Write Compelling Opening Lines
Grab Readers' Attention with Character, Setting and Mood
It only takes editors a few pages to know if they like your novel. Here are some tips to develop character, setting and mood in your first lines.
As novel writers, you have only a few pages to grab your reader’s attention. When you can hook them with the first paragraph, it’s even better.
In Great First Lines for Novels , we discussed setting up the plot with problems, questions, and the “uh-oh” factor. Now we’ll explore ways to open your story with the deeper layers of character, setting and mood (examples are again from various genres, some bestsellers or award winners, some not).
A COMPELLING CHARACTER
You’ve created great characters and really gotten to know them, so start your book with a paragraph or two that shows their personality. It might be in their own voice or a narration that shows their attitude, but readers will be hooked by a character that comes to life.
“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like . . . but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” (J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye)
“Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time rolling on the ground with men who think a stiffy represents personal growth. The rolling around has nothing to do with my sex life. The rolling around is what happens when a bust goes crapola . . . ” (Janet Evanovich, Hard Eight)
The young prince was known here and there (and just about everywhere else) as Prince Brat. Not even black cats would cross his path. (Sid Fleishman, The Whipping Boy)
A SETTING THAT COMES TO LIFE
If you can describe a setting so that it entrances and entices, drawing your reader into a world real enough to breathe the muggy air, hear the thunder, or feel the curtains, then try starting your novel where these authors did.
“I remember that the last completely normal day we ever had in our lives, my brothers and I, was an ordinary day much like this one, a muggy August-into-September weekday, the sky low and gray over Langhorne, clouds as flat as an old comforter . . . ” (Anna Quindlen, One True Thing)
“The child was born on a night of moon and thunder and a wind that sang high, sweet and clear, naming this a night of miracles. The clouds rumbled with rain that never fell and the grasses whispered the secrets of the night . . . .” (Kathryn Lynn Davis, Sing to Me of Dreams)
“He stood at the window . . . framed by the faded curtains which she had chosen forty years before. The sun had bleached their bright roses to a faded pink, and the linings were so threadbare that they could no longer be sent to the cleaners for fear of total disintegration.” (Rosamunde Pilcher, Under Gemini)
ESTABLISHING A MOOD
Readers can also be spellbound by the mood you set in your opening paragraphs. Even if they don’t know who the characters are or what the problem is, they can shiver with anticipated suspense, adopt the wry attitude of a jaded detective, or be drawn into a mesmerizing, epic-level fantasy, as shown in these examples.
“It was the third time in a month he had come to Los Angeles to observe her daily activities. ‘I know your comings and goings,’ he whispered as he waited in the pool house.” (Mary Higgins Clark, Nighttime is My Time)
“It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby. The cold pinched at Russ Van Alstyne’s nose and made him jam his hands deep into his coat pockets, grateful that the Washington County Hospital had a police parking spot just a few yards from the ER doors.” (Julia Spencer-Fleming, In the Bleak Morning)
“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some . . . ” (Robert Jordan, The Eye of the World)
Spend extra time crafting the beginning of your book. Experiment with different ways to hook readers. Some writers can’t manage mood, and others can’t start with a bold statement. Follow your talents to find which method is right for you and your book.
