(Writing Talk is a type of short-form article centered around conversations about various aspects of writing/authorship. These aren’t usually long reads, but I think it’s fun to jot down some of my thoughts about the writing process as someone who loves the art of it all.)
Been a little while since we’ve done one of these, hasn’t it? Well, I’ve been doing some story brainstorming lately, so I found myself in a mood to spend a bit of time discussing something that many writers dread:
“How the heck should I start my story?“
Well, as with many things related to writing, I don’t have a definitive answer to that question. Chiefly, I don’t have a definitive answer because there isn’t a definitive answer. There’s an almost infinite number of ways that you can kick off a story, and the second you think you’ve discovered some sort of ‘Golden Rule’ is the second you find a really strong story opening example that breaks that rule.
The most traditional opening to a story usually tends to involve some sort of attention-grabbing sentence. You know the kind. You open up your latest Mystery novel purchase, and find a sentence that reads:
“The man’s blood was fresh, though not as fresh as the corpse from yesterday.“
And there’s a reason authors do this so much, right? It amps up the intrigue immediately. You sit up a bit in your chair while reading a sentence like that. Clearly, our protagonist is investigating a murder scene, and a recent one. Is the killer still lurking nearby? Are there vital clues to find? Who is this person who died? Also, the use of the word ‘yesterday‘ brings some excitement too. Who was the person who died yesterday? How many other people have died? Are they all victims of the same killer?
A single sentence has managed to convey all of this, so of course you have to keep reading to find out more, right?
Now, despite this blog being called The Contrarian Corner, I’m not going to come and say that there’s necessarily something wrong with this particular style of creating an immediate, first-sentence hook as the way to open your story. As I just explored with my hypothetical example, it’s a method that does work. And it is important to pull in your reader early and make them invested in your novel. A compelling hook is a great way to do that.
What I am going to do is caution authors who might want to over-rely on this tactic, to the detriment of the story they are trying to tell. I have read way too many stories that start with a hook sentence that is jarring, tonally dissonant, and completely unrelated to the novel at large.
I’ve read a YA book about solving a high school mystery that kicked off with the sentence ‘When I close my eyes, his decaying body is still the only thing that I see‘. Sounds good in theory, I suppose, but the book itself was about catching a criminal at the school. It didn’t have anything to do with the ‘decaying body‘ mentioned in the hook sentence. All that had to do with was a bit of background info related to the protagonist and some past trauma. Interesting in terms of their backstory, sure, but important enough to serve as the first sentence a reader sees when they open the book? I don’t really think so.
For many authors, in their rush to create a hook sentence that they think will be engaging and exciting, they just put down the first thing that pops into their head, instead of something that actually ends up being relevant to the main plot and themes of the novel. Or worse, they almost attempt to be misleading, edgy, or shocking for the sake of it, without really bringing any depth.
A large part of my discontent with poorly-written hook sentences comes from my inability to really understand their usefulness. People seem to believe that the hook sentence is the single most important thing when it comes to ‘selling‘ your novel to someone. Firstly, that feels depressingly cynical. But secondly, why do we have to put so much pressure on a single sentence? Surely the first paragraph as a whole is just as important. Or the entire first chapter. Or, really, the title of the book, it’s cover, and the inside-the-jacket synopsis!
I am not a published author, with my novels on the shelves of recognizable book stores. I’m not sure I’ve got the fortitude to attempt to be one, if my views on hook sentences are any indication. So you can take my words with a grain of salt if you’d like.
What I’m really trying to say is two-fold. You should never place so much emphasis on a hook sentence that you neglect all of the other aspects of your book that go into hooking readers and establishing a strong introduction, and you should definitely not be like those authors who use hook sentences that feel like cheap ‘gotchas‘ and have nothing to do with their novel as a whole.
Moving on from all of that, let’s pick up on something I just mentioned a few paragraphs ago: The entire first chapter!
Even if you nail your hook sentence (or sidestep the issue entirely by just prioritizing a strong first chapter), no one is going to want to keep reading your story if the first chapter is immensely boring. It’s similar to the compelling urge to turn off a movie if the first act is a slog, or to stop watching a tv show if the pilot episode makes you sleep. There needs to be at least something in your first few pages that gets readers to want to keep going.
Now, as with many things, there’s about a million different ways you can structure the beginning of your story, and almost every method has merit. There really isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all‘ option.
