Back to the beginning again

As you know, I place great store on getting the start right for a stories - you have to grab the reader from the off.

The first rule of opening lines is that they should possess some or most of the individual elements that make up the story. An opening line should have a distinctive voice, some suggestions of the plot and a hint of characterisation. By the end of the first paragraph, we should also know where the story is set.

It can be a good idea to start as something is happening, so that the reader arrives in the middle of something.

If you want to begin a story with dialogue, keep in mind that you are asking a lot of your reader to get their head round your story as it is so rather than lots of dialogue, maybe begin with a single line then immediately offer additional context before proceeding with the rest of the conversation.

For me, good openings include:

“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.” — William Gibson, Neuromancer (you can see exactly where you are)

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” — C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (so intriguing)

“Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.” — Anne Tyler, Back When We Were Grownups (also intriguing)

“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.” — Raymond Chandler, Red Wind (a strong and distinctive voice from the off)

“We started dying before the snow, and like the snow, we continued to fall.” — Louise Erdrich, Tracks (I defy you not to read on after that!)

John Dean