Writing Your Opening Paragraph

 

Today's poster is a bit tongue in cheek. We know that we, the writers, are the ones who must finish whatever writing project we started. That muse we like to blame isn't going to do it. Your neighbor will not run over and show you how to write better than ever. It comes down to you once again.

What do you do when you cannot find a good beginning sentence, or parapgraph? Do you obsess over it? Do you rewrite over and over, then walk away in frustration and anger? It's not the solution to a problem many writers have.

Instead, leave that opening paragraph and move on to the rest of the story, or whatever you're working on. Get through the whole piece. Often, something you have written in the body of your story will trigger an idea for the opening. As said many times, let that draft simmer a day or two or three before you read through it. It's then that you are ready to revise and edit. 

That opening paragraph may, or may not, work with the rest of the piece. By reading it a few days after the draft was written, you'll know it's a go or if you need to cme up with something better. Writers know that the opening is important; it's where you hook your reader. 

Why, then, do some writers open with poetic prose that offers pretty words but no substance? The writer has given no hint of what the rest of the story will be about. Has offered no question that the reader hopes to have answered. It becomes words that have no relation to the rest of the story.

I've been working on a travel piece that didn't have the right opening. I sent it to my online writing group for critique. More than one person suggested putting part of my ending paragraph in the beginning. Surprised me, but when I looked at it, I could see the merit of doing so. Once again, other eyes on your writing can be very helpful. 

In your opening paragraph, you can pose a question, tell an anecdote, use an interesting fact, or use an emotional appeal. In addition, you should use sensory details to enhance what you've written. Make your verbs active. Use all the 'good writing' details in that very first paragraph. Make it shine! 

Yes, the opening paragraph is important, but don't let it derail you from the rest of the story. 

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Beginnings--Important for Writers and Readers

 

Beginning, onset, start--it doesn't matter what you name it, the first part of any writing project looms large in importance. 

The start of a new story, poem, or essay is you, the writer, saying you are willing to begin again and carry on until the story is complete. It's you saying you have the confidence to do this. It's you saying you want to bring something new to your readers. 

For the reader, the beginning is also of interest. It is the opening into something new, the chance to be drawn in by what the writer has offered, the opportunity to escape from the mundane chores we all face on a daily basis. Readers peruse the beginning hoping for a good read. 

It's the beginning that the writer must concentrate on for it is the golden chance to draw the reader in so that he/she will want to continue. We've all read famous openings to classic books. Did those authors get lucky, or did they plan those opening lines with great care? We'll never know whether they did or not. The best part is that what they wrote worked to pull the reader in.

What should you include in an opening? Action is always a good way to start. Why not begin a mystery with a murder or the discovery of a body? You can set the scene in the next paragraphs, but make something happen right away. In a romance, action between the two people to open, then backstory later or move on with what is happening. An adventure story for kids? Start with the boy or girl in a perilous situation. The reader can learn more about them later. Open with a splash!

An opening should make you curious to know what will happen next. It should pull you into the story and, hopefully, keep you there.

One of the books I often recommend for newer writers to read is called "Beginnings, Middles, and Ends (Elements of Fiction Writiing)" by Nancy Kress, a science fiction author. It's been around for a long time, been revised, and is still popular. 

It takes far more courage from the writer to begin a new writing porject than it does for a reader. The reader picks up the story, reads a few pages, and decides to go on or dump it. The writer has a great deal more to invest here. The writer must decide if that opening is worthwhile, move on to the next part or redo the beginning. 

Nevertheless, beginnings are of importance for both writer and reader. As an exercise today, go to your files of unfinished stories, essays, or poems. read the beginning paragraphs. Were you drawn in? Did they excite you? Did you want to continue? Can you see what changes might be made? Do you want to continue working on this piece? I hope you'll find some inspiration in this exercise. 

Remember this:  The beginning of a new writing project is like opening a door into a new world. You, the writer, can walk through it and take your reader with you.

Opening Paragraphs

Yesterday's post on titles led me to thinking that from the title the reader moves on to the Opening Paragraph. That group of words allows the reader to open the door and have a look at what is yet to come. 

