Tuesday, March 6, 2018

On Beginnings (Of Stories)


*This originally appeared in my February 2018 newsletter. If you're not a subscriber yet, the link is in the sidebar. --> 




Do you remember Mary Katherine Gallagher (Molly Shannon/Saturday Night Live)? Her theory was that there were two ways to get into a pool.

The first?

Enter slowly, taking it step-by-step, adjusting to the water’s temperature. (I’ll be honest: this is me. Otherwise, I’m more of a lie by the pool with a good book kind of gal.)

The second?

Dive right into the deep end.

When it comes to writing and storytelling, it can be tempting to want to ease the reader in—start with the character waking up and getting ready for school or work or introducing the setting so we get a “feel” for the place—but jumping right into the action is the best way to make a splash (pun intended). 

According to Nancy Kress (Beginnings, Middles & Ends), we have about three pages to get an editor’s (or reader’s) attention.

Every word, every sentence, every paragraph matters, and each one should advance the plot and develop the characters in a surprising way. The truth is, many stories would be stronger if they started later in the chapter or if the first chapter were deleted entirely.

So grab that WIP (work in progress). Open that file. Print the first few pages. Do a bit of honest soul-searching.

Does the first page:
            Grab the reader’s attention through an interesting and relevant action?
            Introduce the character in a real and unique way?
            Pose some kind of question that the reader will want answered?

If the excitement on that first page is lacking, there are a few options:
            Delete it and open later in the story
            Relocate the information to a different page (open later in the story)
            Revise the current content to make it more exciting
            Write an entirely new beginning

This isn’t to say we have to start with explosions or bomb threats or car accidents (unless that’s the kind of story you want to write), but it does mean we have limited space to make the reader care, and this isn’t something to squander.

So . . . there are two ways to start a story: ease the reader into the narrative with a gradual build-up and hope they stick around, or dive right into the excitement, grabbing their attention from the very first page.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~