First lines
"Your first line doesn't have to be a blockbuster, but it does
have to have traction."
Catherine Ryan Hyde, a multi-pubbed, best-selling author
whose books have gone on to become movies told me this in a
class on writing.
What she went on to explain was that while having a killer
first line is always a good thing, what you really want is an
intriguing first line that pulls the reader in and makes them
want to read the second line. The second line temps you
further to the next. And so on, and so on...until you're so
deep into the book you're invested.
Yes, you can do that with the best of the best first line, but
there are downfalls to trying to get ultimate shock value in
your first ten or twenty words.
I've read books with awesome first lines. But the second line
paled. And the third was downright ordinary. And it was all
downhill from there. I've read books where the "perfect" first
line lead to a second line that began a story seemingly
unconnected, and found myself befuddled and frustrated (a
great way to get your readers to wall-slam your novel).
But with traction, everything connects. With traction, you
engage the reader enough to pull them in, then deeper, and
deeper. With traction, you're not agonizing over that
"irreplaceable" first line. I could spend YEARS looking for
the stellar first line and never get any writing done. Which
leads me to my next point about beginnings...
Somewhere along the way (can't remember where) I learned that
a good beginning can only be written after the ending is
complete. Only then do you have all the plot lines smoothed,
all the characters developed. Only then can you write a
beginning that intrigues and foreshadows, a beginning with
originality and punch.
So, if your agonizing over that first line, that first
paragraph or even that first chapter, would be to get the bones down and
move on, check back at the end of chapter three, chapter ten.
And when you think you're finished...go back and rewrite your
beginning.
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