Let’s Start at the Very Beginning
By Allison Winn Scotch | November 12, 2009 |
So last week, I posted the first excerpt from The One That I Want, which is out next June, up on my blog. Whoo boy was I nervous about this. You see, this book was more labor than love for me, and well, I’m at that point with it where I simply cannot be objective about it anymore: I’ve read it too many times, edited it too many times, wanted to throw it out the window (along with perhaps myself) too many times for me to have any idea if readers will like it.
But I put it up and fortunately, many readers chimed in with strong words of encouragement. Phew! But the most satisfying comment came from a readers who specifically singled out the opening paragraph of that first chapter. And why was this so satisfying? Because I have rewritten – and rewritten – that single opening paragraph at least ten times, probably more. And why bother? Because I firmly believe that if you don’t grab readers from the literal first sentence, your book is more or less dead meat. Not always – I often give a book 25 to 50 pages and then put it down if it feels like drudgery, but yeah, a lot of times, that first graph is make or break. Think of all the people who flip through your book in the bookstore, think of the people who read a quick excerpt on Amazon. Our attention spans are too short and our wallets are too thin and our time is too valuable these days for people to read that intro and think, “Eh, it’s not so great, but maybe it will get better.” Because they won’t give you that benefit of the doubt. They’ll just put the book back on the shelves and go on their way.
I learned this lesson with my debut book, The Department of Lost and Found. After writing what I thought was a brilliant first draft (har), my agent said, “Hmmm, well, yes, I kind of like it but think the first 99 pages are unnecessary.” SAY WHAT???? But after tucking my tail in between my legs, I went back and reread, and it turned out, she was right: my opening paragraph was right there on page 99. The voice, the action, the energy – that was it, that’s what I needed to kick off the story correctly, to get readers sucked in and to bring them up to speed.
With Time of My Life, I nailed it on the first try – I knew that those first few moments were exactly what I was looking for, but with The One That I Want…I just…couldn’t pin it down. So I went through revision after revision, telling myself not to push it, letting myself marinate in the emotion of what my character was trying to say, let her voice seep into me rather than pushing myself – and my deadlines – into her. And then, one day, two days before my line edits were due, there it was. My opening graph.
I handed in the draft to my editor who wrote me shortly thereafter (unprompted) to tell me that while she hadn’t had time to read the ms yet, she HAD read the opening, and that “she loved it! That it captured exactly what the book needed.” From there, I knew we were in good shape. So my point – the entire point of this post – is to suggest that you’re careful with where your book begins and just as careful as how it begins. Throw the reader right into the thick of things, don’t dawdle around, and be sure that both the action and the emotion propel the reader forward. That’s the goal, after all, to not only make them take the book up to the register and plunk down their credit cards, but to have them turning those pages again and again until they get to The End.
Photo courtesy Flickr’s lepiaf.geo
Allison Winn Scotch is the bestselling author of six novels, including IN TWENTY YEARS, THE THEORY OF OPPOSITES, and TIME OF MY LIFE. Her seventh novel, BETWEEN ME AND YOU, will be released on January 9th, 2018. In addition to fiction, she pens celebrity profiles for a variety of magazines, which justifies her pop culture obsession and occasionally lends to awesome Facebook status updates. She lives in Los Angeles with her family. For more about her and her books, go to allisonwinn.com or follow her on Twitter at @aswinn.
good advice – sometimes that’s so hard to see!
I’m so glad I’m not the only one with first-paragraph-itis. Definitely in my top three “most frustrating issues” with my writing.
Ninety-nine pages? Wow. I give you credit for not burning the whole thing after hearing that. Not that I would EVER suggest anyone burning their work, but Lord knows I’ve wanted to do just that far too many times.
Great post, Allison!
This is exactly the problem I am having with my current project. I have made myself crazy trying to fix the beginning of the story. I really like most of it, but trying to find the perfect hook almost drove me to abandon it all together.
It is nice to see that a published author is going through the same experience.
Thanks for sharing!
.-= Amy Chase´s last blog ..Test Group =-.
Well as you know, I’m one of the people who loved your opening, Allison! I can’t wait to read more.
.-= Kristan´s last blog ..Say no to life, yes to crap! … Wait, what?? =-.
I don’t think I spent enough time with the opening of my first novel, so I’m trying hard to not make that same mistake with #2.
.-= Melanie´s last blog ..Flash Fiction Thursday =-.
As always, brilliant well-written advice. Thank you so much, Allison, for reiterating this important point. I’m editing my YA novel right now, and am happy with the beginning. I hope others will be, too. ;-)
.-= Debra Schubert´s last blog ..When You’re NOT in the Driver’s Seat or as Tom Petty Says, "The Waiting is the Hardest Part" =-.
This is so true! I admit I can be quite fickle when picking out a book. I’ll usually read the book jacket (even though I often find that to be marketing spin, not what the book is really about) and I’ll take in what the cover tells me, but if I start the first paragraph and I’m not immediately interested in the tone and the starting point, there’s not much reason to carry on.
Of the short stories I’ve written, some I knew exactly where to start, but sometimes I’ve had to get there circuitously.
More great advice! You are one of my fav’s to follow. I’m curious about the 99 pages, were they trashed altogether, or reworked into the story?
Thanks for the insight. It kind of reinforces that whole idea that writing is revising (and revising and revising). The hard part for me, a beginning writer, is knowing when to stop.
.-= Jonathan´s last blog ..Writer Identity, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Process =-.
Beginning pages/paragraphs must be the order of the day. Over the last several days, I’ve been deconstructing my entire first chapter, trying out different ways to capture just the right nuance of what I’m trying to say. I guess your post is an omen that I’m on the right track!
.-= June´s last blog ..Backspace Agent-Author Conference =-.
Very good post. I am the type of book buyer who reads the book jacket, but then reads the first page to see if it’s what I want to take home.
Those first sentences always reel me in!
They’re important to me in my writing as well. I hope that I get it right.
.-= Marisa Birns´s last blog ..Mojo Mama =-.
Michaele – sorry to get back to you so late! For some reason, my email notification didn’t go off for comments, so I didn’t realize there were all these comments here! To answer your question, if you can believe it, other than a few graphs here and there, they were almost all axed. (Gulp.) They were backstory that I just didn’t need, and other than those few paragraphs in which all of that backstory was consolidated, the rest was all fluff. That’s an entire different post, I think, but equally as important: cut the backstory and throw the readers into the action – they’re smarter than you give them credit for and can pick up on the clues of what has already happened!
I really needed to read this! I just started my first novel and in all honesty, I have been patting myself on the back for completing the first chapter. That was until I lost my junk drive. Yes, I lost the only copy of my first chapter of my first novel. But I have to admit, it was a bad first chapter. It didn’t do anything or go anywhere – basic expositional fluff.
I’ve decided to let it stay lost. :) I know exactly where I want the story to go and it excites me every time I think about it, but the starting point has been challenging. I need to bottle up that energy and pour it onto the pages of my opening. Thanks again for the good advice.
.-= Catherine Lee´s last blog ..One Inch Tall =-.
Could you have written the right opening paragraph without having first written the preceding 98 pages? The backstory might be unnecessary for the reader, but was it necessary for you, the writer?