Hi,

My question is, does the start of a novel have to be action-packed and punchy? I've just finished a black comedy. It opens with a funeral and much of the info is conveyed in the first person i.e.: what is going on around him, what he feels, thinks etc. There is some action at the start, but it isn't of the whizz-bang variety. The serious action comes later. The start sets the tone of the book.
How do people feel about telling as opposed to showing? A lot goes on in my book, but it is told from the perspective of one character and is interspersed with his ascerbic opinions.
Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.

Mothball,

For me the first line has to be punchy, pose a question or suggest conflict of some kind, be a hook. If I get past the first line then the first paragraph is also vitally important, to make sure that hook is well lodged. Many times I’ve read the first paragraph of a book and just put it back on the shelf, it has to present me with a reason for wanting to read on.

I try and do this with my writing, with various degrees of success.

Hope this helps, and welcome aboard.

Grinder

Yes - and no!

The first line, the first paragraph, perhaps the first page - have to hook the reader, and make them want to turn the pages over to find out what is happening.

So, the opening doesn't have to be action-packed and punchy but it must, in some way, grab the reader's attention and get their imagination and inquisitiveness fired up.

I read somewhere that fiction works by creating a dream in the reader's mind. That dream has to be vivid and continuous. You're opening page has to suck the reader into that dream - the rest of the book has to hold them there.

If that doesn't happen, why should they keep reading and turn over the page? There's plenty of other good writing to read!

Hope this helps

John

I'd agree with Jumbo on this.

In fact the "vivid continuous dream" concept is from John Gardner who wrote an amazing book for would-be novelists called "Notes on Craft for Young Writers". He's the guy who taught Raymond Carver, certainly one of the greatest short story writers of the 20th century, to write. There are lots of how-to guides on the techniques of planning, plotting, writing and editing stories but Gardner's (in my opinion) is by far the best. He has a whole section dedicated to why one sentence reads better than the same one with the words mixed around and explains why we feel certain things when we read. Robert McKee's book "Story" is also very good and follows a similar theme (although it's more for screenwriters).

Most experts agree that great fiction comes not from formulas (e.g. "always start with a dramatic opening") but with form (e.g. think what it felt like when you got told a great story and analyse what made it feel great, and why you liked it, and why you wanted to know more). The analysis usually breaks down into "richly drawn" or "sympathetic" characters, "unusual descriptive styling" etc etc, and these can be important but for ever rule there will be an example that works by breaking it. Stick to the general forms of storytelling and listen to even the most uncomfortable criticism, stick to your guns when you feel you are right and you won't go far wrong.


<Added>

.. that should be "every rule" of course, and yes Jumbo, JG's book is a bit dense in the old prose department. I wouldn't call it bedtime reading by any means.

Julian

Thanks. Yes, I have a copy of John Gardner's book. I knew I'd read about the "vivid continuous dream" concept somewhere.

I would have to say, I didn't find the book an easy read. He gets quite academic/theoretical in parts, and sometimes I felt I was having to dig quite hard in order to extract the benefit from the text!

But, nonetheless, another good book for the aspiring writer!

John

Mothy,

You could take a look at your favourite novels and analyse why you were drawn into them.

The opening doesn’t need to be action-packed and puchy but it does need to intrigue the reader. For instance, this isn’t the punchiest opening you could find but it is one of the most well known in the history of literature:

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again ...

Where? When was she there? Why is she not there now? Where is she now? That one word - 'again' - sets the mood for the rest of the novel.

So many questions from one short sentence – you can’t not want to find out the answers.

Dee.

ps - show, don't tell. Telling is a yawn!

Good luck.

No-one has mentioned that the start should be a key to the tale - a pivotal event, perhaps. Certainly it does not need to be in time sequence, because it is easy to head forward or back from a key scene.

I think many authors write several chapters first, then pick the best sequence to go with.

Good question, Regards,

JohnK.