A style I’ve tended to be a fan of is the ‘Character‘ intro. This is an intro style aimed at introducing the reader as quickly as possible (but also as naturally as possible) to the major characters of the story (or at least the opening act’s main players. I place a lot of emphasis on characters in the stories I write, and those I like to read, so it’s little surprise this would be one of my favorite methods of opening a story. This one runs the highest risk of being boring if you don’t have a firm grasp on your writing style, and what you want to convey to the reader.
We also have the ‘Action-Packed‘ intro. This is an intro focused on tossing the reader right into the thick of the action, immediately and jarringly (but in a good way, or at least that’s the attempt). It takes the core essence of a hook sentence’s goal to bring in the reader, and multiplies it with chaotic action. These intros can get out of hand, but work well if you don’t let yourself get too carried away while writing them.
Then we have the ‘Different POV‘ intro, which is a style of intro that frames the opening chapter(s) from the perspective of someone who isn’t the main protagonist at all. They can still be a minor player, but the point is that they aren’t going to be the inevitable integral hero. This is another unique one that I like a lot, even if I haven’t gotten around to using it much in my personal works. It can be supremely entertaining to see the world and other characters through this unique POV lens, before then jumping over to our real focal protagonist. The biggest word of caution here is making sure that your part-time POV character isn’t more interesting and engaging than your real protagonist!
Next, we have the ‘Flashback‘ intro, used very commonly in television and film. Instead of starting the story in the present-day, we kick things off with some sort of event in the past that invariably has huge ramifications upon our eventual present-day tale. A key consideration for this sort of intro is making sure it truly adds something of value to the story. Otherwise, your reader may wonder why the information therein couldn’t have just been explained through a bit of exposition later on in the present-day story.
Very similarly related is the ‘Flashforward‘ intro, which is a bit rare these days, but still shows up in the Thriller and Mystery genre from time-to-time. These stories kick off with a look into the future, which often manifests as a really tense moment that our protagonist is trapped in. Then, chapter two takes us back to the present, and readers are essentially guided on a tour of ‘how we ended up at that other spot’. It’s a really fun way to intro a story, but one that presents a huge risk of coming across as hokey, or accidentally undercutting your story’s tension if you don’t frame things right (for example, don’t have Bob show up in the ‘Flashforward‘ intro if you also want to write a chapter where Bob looks like he might die, because obviously he won’t since we haven’t gotten to that ‘Flashforward‘ moment yet).
That’s a lot of different styles of story intros, isn’t it? And I just came up with those off the top of my head! I’m sure an official list (if such a thing exists) has a billion more examples and methods!
With so much variability, what ends up being the takeaway?
Well, truly, the takeaway is that there isn’t an objective right or wrong, and you can start a story however you’d like to start a story. But, with that said, there are certainly things that you should consider, and things you should avoid, even if the way the pieces come together is ultimately up to you.
I might have gripes with hook sentences (and their undue deific reputation), but it’s a fact that a book’s intro should engage the reader and lead to them wanting to read more. ‘Boring‘ is hard to quantify, but make sure that your story’s intro isn’t boring. It can be hard, but remember that your reader doesn’t know your story like you do. What you find interesting and exciting might not be quite at that level to a reader with fresh eyes on your grand tale.
You also want to make sure that your story’s intro encapsulates the essence of your novel. Unless you’re planning for a risky genre twist of some kind, a reader shouldn’t be blindsided by either your intro, or the chapters that follow them, tonally-speaking. You don’t want a reader putting your book down because they got bored, but you also don’t want them putting your book down because it started to turn into something drastically different than what the intro implied/promised.
And lastly, make sure the intro has a point. If you’re someone like me who obsessively outlines their novels before the real writing begins, this won’t be a problem for you. But the coolest intro in the world won’t matter much if your reader recognizes that it has nothing to do with the rest of the story. If the characters in the intro aren’t important, if the stakes aren’t present, if the plot elements get forgotten…on and on. Don’t write an intro that your reader has already dropped from their mind the moment that the second chapter starts.
If you can handle all of that, then congratulations are in order! You’ve just completed your story’s intro, and you should be proud of that! Sure, there’s a lot left to go, but you’ve genuinely just conquered one of the single biggest hurdles to writing a story!
Keep on writing, friends!
The Contrarian Corner 