvious, but sometimes we can forget. So intent on hinting at backstory and offering up information that the reader will need later on, it can be tempting to start a novel with lots of set up. Too much set up. Unnecessary set up. And that’s probably why your opening is feeling lacklustre.
I could simply remind you that you can use flashbacks, jump around in time, and find other clever ways to hint at the past or other foundational information you’re currently feeling the need to pour out all at once. That may be enough to get you going (and if so – get going!).
But if that’s too vague or still not enough to help you create a great novel opening, I’d like to invite you to think theatrically. This is how I’ve come to figure out the opening moments of several of my books, and how I teach story beginnings in my workshops. I call it the “Curtains Open” approach.
Imagine that you are at a theatre, one of those grand old-fashioned places with a heavy curtain cloaking the stage. (If you’ve never been to one, just use that writer’s imagination of yours!) The lights dim, the heavy curtains part…Suddenly the play’s set is before us. Often a character is already on stage, usually in the midst of some sort of action or task.
The curtains have barely opened, but we find ourselves immediately a part of the world before us. We may not know everything about the world or the character(s) we see within it, or what exactly is going to happen next. But our minds are filling in some of the unspoken details about the ways of this world (Shabby? Opulent? Oppressive? Delightful?) and about the ‘who’ in this world (Optimistic? Downtrodden? Fearful? Secretive?). We’re leaning forward in our seats, interested in what’s about to happen next, what that character is going to do or say next…
Typically (though I won’t say never!) after those curtains part, the actor doesn’t step out onto the stage, give us a tour of the set, and fill us in with a brief life history or character sketch. But this is exactly what we sometimes find ourselves doing when we try too hard to set the stage with our novel beginnings—rather than simply showing the stage. It’s what they do at the theatre—and it works!
Can you begin to think of how to start your story this way—like a Curtains Open moment? What do you want your audience to feel? What is the tone or flavor you want to suggest for the story to come? How can you show this in a sentence or two? And what can you show your readers with a gesture from your main character, or a bit of dialogue between a couple of characters, that hints at their personalities or predicaments?
If we can successfully draw our audience in at the beginning so that we have them leaning in and wanting more, then we can start to understand how we can use flashbacks or descriptive text to fill in some key details later on in our tale. And now, our captive audience will have the patience for it!
#2 Learn from other authors
Grab three books that are like the one you want to write (e.g., similar in genre, or story type). Read the opening few paragraphs of each one. Pay attention to the techniques or approaches used to deliver the first few lines. Does the author use a piece of dialogue? A jarring or cryptic statement? An apparent contradiction? A stunning bit of description?
Pay attention also to your emotional and intellectual responses as you read these openings. Trace them back to the source in the text before you. What key words may have caused that feeling within you? What did the author write that made you want to know more (or how did she write it)? Is there anything you can learn from these sample texts and adapt as you set the stage for your own opening?
Now, let’s expand your mind and your writing possibilities by grabbing three books that are not like your own (e.g., opposite genre, another target audience). Pay attention to technique or approach alone in the opening lines. Can you see yourself adapting one of the techniques here to write a beginning for your own unique story?
#3 Don’t write the opening first
To some of you, this might sound radical. But I stand by this advice: sometimes it’s worth starting somewhere other than the very beginning when you draft. Because of the importance we place upon an opening line, paragraph or scene, it can become an absolute stumbling block to the writing process. We can literally spend days trying to get it right. And while that’s okay, when you begin to feel it draining your energy and your will and your love for the rest of your draft, it might not be the best use of your creative time.
Remember that it’s okay to back track when you write. It’s okay to jump around between scenes when you draft, writing out of order. It might even help! The act of writing has a way of inspiring new ideas and solving problems. By writing a scene located somewhere in the middle, you might even get an idea for your ideal beginning. And even if not, you will certainly benefit from the momentum of doing something rather than spinning your wheels.
#4 I’ve often found my opening moment during revisions
Take this as further encouragement to try option #3 above. Sometimes what makes a great opening line or scene (or even chapter) for our book won’t be obvious until we’ve finished our first draft and start the finessing process. (The same goes for titles—quite often, it can be one of the last things to be figured out, when we really know our story well.)
Sometimes that great opener is already on your first page or in the first chapter of your draft, it’s just not in the right spot. At the revision stage, you might now see how slashing the first paragraph in favor of leading with paragraph two gives you that magical moment that draws your readers in. (This has happened to me more than once!)
Revision (especially after you ‘rest’ your draft, which I highly recommend!) is famous for offering perspective. And this is equally true for shining the spotlight on what would make a compelling Curtains Open or beginning moment for your novel.
