Crafting a Captivating Story Opening
The biggest struggle writers will face is crafting a captivating introduction. The first ten pages are the make it or break it for your story, and in some cases even less than that. If you can’t catch the reader’s attention fast, they have a whole to be read pile to put your book back into. We can’t let that happen! So with that in mind, let’s review a few ways to up your introduction’s intrigue.
Crafting a Captivating Story Opening
Preparing the Stage:
When you begin writing a story, hopefully you already have a few things in mind. Including: Theme, atmosphere, setting, and genre. With all of that decided upon, you’ll want to be very careful choosing your wording to reflect upon this. For example, let’s say you’re writing a dramatic office romance set in the city, which line would you choose?
“The dark streets were dimly lit, even with lights reflecting upon puddles that cover the sidewalks. Heels clicking echo as a woman appears from an alleyway. Her deep red umbrella hides her face, only showing her bloody red lips as she flashes teeth in a smile. She had reached her destination.”
Or
“The puddles on the sidewalks reflect city lights that night, almost as though it illuminated her path. Where did her path lead though? Where was her destination? Dressed in plain yet elegant work clothing, she carries a bright red umbrella. Stopping in front of an office building, she gives a half-hearted smile as her heart races.”
These examples are blatantly obvious of the type of mood they set. For some it will be more difficult to set up, but as long as you have an idea of what atmosphere you’d like to portray, you know what to work on.
It’s a Setup! Setting up the Story:
The first few chapters are the introduction to your story, and tell us generally what to expect later. A hero who is told of an ancient evil most likely is going to end up going to fight that ancient evil.
Not everything needs to be that obvious though! Consider hinting at things subtly: A small line of dialogue or an item that seems very unimportant ends up being crucial to the story climax later on.
The difference between good and bad stories is plausible build up. It is better to hint at something very lightly, mentioning it and then making it useful later, then to just suddenly drop in a golden sword for the hero to win with.
The Mundane Life:
When introducing your main character, or protagonist, what are they doing? Probably something they normally do, right?
This is the mundane, or their regular life. Letting the readers get a glimpse into their life is a way to show what is missing from it.
What is this thing they are missing? Do they have a thirst for adventure? Are they under a corrupt king? Are they lonely and want friends or a relationship?
This is where you introduce the internal struggle of the character, before you introduce the external struggle.
Ready… Set… Action!:
Don’t wait too long before the inciting incident! While setting up is important, you don’t want your reader to get bored waiting for something different to happen to the main character. This is why word choice, and setting the stage are crucial before the action stage.
Consider how this inciting incident, or action, will change the character’s life. Is it plausible? Or unrealistic? How drastically does this change the regular life? And will you give your main character the choice to do something after this inciting incident? Or are they forced to?
So when writing your first draft, revising, or editing remember the importance of your story introduction. Make sure to get as much feedback on the intro as possible so you can polish it and make it the most captivating introduction possible.
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