Imagine a story opening that lands us in the middle of a fist fight. Who are we rooting for? We don't know either character well enough to decide.
Imagine a story opening that springs upon us the action-packed scene of a child lost among strangers at an amusement park.
While either story opening could possibly work with the skilled mind of a writer, the reader may find something missing in that opening: a little more information about the character so we know who to cheer for and why.
We're often told that readers today don't want pages and pages of backstory. I agree. I find it hard to sift through it. However, the rise of flash fiction, microfiction, six word stories, Twitter, texting, etc, means that readers are looking at shorter, more compact bits of information.
Instant gratification.
An opening to a story, especially a short story, can't be too long-winded or the reader will stop. But on the flip side, if it jumps too far forward into the action, then the reader will feel disconnected.
For longer stories, the novice writer might be told to chop off the first three pages, but hearing that, we often try to go beyond the point where the story should actually start.
Action is great and keeps the reader moving forward, but take a step back and look at the opening. Is there something in the first paragraph that allows the reader to connect to the character or the voice?
I have to admit I love a story that opens in the middle of something. It generally gets my interest right away. :)
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FictionZeal - Impartial, Straighforward Fiction Book Reviews
This is such an interesting topic. I prefer books that start immediately out the gate and save the backstory to be explained throughout the story rather than all at once in the beginning. And the idea of starting a story in the middle of a fight got me thinking-- who I would root for would have a lot to do with how the scene was written (if it was written in 3rd person or 1st). I feel like the author could persuade the reader to side with a specific character by writing a scene like that a specific way.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting topic. I prefer books that start immediately out the gate and save the backstory to be explained throughout the story rather than all at once in the beginning. And the idea of starting a story in the middle of a fight got me thinking-- who I would root for would have a lot to do with how the scene was written (if it was written in 3rd person or 1st). I feel like the author could persuade the reader to side with a specific character by writing a scene like that a specific way.
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