First Words Equal First Impressions
We are taught early on how important first impressions are when meeting people. A bad or wrong impression can ruin the chance for a solid friendship or a job. Sorry folks, that’s just the way it is. If we by chance meet someone on a really bad, stressful day and respond abruptly, we will never know the friend we might have passed by. It happens to all of us. The other person will most likely write us off as not worthy of their time.
What about our writing? The first words on the page are our first impression with a reader. We have all seen bad covers that sometimes had absolutely nothing to do with a book. It’s important, but not as critical as those first words. When browsing through a bookstore, real or virtual, we don’t have time to get to know the whole book. The blurb may tell us what kind of book it is, but it is when we look at the first words that we are sold or not.
Editors know this. That is the reason most publishing houses only want the first few chapters for submissions. Quite often, decisions are made on the opening paragraph. Sometimes just the opening line. They know readers are going to decide to buy or not based on that first impression.
What makes a good first impression in fiction?
First and foremost it is the strength of the writing. If ever there is a place where you need to put every ounce of effort into crafting your sentences, this is it. The writing needs to be lean, with as much impact in each word you choose as you can muster. I cannot possibly stress this enough. I tried many openings for my first book before I thought I might finally have gotten it right.
Second, but no less important, is giving a taste of the style of the book. Your voice for the book should be loud and clear. If it’s humorous, make the opening catchy. If it’s horror, something at least a little scary needs to happen. The opening must show the true style of writing.
Third is tension. Whatever the plot and style of your story, if it doesn’t have tension, it’s dead on the shelf. Here is where word choice in the opening can be so critical. You don’t need a fight scene or an attack by monsters to have tension. Those things are fine, if they fit your story. More important is the way you use your words to show the conflict in the scene. You can have a full on brawl, but if the word choice and phrasing is weak, you don’t have tension. You just have a mess.
Example: 1. It was a dark and stormy night, eyes gleamed threateningly from the woods.
2.Thunder crashed. Startled, he slipped on the rain-wet rocks. He stood and his blood pounded in his ears. Eyes watched from the wood.
You tell me which one would entice you to keep reading.
If it was a real story, I’d have a name in there, but you get the point. The first one is just blah, ho-hum, put this book down and pick up another. The second puts you in the scene instead of describing the scene.
By the way, an opening is not the place for worldbuilding or backstory. That will kill the book faster that cyanide. That is exactly the problem I had with my first book. I did manage to get most of it weeded out, but I have since learned how little that matters on the first page. When I get around to doing a print version, the opening is going to be leaned out to nothing but the essentials. If you are so inclined, take a look at the opening to Selarial’s Song and compare it to the opening of Narethi Rising that I posted here last week. The opening for Narethi Rising is far more powerful – and it’s basically a first draft.