Myriad writing how-to books emphasize the importance of hooking the reader with the opening paragraph. Writers nod their heads in agreement and then write a story or a chapter disregarding the advice. 

Some think setting the scene is of great importance so they use the first paragraph to do so. Setting the scene is certainly important but it does not have to be done immediately. 

Some think that an opening paragraph that tells everything there is to know about the character is a good way to hook the reader. It could end up being a report on physical description of a person and nothing else. 

Others use backstory immediately and then move into the real story later. That can be confusing and feel like you;'re reading two different stories once you move on to the present action. 

I've read books where authors open with a lengthy paragraph giving the reader their personal philosophy on some particular subject. To me, that is just plain boring. Get me interested in the story and later on, I'll definitely figure out the author's philosophical bits and pieces. 

All the things mentioned above can be woven throughout the story, or chapter, you're writing. Don't use them as your opening. Instead, use action to hook your reader. Raise questions in the reader's mind. Use only enough to get them interested without answering all the questions you want them to have. 

Add sensory details to the action paragraph to bring a sense of reality. Let the writer relate to the sounds, smells and sights whenever you can. 

There is no completely right or wrong way to open a story. It's the individual writer's choice, of course. Even so, I'm a strong proponent of using action immediately to hook your reader. 

I'm reminded, however, of Dicken's opening lines in A Tale of Two Cities. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.  It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness. Action? No. Promotes interest? Yes. 

Grab Your Reader At The Beginning

The importance of first things that a reader sees cannot be emphasized too much. The title and the first paragraph are two major parts of any story, essay, article or poem. This is where the reader is drawn in. The writer's aim here is to capture the reader's interest and push them to want go farther. 

When I was in high school, back in the '50's, English teachers all taught that you needed an introductory paragraph when writing an essay. Your topic sentence must be in that first paragraph so that your reader knows what will come within the body of the essay. Someof those introductory paragraphs were just plain boring! All dry facts, no sensory details, nothing to create a sense of looking forward to what came next.

Today, we teach new writers that ya gotta hook 'em fast! We live in a speeded up world with all our techie gadgets that get us to where we need to go as quickly as possible. Time is the enemy. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! It's a fact but it also gets a bit wearing at times. Even so, I believe in diving right into the story in that all-important opening. 

Let's look at titles. The title is the first thing a reader sees. The other day, I was at the library scanning titles in the New Book section. I didn't have time that day to pull umpteen books from the shelf to see which ones appealed to me. Instead, I scanned the titles and the ones that grabbed me were the books I pulled out and read the frontispiece. When you are selecting a title, don't wait til one pops into your head and go with it. Play around with titles. Make lists. Decide what is in the story/essay that you want to bring out through your title. 

Time and again, when members of my online writing group sub a new story, they ask for help with a title. They might use a working title and then ask others to help formulate one that works better. It's difficult for the writer because they know what the full story is about so how are they going to choose one that appeals to myriad readers? What do you like best in a title? Short and sweet or a question or a hidden meaning? Author's choice!

The other place to hook your reader is in the opening lines of a poem or the first paragraph in prose. Some use dialogue to pique interest. Others use an action scene making the reader wonder how the character got there in the first place. Including sensory details in that opening paragraph brings the reader right into the scene. The most important thing for me is to make itvisual and make it interesting. 

How often do you edit and re-edit your opening paragraph? Maybe not as many times as you should. Make that opening bit count bigtime. In my juvenile novel, chapter 1 begins with the following:

Will flicked a blue and white marble with his thumb and followed its path with one eye closed. Before the marble found the target, a loud voice interrupted his concentration

Only two sentences. The reader knows that a boy is shooting marbles, that a loud voice interrupts him. I hope the reader wants to know A. who that voice belongs to and B. what it says.

Remember the opening of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens? 

It was the best of times. It was the worst of time,

That paragraph continues with more comparisons. What it does is make the reader want to find out why it was both the best and the worst of times. It also hints at tension or conflict to come within the novel. It is not an action opening which we see more of today but it did its job in hooking the reader.

