Last week during writing group, a member asked about shifting the start of her novel back chronologically. Her question made me think about beginnings and their importance. If course, the concept of beginnings being pivotal is nothing new. Agents, editors, and readers skim your book and if the first few paragraphs don’t grab them, they put it down. One of favorite writing books is The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman. In his guide, Lukeman discusses the key elements of great story openings. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to pick up a copy.
But just as important as what makes a great opening, is where to start– the question posed by my group member. Many writers contend that the start ought to occur as close to the inciting incident as possible. For me, this theory isn’t set in stone. In mystery novels, the inciting incident/crime, occurs at the very beginning. But in romance novels, readers are introduced to the hero/heroine and their world first. Meeting the love interest (the inciting incident) doesn’t usually take place until the middle of act one. Similarly, writers of historical fiction often begin by setting the scene and giving readers a sense of where they are in history, while young adult writers, like John Green, tend to open their novels by establishing an authentic voice and connecting with young readers. Bottomline, the answer to the question, “Where should I begin?” isn’t as clear cut as it may seem.
That being said, I’ve created some guidelines for myself that pertain to openings.
- If I find myself doing more than a line of two of clarifying, or if my opening contains blocks of backstory and telling, than I’m usually starting in the wrong spot.
- Similarly, if I plop my readers into an opening scene, and they’re totally confused, I shift my opening backward to a place where no explanation is needed.
- If my opening seems to drag, or my beta readers don’t find it compelling, it tends to mean that I’m starting too early. I wrote a novel about a woman who was investigating her daughter’s murder. It was suggested that I start the story a week before she arrived in the city where the crime occurred, that I set up the protagonist’s life, her job, and follow her as she drove to her daughter’s home. Perhaps if my story wasn’t a mystery, having a sense of the protagonist’s life before the change, would have worked. But given the pacing and tone of the mystery the traditional quiet opening didn’t fit. Things brings me to my next point.
- If my story doesn’t feel as if there’s forward motion, or if the events of my plot aren’t naturally propelling the story, I shift my opening closer to the hook or the inciting incident. For me, pacing is always a good barometer of problems in my novel. If my story doesn’t naturally roll forward, I rethink the starting point of my novel.
The good news is, openings can be shifted and rewritten. You can play with them, and see what works and what doesn’t. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to novel starting points. What matters is that your opening captivates, and that it propels your story in the direction you want it to go. Hope that helps.
