4 Signs You Might Be Confusing, Not Intriguing, in Your Opening Scene

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

The opening scene of a novel walks a fine line between piquing curiosity and confusing the reader.
Opening scenes are under a lot of pressure—they need to pique reader interest, set the scene, introduce characters, and give just enough information to intrigue, but not overload or confuse. That’s a lot to ask of 250 words.

In our efforts to hook readers and not give everything away, it’s common for an opening scene to be less than forthcoming with information. We hold back details to sound mysterious, we hide clues we worry will reveal too much, we keep our narrative distance, and sometimes, we even bend over backward not to provide the exact details readers need to become hooked.

Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com