By Irene Hannon, Author of Starfish Pier
I
was recently asked by a fellow author for one piece of advice she could share in
a writing workshop she was leading.
After
fifty-seven novels and a multitude of years in the publishing game, I’ve
learned a lot—so it took a bit of thinking to cull through all the tips stored
in my brain and pick out just one nugget of advice. Here it is.
Start
your story in the right place.
Where,
you may ask, is that? Simple. It’s the moment when everything changes for one
of your main characters. When the world they know has shifted, and nothing will
ever be the same again.
No
matter the genre, our job as writers is to convey that life-altering moment in
a high-impact opening. One that grabs readers and lets them know something big
is at stake. That leaves them with questions—and eager to read on to find
answers.
I
write in two genres—romantic suspense and contemporary romance. In suspense
novels, not only must authors turn a character’s world upside down in the first
few lines, they must also convey a compelling sense of danger. The opening has
to launch the book with a bang—sometimes literally.
In
my most recent suspense novel, Dark
Ambitions, I started with a three-word line of dialogue.
“He
got away.”
That
short sentence does two things. It suggest a crisis, and it raises questions.
Who got away? Why is that important? Is someone in danger because this nameless
person has escaped?
The
reader will keep reading to find out—and my next paragraph reinforces that this
is a red-alert situation, heightening the urgency.
“As
the bad news echoed across the miles, I stared at the skeleton of the leaf-stripped
tree beside me and tightened my grip on the burner phone.”
Words
like skeleton, leaf-stripped and burner phone all suggest danger and intrigue.
Language choices are always critical, but nowhere more so than in openings,
which must quickly set the mood and evoke emotions in the reader.
Here’s
how I captured the precipice of a crisis in the first line of my upcoming contemporary
romance, Starfish Pier.
“Maybe
coming back to Oregon had been a mistake.”
In
this example, it’s clear the character has made a decision he’s having second
thoughts about—and that the change in his life may not be for the best.
This
opening also raises questions in the reader’s mind. Why was coming back to
Oregon a mistake? What prompted him to come back? What is his history in this
place he’s returned to? What’s he going to do if he did make a mistake?
Questions
like these compel readers to keep reading—and that’s the goal. Attention spans
are short these days. You’ve only got a paragraph or two to grab the reader.
Make the most of those opening lines.
________________________________________________________________
Irene Hannon is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than
fifty contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. In addition to her
many other honors, she is a three-time winner of the prestigious RITA Award
from Romance Writers of America (the “Oscar” of romance fiction) and is also a
member of that organization’s elite Hall of Fame. In 2016, she received a
Career Achievement award from RT Book
Reviews magazine for her entire body of work. Millions of copies of
her books have been sold worldwide, and they have been translated into multiple
languages. She’s active on social media, and
especially loves to chat with readers on Facebook! www.irenehannon.com
https://twitter.com/IreneHannon?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
