T. Styles’ Dopest Book Openings…Ever
You have two sentences to convince me to buy your book…not a word more.
I posed a question on Facebook a few months ago. “As a reader, how long will you give a book to pull you in before purchasing?”
Surprisingly some said a paragraph, a page and even a chapter. If not the case already, I predict in the near future the answer will be one sentence.
There are a lot of talented authors out there but they do themselves a disservice when they don’t use every effort to grab the reader ASAP. You must show action, whether through dialogue or visual.
New authors should never start with narration in the beginning of their careers. There are too many novels on the market. Sell yourself immediately!
Grabbing immediately can also be done in a quote like this example from my book Raunchy.
‘Why should my life change just ‘cause I got kids? Shit…I brought them in the world…what more do they want? – Harmony Phillips’.
Or try drawing readers in using the mid-conversation method….
“You shouldn’t have done it. And I’m not going to be a part of it, Angie,” Wayne said, his voice but a soft whisper.
“I did it because I love you. You could’ve walked out at anytime, but you stayed. It makes you just as guilty.”
The above dialogue makes us wonder, “What happened? And who are the characters?”
For my series, T. Styles’ Dopest Book Openings, I’m going to show you some authors who dove into their storylines, giving me no choice but to turn the next page.
Writers take note. This series is for you.
My first author Treasure Blue, showcased this art in his novel The Circle – Rain’s Story. He went in relentlessly forcing me to give him my money.
“THEY FOUND HER in the apartment— naked, face down in a puddle of blood. A sock stuffed in her mouth; hogtied with an extension cord at the ankles.”
It’s not about the violence that makes this one of T. Styles’ Dopest Book Openings, but the description. Anybody can be gross and most who do it without reason get booed and considered horrible authors.
In Treasure’s book he didn’t tell us how she was found, he showed us!
I’m not surprised, Treasure does an outstanding job of being visual in his novels, which is why his career has spanned over a decade.
Come back later for more examples.
