Just about everyone is familiar with this beginning: "In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep . . ." (Genesis 1: 1-2 RSV) In a sense we're playing God when we write a story. We create the characters, plot, and setting, turning a blank page-nothingness-into a compelling story.
Not only is your first scene the first impression of a story, it is the doorway that invites your reader on a journey. First scenes are what determine whether or not your reader is going to follow your characters to the end.
Your beginning must accomplish several things:
Introduce your characters
Establish the place and time the story occurs
Introduce the conflict or point at which change begins.
Your opening sets the tone, mood, situation or problem. It actually begins in the middle of things.
Looking at the first lines of Genesis from a purely literary standpoint, the first lines introduce God as the protagonist. The time and setting (simply) is the moment of Creation, same as the point of change. Before God created the world there was nothing. For the purpose of this illustration from a literary standpoint, Nothing was what happened before the story begins. It starts in medius res-in the middle of things.
Let's look at a few opening lines of other stories.
I could tell the minute I got in the door and dropped my bag, I wasn't staying. "Medley" by Toni Cade Bambara
This blind man, an old friend of my wife's, he was on his way to spend the night. "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver
She told him with a little gesture he had never seen her use before. "Gesturing" by John Updike
Something has already happened before the opening line. The first line is actually the middle of the story. Each story has its own history. The plot is affected by something that happened before the first sentence on the first page. In Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter's book, What If? They describe story beginnings: " . . . think of the story as a straight line with sentence one appearing somewhere beyond the start of the line-ideally near the middle. At some point, most stories or novels dip back into the past, to the beginning of the straight line and catch the reader up on the situation-how and why X has gotten himself into such a pickle with character Y."
Take out an old story, or one you've been working on. Look at the opening scene. As yourself: Does the story have a past? Is the current conflict grounded in the history of the story? If you answer no, then you don't know your story's past well enough.
John Irving said: "Know the story-as much of the story as you can possibly know, if not the whole story-before you commit yourself to the first paragraph. Know the story-the whole story, if possible-before you fall in love with your first sentence, not to mention your first chapter."
About The Author
Rita Marie Keller has written and published numerous short stories, articles, and essays. Her novel, Living in the City was released September 2002 by booklocker.com, Inc. She founded the Cacoethes Scribendi Creative Writing Workshop in 1999.
maid service near Lake Forest ..Bookcoaching clients come to me at different stages of writing... Read More
If you want happy customers to use your service or... Read More
You have a new website, or a new business, or... Read More
Using a ghostwriter to craft your free reprint articles and... Read More
EditingExpect, allow, and accept that every first draft will represent... Read More
Finding the time to write a novel is one of... Read More
If your cash is running out fast and you have... Read More
Everone knows that comedy is mostly about timing. If you... Read More
"You should write a book." For years, I had been... Read More
Do you have a problem creating a focus in your... Read More
A certified proofreader is one that has taken a few... Read More
Open up your favorite calendar and circle today's date.Why? Because... Read More
You have a great idea for a poem, a story,... Read More
[When I was a nineteen-year-old high school student and budding... Read More
Writing engaging articles and energizing ad copy takes... Read More
Rudolf Flesch, a specialist in writing skills, ran classes... Read More
I've noticed a big shift away from traditional horror recently,... Read More
How many of you take the time to really write... Read More
Long ago, movie directors mastered the technique of creating a... Read More
So, the decision is final. I am a writer.Actually, I... Read More
Names are important. Names give clues about us, where we... Read More
Anyone who has read any of my articles on the... Read More
I recently set up a website to promote a new... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?What a plot is and what a... Read More
For those looking at the jobs listings for writers, they... Read More
top rated cleaning service Des Plaines ..A writer can never be self indulgent whether writing fiction,... Read More
It's easy to feel overwhelmed by marketing. First, there's so... Read More
1. Turning your idea into a bookWith non-fiction books the... Read More
Writers are an insecure lot.It's easy to understand why. You... Read More
Making Money from Freelance WritingIt's the question that every aspiring... Read More
Writing is a personal and introspective process. To share with... Read More
I recently read a book where everything was akimbo. Arms... Read More
Why is it that so many people don't take writing-as-a-job... Read More
User documentation is all too often written by programmers for... Read More
Sometimes a freelance writing career can feel very much like... Read More
ESSAY 2Andre Malraux once said that what interested him in... Read More
Obtaining the skills for writing good business correpondence is important;... Read More
Prolific authors write; they don't just dream about it. A... Read More
Almost everyone could profit from enhancing their writing skills. From... Read More
1. Remember publication is a business; writing is an art.... Read More
Mixing and mingling with industry professionals is an opportunity that... Read More
What am I going to write about?Which topic is the... Read More
Do you have trouble getting your thoughts and ideas down... Read More
Style manuals are all well and good, and in fact,... Read More
For those looking at the jobs listings for writers, they... Read More
Suspense novels, unlike any other genre, need fast starts. Fans... Read More
IntroductionSince our early days of elementary education we have been... Read More
As in all endeavors, toil is necessary to succeed and... Read More
Picture this scene.Your hero is sitting in a bar. He's... Read More
Over the past eight years or so, I have tutored... Read More
Writing |