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216 Part IV: Developing Your Plot and Structure
Starting somewhere, anywhere
You do have to write your opening at some point. So, here’s a list of all the
things a good opening has to do. You don’t have to do them all in the first
line, but maybe in the first paragraph and definitely on the first page:
✓ Introduce the characters: By name if you’re writing in the third person,
or by individual voice if in the first person (check out Chapter 8 for more
on voices and point-of-view narration).
✓ Set the scene – the time and the place: You can do so simply with a
place and date, or by describing the scene.
✓ Create a mood: You create atmosphere by description, but also by style,
length of sentences and choice of vocabulary.
✓ Describe an action or situation – including dialogue if needed: The
more dramatic, the more arresting your opening is likely to be.
✓ Ask a question: Don’t try to give too much information – provide enough
to orientate readers in the story, but leave questions to entice them to
read on.
Your readers may know nothing about the tale they’re about to read – except
the title and a brief summary. Your duty is to help them into the world of the
story. Don’t hold back too much or they become confused, but don’t bombard
them with information that they’re unable to take in. When in doubt, clarity is
the best policy!
Knowing which kind of opening is going to suit your story is difficult. The
best way to find out is to have a go at several different types (like the ones I
describe in the later ‘Discovering Openings from the Greats’ section).
In this exercise, think of the situation that kicks off your story and then write
four different kinds of opening for it:
✓ A piece of description
✓ An action
✓ A dialogue
✓ A philosophical statement
Write a whole page. Put it aside and then return to it later and have another go.
If it helps, find one of the books I quote from in the later section ‘Discovering
Openings from the Greats’ that you really like the sound of and imitate the way
the prose works (not the subject matter). Take your own characters and your
own situation and write the opening in that style.