Beginnings And Their Endings

My view has
always been that great first lines are overrated. Famous opening lines tend to
become famous after the fact. Once a book becomes acclaimed or well-loved, the
opening takes on a significance that it didn’t have to start with. Nobody read
“Call me Ishamel” and thought, Genius!



First paragraphs
are overrated too. Orson Scott Card has a theory that the first paragraph is a
freebie, and I’m inclined to agree with him.



The first
paragraph can be in a different POV, be generic or introductory, set the tone,
or be the lyric from a song. It doesn’t really matter and readers don’t really
expect it to be consistent with the rest of the book.



Ever since
somebody came up with Once upon a time...  readers have understood that.



First
chapters, however, are important.












They didn’t
used to be, or at least not as much as they are now, but with the way ebooks
are sold, allowing only access to the first few pages, it is much more likely
that reader will read that sample and use it to decide on whether or not to
make the purchase.



That isn’t
how I would choose to judge a book. My experience is that openings of books
rarely give an accurate indication of whether the rest of the story will be any
good. Sometimes a book starts great and stays that way till the end, but
rarely. Sometimes they start well and fade, other times they’re slow to get
going and then come into their own.



However, the
emphasis on the first chapter is changing because of online sites offering the
first chapter for free.  And not only
does it matter that you give the reader something to draw them in, it also
helps if the end of that chapter makes them want to keep reading (i.e. buy the
book).



Of course,
this will lead to a lot of gimmicky ends of first chapters of the kind where
something outrageous and inexplicable happens to make the reader want to know
what happens next. Despite knowing it’s a writerly ruse, enough people will be
unable to resist to make it a ruse worth considering.



Whatever
your thoughts on what should be happening in your first chapter, if you hope to
sell it online, it’s worth bearing in mind how important the opening few pages
will be, and while not every story should start like a cheap thriller, it might
be an idea to think of  chapter one like
the first part of a serial.





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