Flip the Script: Start Anywhere
By Jael McHenry | August 6, 2012 |
Many of the “rules” repeated over and over to beginning writers have to do with the opening of the book, and nearly all of them are Don’ts. Don’t start with a prologue. Don’t start with your protagonist waking up. Don’t talk about the weather. Don’t use dreams. Don’t start slow.
Don’t, don’t, don’t.
But like so many of the rules we’ve covered in the Flip the Script series so far, these are somewhat off-base. First of all, I can name – and I know you can too – examples of bestsellers that violate every one of these rules. (The first 50 pages of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo are among the most tedious it has ever been my misfortune to read.)
Does that mean that prologues are great, waking up is the natural beginning to any book, weather is riveting, dreams are the right way to go, and you should totally take your time setting up your story?
Of course not. But it does mean that you’re way better off knowing what these “rules” are getting at than actually following said rules. To wit:
Prologues are often a cheat. A prologue is a way to sneak in a different point of view, or talk about something that took place 10 (or 100 or 1000) years earlier, or plunk down a load of exposition that you don’t see another way to include. But you can find a better way to include the same information without that odd detached feeling that nearly all prologues suffer from. Besides, some readers skip prologues as a matter of principle. You’re probably better off not giving them the excuse.
Waking up isn’t all that interesting. “But I have to show what an average day is like for him so that readers will understand what a big change it is when XYZ!” No, you don’t. If his average day is boring, readers will be bored. You don’t have to start with your main character reeling from a punch to the throat, but it’s a waste of pages to spend time explaining to us that he isn’t the kind of guy who likes getting his throat punched. Start with action. We’ll figure it out.
Weather is irrelevant. Sure, rain is a way to set the mood, but unless your story is set in a fantasy world where it rains fire and your protagonist has just invented the asbestos raincoat, it’s probably the least interesting entry point to the story. You only get one start. Use it.
Dreams, like prologues, are often a cheat. Yes, it’s tempting to start with a dissonant dream – like a paraplegic character dreaming about flying, or a chaste one dreaming something naughty – but you’re better off establishing a character for real instead of giving the reader whiplash in the first 10 pages. The beginning of your book is a promise to the reader – here’s what you’ll get if you keep reading. Don’t go back on your promise so fast.
A slow start is a dangerous gamble. Back to the example of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Once I realized that the opening pages were of no interest whatsoever to me, why did I keep reading? Only because my book club was discussing the book. If I’d been reading it in a store I’d have put it down without buying, and if I’d bought it sight unseen I would have set it aside unread. This is what readers will do if you don’t capture their attention. In which case they won’t ever be your readers.
So with those caveats, start your book anywhere and in any way you want. Start it with a dream-prologue or 15 pages detailing the clouds of a gathering storm. Just be clear on the lessons behind the “rules”:
- No one wants to read the setup for the story. They want to read the story itself.
- A beginning that doesn’t match up with the rest of the book (whether it’s a dream, a prologue, or something else) does more harm than good.
- You only get one start – make the most of it.
Start strong, and readers will want to keep reading.
(image by andyarthur)
Jael McHenry is the debut author of The Kitchen Daughter (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books, April 12, 2011). Her work has appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Indiana Review, and the Graduate Review at American University, where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing. You can read more about Jael and her book at jaelmchenry.com or follow her on Twitter at @jaelmchenry.
I hate writing beginnings. I’m usually in chapter 8 before I know where the story really begins. But I’m also a proponent of the ‘if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it’ll jump right out, but if you put it in cold water and bring the temperature up gradually, he’ll stay there’ school. I think writing those early “slow” chapters is discovery for the author, and might need to be written. But the reader doesn’t need to see it.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Well, I sure violated a few. I wrote a story called ‘Milwaukee, Dark and Snowy’ and the weather was a relevant, stage-setting element . It involved a early primary campaign stop (with 9 candidates still vying) that was stalled because of a storm. I am unrepentant.
