NOT THE ALARM CLOCK…
The first line, paragraph, and chapter of a story are really, really important. If the reader isn’t drawn in to these first words, they won’t read the rest of your story. It’s that simple.
So naturally, there are dozens of articles telling you What Not to Do, but you could have probably figured most of it out on your own, based on the sort of things for which you don’t have patience. You know. The things you’ve read a million times, like the Waking Up to a Normal Day, or the Long Descriptions of People or Weather.
Since The Book is going to be written for a middle grade audience, I have to be especially careful not to weigh it down with backstory or description. Kids are impatient these days, or so I hear, and want to jump right into the action.
HOW-TO-START-A-NOVEL RULE #1: THE FIRST LINE COUNTS
I personally enjoy the attention-grabbing first line that asks more questions than it answers. In the past, I’ve often sat down eager to finally start the story that’s been brewing in my head, just to be stumped for ages with the cursor winking at me.
Let’s look at a successful first line I used for a novella (turned into a short story for publication).
“I have read eight thousand, three hundred and ninety-two books.”
I’ve always liked the kind of first lines that give you voice as well as setting, so I was pretty happy with this one. In this line, I’m giving the reader a first-person character who clearly likes to read, and somehow has the means of keeping track of exactly how many books she’s read. The next line further fleshes out the voice and solidifies the setting:
“I mean, what else are you supposed to do when you live in a library? We read.”
And the questions this raises! Why is she living in a library? Who is we?
STARTING THE STORY
For The Story, I wanted to match the energy of this first line. Like the character in my short story above (see the Creative tab for the whole thing, eventually), my protagonist in The Story is a book worm and a little cynical about the world.
Incorporating this character’s voice and implying the setting, here’s a draft I came up with:
“When the bus rolled to a bumpy stop on the side of the road, I knew we were never going to make it to summer camp.”
Okay, setting? Check. We know she is on a broken-down bus on the way to summer camp. Voice? Check. We know she’s either a pessimist or a realist, using that word never. This also provides some foreshadowing.
HOW-TO-START-A-NOVEL RULE #2: START WITH ACTION
One piece of advice that’s been repeated for centuries is to begin in media res, or in the middle of things.
I could have started the story back when my protagonist first got on the bus, or when her parents convinced her to go to this summer camp. Even though it would build her character if I described the way she’s sitting curled up against the window, nose in a book, rolling her eyes as the other kids sing along to the radio, it’s not where the story really begins.
And besides, that’s kind of boring. I can sprinkle in that backstory to temper the high-stakes action that’s about to begin.
Speaking of action, now I’m going to go finish that first chapter. Curious about this cynical bookworm in the back of a broken bus? Stay tuned for next week’s post for more on creating characters!