Put first things first and concentrate on your title and opening when you write your next story/essay/article/poem.

The Importance of Your Opening Pragraphs

National Museum of the Pacific War

Fredericksburg, Texas

You can visit a Peace Garden given by the people of Japan to the National Museum of the Pacific War. This fine museum is located in Fredericksburg, Texas, which also happens to be the hometown of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz of WWII fame. 

Fredericksburg has many other draws that bring tourists from near and far. Shopping, dining of all kinds, lovely old homes and the scenic Hill Country all around it. This is, I believe, our fourth trip to this Texas community settled long ago by hardworking German immigrants.

I hope my opening of this post drew your interest because today's topic is actually openings of your stories, essays, and articles. 

When I was in high school and college, English teachers pushed writing the introductory paragraph to let readers know what the piece would be about. In that paragraph, the all-important topic sentence was to be the highlight. Sometimes those paragraphs were eternally long. And boring! They didn't really draw the reader in. So what should you do?

Start immediately with action in a fiction piece. Make it visual, bring your reader into the story as quickly as you can. A mystery might start with the actual murder, not the hours leading up to it. A love story could begin with the kiss at the wedding altar, not the courtship, proposal and bridal showers. Pull your reader in immediately. If you don't, they're going to move on to something else. 

If you're writing a memoir or a personal essay, begin with the most important part. Don't take pages or mulitple paragraphs to lead up to the 'good part.' Nope. Give the reader the good part right away. Later you can show them what led up to this.

What about a nonfiction article? Perhaps it's a how-to article on fixing a holiday dinner. Jump right in on the Easter, Passover or Thanksgiving Day meal prep in the kitchen. Show the hostess cooking and setting the table. Then bring in how she planned the meal, shopped for the meal and more. 

What about poetry? I am drawn in by first lines that show me something special. Or I'm turned off by the first lines that tell me nothing, show me nothing. You know the ones that try to set a scene and then get to what the poem is really about three verses later.

In today's world, time is Public Enemy #1. People are feeling constantly pushed for time. It's up to the writer to draw in the reader immediately. If you don't, they'll move on faster than a jackrabbit crosses the Arizona desert. 

Did I pique your interest with my opening in this post? That depends on whether you are a person interested in history, museums and famous people. Or like visiting interesting towns. My aim with this post was to make writers aware of the need of a good opening in whatever you're writing.

Writing Openings and Closings

Think about all the essays you had to write in school. They'd fill this folder and maybe another one or two. My English teachers pounded certain rules of writing into our heads over and over, and a great many of them stayed with me through the many decades that have passed since those school days.

One of them has been a point of criticism on many things I've subbed to my critique group. I learned that a story/essay needs an opening paragraph that introduces the topic and a closing paragraph that sums up the points made pr pulls everything together nicely. 

But time and again, people who have critiqued my work said to dump the opening paragraph and---now here's the biggie--Start with the action. In other words, hook 'em fast. They're absolutely right, and I know it, but old habits stick like glue. 

That summing up paragraph at the conclusion works sometimes, but too often we writers want to hit the reader over the head with what the essay contained to make sure they got it. It's far better to leave with a bit of a twist or a surprise statement that is not didactic but still finishes the piece. When the action is over, so is your story.

To return to the opening of a story, consider this. If you use a beginning paragraph to introduce the subject, you run the risk of losing your reader. If you start with a bang, they are more likely to hang on. You're probably thinking But I need to set the scene. or There is background material the reader needs to know. Regarding the scene--forget setting it, pull the reader right into your scene. As for the background material, that can be woven throughout in bits and pieces. 

In your closing paragraph, you don't need to state the obvious. Leave the reader satisfied at the end of the action of your creative non-fiction or short story. Stop writing at that point. 

If you, like me, were taught to include that opening and closing to help the reader, work on changing your method. I try bu, sometimes, I forget and carry on in the old ways. With a little effort, we can be as up to date as other writers.