Killer openings

I know a lot of people rave about killer opening sentences or paragraphs, but honestly, I think it is highly overrated.

The purpose of the opening chapter of any book is to establish character, not plot. Remember, the plot IS the characters in action.

In Mars Endeavour (being republished as Retrograde by John Joseph Adams Books), I use the opening chapter to introduce the reader to life on Mars. The book starts after midnight, after a long day of work, with a bunch of Chinese scientists playing cards with a couple of American scientists. There's banter. There's personality. There's no action.

Rather than "a strong opening sentence" I went for a strong closing sentence to the chapter, with the final words being, "They just nuked Chicago."

The effect of this (I hope) is the reader has begun to relate to the people in the story, and thus care about them, so when they learn about Chicago it's meaningful.

My advice to writers is... forget about a killer opening sentence. Think about a killer closing sentence to your first chapter. Don't rush your plot points. Keep the characters first and foremost in your story.

Cheers,
Peter