The First Two Sentences

By
You've written an entire novel, possibly the length of over 100,000 words, yet those first two sentences can provide the most anguish.  They are what can hook a glancing reader, or make them close the book.  No pressure - right?

If you're like me, you're rarely satisfied with the first two sentences.  You revise, and re-work, and "rinse and repeat" so many times that it becomes an obsession.  You wake up in the night with the perfect wording, the ideal epiphany.  You force your eyes open, scribble it on a piece of paper, and in the morning (if it's legible) sometimes it results in a "huh".  And back to the revisions, and the search for perfect words.

So what hooks a reader?  Maybe it's best to start by asking ourselves.  When you pick up a novel what makes you take it to check-out or return it to the shelf?

Personally, I love something that shows conflict - whether it be imminent danger, or just simply a character's internal conflict. It has to be something I can relate to.  I want to feel a connection.

How important on those first two sentences to you?  What hooks you? Do you have any advice on a "formula" for making the perfect start?  How do you turn off the editor's voice, and obsession?  Do you just accept what you have written and move on?

Comments

  1. EverMay 7, 2011 at 10:10 AM

    I will admit, I am usually hooked by the first two sentences. I don't look for them to hook me, and I will usually give it the whole first paragraph to decide if I am pulled in enough to continue.
    This made me realize I haven't looked at the first two sentences of my novella in progress. I'm going to go do that now, I might have some changes to make.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Stacey DonaldsonMay 7, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    That is so very true Carolyn. The first two sentences are definitely the hardest. I have stopped and started a million times, simply because the first sentence doesn't hook me, so how could it possibly hook the reader? I don't know what the perfect formula is, but I am very interested in what works for other writers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dale DayMay 7, 2011 at 1:39 PM

    I totally agree the first two are important. But, they are not always what hooks me - it's the back-cover blurb that helps me decide whether to dig deeper into it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ron D. VoigtsMay 7, 2011 at 5:31 PM

    I agree the first few sentences are critical to hook the reader. Two things that matter for me are does the opening create a question that needs to be answered and does the voice appeal to the reader? I try to write something that says read a little longer and turn the page; you'll get the answer while more questions arise. As for the voice, I hope the reader likes the way I say.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment.

Popular posts from this blog

When Family Doesn't Support Your Writing

By
If you can empathize with the title of this post, then you're not alone.  So many writers, myself included, can honestly say they have family members who don't support their writing.  Some may go so far as to tell you they don't even want to hear about what you're working on, what you've done, what your goals are.  That hurts. But think about it this way, in some ways is writing any different that an other life decisions your family may not agree with?  I'm sure, if you're like me, you get very defensive when it comes to your writing.  In fact, I'm not going to deny that it places an iron wedge in the relationships.  After all, if your focus in life is your writing, and they ask so what have you been up to ...what are you supposed to do lie, remain quiet, answer another way even though you're so excited about your current WIP you'd tell a stranger?  Ticking clocks are heard in the background while you decide.
Read more

A Big Decision...

By
Image
For those of you who know me, and follow me on Twitter, you may be aware that I’ve been debating whether to pursue publishing traditionally, or take the plunge and self-publish.  With all the “buzz” on the internet, and after great consideration, I have decided to go ahead and self-publish. I had asked myself, does this mean I’m giving up ?  And, the answer is irrevocably no.  Self-publishing used to carry a type of stigma that somehow labelled the work as adhering to a lower standard, but things have changed.  Authors are taking pride in their work like never before, and just because of the increasing ease to self-publishing, they’re not allowing this to affect the quality. In making my decision, I also considered the fact that just because a book is published traditionally it doesn’t mean that it will meet with success.  Many self-published books have received awards, honourable mentions, and have met with even more-than-modest sales.  In fact, there’s ...
Read more

Write What You Love

By
We've all heard the advice, write what you know.  There's been a lot of debate over this piece of advice.  Some see it as valid direction while others argue that there wouldn't be any books if we just wrote what we know.  For example, how many mystery novels are written by real-life detectives?  And, I guess that advice is null when it comes to fantasy genres, and historical fictional works.  No fairy from Neverland wrote a book, and no one from over a hundred years ago can write a book currently.   But, this doesn't mean that we can get sloppy, in fact more work is involved, and this is why writing what we love supersedes all, in my opinion.  How else would we get motivated, and stay motivated to see a novel through to the end? In fact isn't it love for what we’re writing what pushes us through to the conclusion even when we may find the interest in our book weaning, or through the rough middles?  Isn't it the love for what we're writing that f...
Read more