There are always exceptions. In your story, it sounds like the setting is almost another character, or at least a force that greatly impacts the story rather than window dressing. Those kinds of novels are excellent, and it seems a fairly widespread opinion that the weather/setting are integral parts of books from WUTHERING HEIGHTS to LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.
My current WIP under revision opens with a genetically engineered human waking up for the first time/being “born” so she can attend to an issue with the spaceship she’s on. It’s not a typical “she woke up to what seemed like an ordinary day, blinking sleep from her eyes” opening, and I think it works.
There are always, always exceptions. The trick is making sure you have a reason to be one.
I always enjoy your posts, Jael. I agree…if [technique] serves the story and makes it stronger, give it a try.
PS. Your assessment of TGWTDT was spot-on.
Great point. Of the four novels I have in print, only one (Code Blue) actually starts where I planned. For one, I added more at the beginning to pique the reader’s interest, in the next two I cut the opening scene (or two) to get right to the good stuff.
Thanks for some excellent advice.
Great post, Jael! I think it’s important to remember that rules are simply general guidelines. Only you know best what is right for your story, and what is right may well be breaking one of said ‘rules’. My editor actually asked me to write prologues for all of my first three books–and she was right, it did make the books stronger. Can some prologues be cut/skipped? Of course. But sometimes they are the right choice, as are dreams, weather, etc.
Prologues can definitely work in the right circumstances for setting the mood. And despite the “rule” against them, I do know writers who’ve been asked by their editor (like you, Anna) or agent to consider adding prologues. Ha!
Just what the doctor ordered. Working on a rewrite of an opening. Thanks for the focus, Jael!
Total agreement, Jael! I’ve read a number of agents who also just skip a prologue–after all, it’s not the real story, is it? A prologue that fits on one page might have a shot at being read, but why take the chance? As for dreams, etc., they can work–but you’d better not, as you say, cheat the reader. Thanks.
Love this.
Great post. I have to admit I see a lot of these errors in books. When I write, or share advice with writers, I always say that no rules are sacrosanct, but you had better have a good story reason for breaking them.
A comment on TGWTDT, it wasn’t written for a North American audience and our “rules” are slanted to that audience which appreciates fast paced action.
“No one wants to read the set up for the story. They want to read the story itself.” Excellent reminder! I too love this series. Just to add to your comment about showing the character’s typical day. I do think it can help to show what her life is like before the change comes. I got notes from my editor for my first novel to add a little more about my main character’s life “before” so we could have more to compare with “after,” but she sure didn’t mean showing my character waking up, getting dressed, etc.
Yep, that’s always a tough line to walk, finding the right amount of “before” so that the reader will connect with the “after.” Different for every story.
I’m loving this series. Sometimes I find writing advice to be more full of don’ts than the corset of a southern belle. I’ve discovered through a great teacher I had (Lisa Cron), if I follow one basic rule PUSH STORY, everything falls into place. I have the creative freedom to try all sorts of things within the context of that basic rule, and when something doesn’t work, I can usually trace it back to that root, it’s not pushing the story forward.
Love that. PUSH STORY. Smart!
“(The first 50 pages of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo are among the most tedious it has ever been my misfortune to read.)”
ROFL. This post was worth reading for that line alone. :)
I think you forgot a 1 though. As in, the first 150 pages. At least by my count.
Waking up is interesting if the protagonist is woken by the creaking floorboard that tells him someone is in his room. Weather is interesting if the storm drives the protagonist off the road and nearly kills him. Slow starts are interesting if they are so odd/funny that the reader just has to read the next paragraph. Dreams are interesting if the comatose protagonist who went off the road in the storm is doing the dreaming. Prologues… I’ve got nothing to say about them, although murder-mysteries and thrillers use them all the time to establish the initial crime/peril. The only rule of thumb about beginnings is they must grab the reader and make him turn the page.
Well-put, Marion!
