McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Beginnings
Ghoulfish:
For some reason the Dresdon files just flow - each sentence just draws you into the next.
That is what I look for in the beggining of a book (minus textbooks)
I'm sort of sad right now I started to write a story but I can't get it to flow. no flow = no go :'(
novium:
I am sort of odd...the first lines to things are not as important to me as the last. I have no problem trudging through a slow beginning. I may put it down for good if I get bored and I am still bored a few chapters in....but by that point,you can realize the characters are dull and that there's no spark. Which is different from just lacking a hook.
If I am wavering about a book- trying to decide whether to get it or whether to read (or keep reading) it...I'll often flip to the last page and see how it ends. The last paragraph at the very most. (I'm sure there are many gasps of horror, now). The truth is, if it's a book worth reading, the very very end won't reveal anything, or if it does, I'll have no context for it so it will be just as mysterious. If it's a book that ends in a cliffhanger, I know to wait until the next book is out to read it. Last lines leave a bigger impression on me. A book can have a fantastic beginning, but leave me with 'bad vibes' if it ends poorly. Or pointlessly depressing. Then I know to avoid it.
Benchleyfan:
A great first line, paragraph, and/or chapter is wonderful, but the rest of the story has to follow through. Jim's books consistently do this. I thought maybe I missed a story at the beginning of Grave Peril as well, but it didn't take long to figure out, "Oh, we're joining a story already in progress".
I have read some books (drawing a blank now) that the first few chapters were great and then somewhere in the middle it's as if the plot went out the window and the writer was just churning out so many pages to fulfill a contract. It's like seeing a trailer of a movie thinking, "That will be so cool! Can't wait till it comes out" then to discover while sitting through it-the trailer had a the best bits. Know what I mean?
Anyway, thanks Jim for being a wonderful storyteller! :D Shelley
Paige:
--- Quote from: Mickey Finn on July 10, 2006, 09:41:13 PM ---How's this for an dual opening:
--- Quote ---The book sits on my nightstand, innocent in its trappings: a simple diary, encased in a simple cloth, the muted floral print stained and dirty. The small brass lock is jammed in the open position. The whole ensemble gives the impression of a child's diary, lost in the sandbox in school.
It scares the hell out of me.
The mist comes and we dare not separate. That was how we lost Charles.
--- End quote ---
It's a story within a story, so both opening lines had to grab the reader.
--- End quote ---
Wow, if the rest of the story is as good as that opening it's no wonder you won with it. :o
As a writer I've been very aware of the importance of a killer opening line. A lot of editors and agents brag they can tell if a book is any good in the first 5 pages. (Some just wish they could/ or are fooling themselves ::)) But I've spoken to several editors who say if that first line doesn't grab them, the submission is pretty much toast. They might force themselves through the first few pages but for the most part they're either already turned on or off.
As a reader though, the cover is what makes me pick up an unknown author and/or title.
After the cover I read the back blurb. (I hate hate hate books that don't give blurbs...authors that are so popular the publisher assumes readers will buy whatever they put their name on...true in some cases, but still damn irritating. **cough**Nora**cough** Ahem.)
It's usually not until after I've liked the cover and liked the blurb that I read the first lines/pages to decide...and still I'm a hard sell.
That's just me.
~Paige
harryismyhero:
If you haven't grabbed me within the first few pages, you rarely keep me. Because usually, if the writing starts poorly, it's going to be poor all the way to the end. On a few occasions I've kept reading, if it's an author I generally like, but even then, if the book hasn't gotten better after a few chapters, I'm very likely to put it down and never pick it up again. So yes, the beginning of a book needs to be grabs-you-in-a-choker-hold-and-doesn't-let-go good; otherwise, you'll likely be in serious trouble as a writer.
That's why I love the Dresden Files so much. They always start off with a bang.
Sometimes literally. :D
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