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Anyone who skips the prologue of my work-in-progress is going to be lost through the entire story, since that event that occurred over 50 years ago drives the rest of the story!
To play devil’s advocate, Bettye, an event from the past that drives the story doesn’t necessarily have to be shown in a prologue. Some writers even prefer to hold back that information until later in the book. But as I’ve said in other comments, it’s different for every story!
I gave up on Girl with a Dragon Tattoo and watched the films, instead. I know – I’m a terrible author but maybe I’ll give it another try at some point.
Your justifications for the rules have got me worried, especially for waking up. I begin with a prologue (which was a dream in draft one…) then open the novel with her choosing what to wear. At least I skipped a couple of minutes! Still my reason was similar to: “But I have to show what an average day is like for him so that readers will understand what a big change it is when XYZ!” so I might have to rethink that one. Mind you, I do think it’s important characterisation and if Shirley Hazzard can start with the weather and have all her characters talk in full, witty sentences, why can’t I start with an average day? (I’m just sulking, now. A lot of work went into that opening. It’s not fair.)
Thanks for a thought-provoking post!
Louise, I know where you’re coming from! Both on the “a lot of work went into it” and the “X did it, why can’t I?” front. In the book I’m working on now, I tried to spin an intricate, rich backstory in the early pages even though it didn’t further the plot, like Jeffrey Eugenides does in Middlesex (one of my favorite books of all time). My critique group hated it, my agent hated it, everybody hates it and I finally had to admit it doesn’t work. So, I’m not Jeffrey Eugenides. Boooo.
Great post! I struggle with beginnings because I only really hit my stride a few chapters in. Even when I go back and revise, I’m in a quandary as to how to make the beginning as riveting/revealing/page-turning as the rest.
One thing I’ve learned: you don’t want to give the reader/agent/editor any reason to stop reading.
I liked the opening of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, though I realize I’m the only reader in any language who did.
As to the flip, the challenge of weather, landscape, waking up, dream and other detached (great word for it) openings has been met many times. What interests me is how those writers flip the script. It almost always involves the use of micro-tension, which is pretty much the secret of all rule breaking.
Jael,
I used to always ‘drive to the story’ as I think Don Maass called it. I’ve now learned to include that stuff in my deep character sheets and start with the action. But it was certainly a learning process!
Love your summation of The Rules, and I agree, know them and then you can choose which ones you must break for the particular story.
best,
Cathryn
https://www.cathryncade.com
Hmm…’use of micro-tension, which is pretty much the secret of all rule breaking’…please elaborate, my dear Yoda.
Denise Willson
Author of A Keeper’s Truth
I always have to write my way into the story, then edit out the slow, meandering, pointless beginning. That stuff is warmup – slowly waking up my imagination, getting it kicked into gear so I know what the story will really be.
The only unbreakable rule is the one we’ve all heard so many times: Keep writing! You can’t fix a story you haven’t written yet.
That’s a great rule to write by. I too sometimes have to ease into stories. It’s better to waste some words if the content that follows is better for them, especially since you can edit out the crappy beginning in the next draft. If it gets you going, the words aren’t really a waste in the end.
I’m definitely on board with this. Most of these rules should be considered suggestions. But as you pointed out, you have to understand the rules first before you toss them aside. I have to admit, though, that my manuscript improved dramatically after I began paying attention to some of these rules.
Hi Jael,
I think you make some great points especially – “you only get one start – make the most of it”.
For ways on doing this I specifically found Chapter 2 of Sol Stein’s book – “Stein on Writing” very helpful.
Wonderful tips, Jael! I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis of these “rules” and that you discussed why the beginning might be better imagined in other ways. Terrific!
[…] applies to books, of course, and to the Flip the Script series itself. Last month I suggested you Start Anywhere and — fittingly, for the series’ ultimate entry – we’ll cover the last […]
[…] became acquainted with Jael McHenry through Writer Unboxed and Backspace. She looks and sounds a bit like Jodie Foster. I don’t know about her acting […]