First lines
Hi everyone,
I’ve reread my extensively revised first chapter and I still like it. That’s a good sign. However, I’m not happy with what I’d call my first paragraph. They aren’t my first words on the page but that’s irrelevant. I’m happy with my first words, but the part where I invite the reader into the story proper, that paragraph, I’m not happy with that.
So that’s what I worked on today.
In my first line, I’m not trying to do anything fancy. I want to introduce the internal world of my MC. Who are she is. What’s concerning her now.
A first line/first paragraph is an invitation into a story. It introduces the essence of the story.
My book is essentially about my characters. It’s not about the mystery plot or the magical setting. It’s about a girl who’s struggling to find her place in the world.
So I want to start with her. Her essence. What does it feel like to be her? I want to get across her concerns, how she sees the world, so I absolutely want to filter the details I choose to use in description firmly through her.
She’s a bit quirky so I’m looking for only things she’d notice and to relay them to the reader in a way only she would relay them. She’s opinionated so I want to get that in, too. My opening doesn’t allow me to open with an opinion, but I’m certainly thinking of that for future books.
A first line and paragraph—both because they’re linked, and to me, they are a whole that can’t be separated. They’re an emergent property of the story, of the main character. It’s not something catchy. Instead, it’s a deep and sudden dive into either the main character or the plot. Or setting if setting is a character in your story. But generally, the other two.
Each word in the opening line and paragraph (and page) is expensive, so it’s crucial to be careful what I spend them on. Are they the absolute best way to spend my meagre allowance? Do they immerse my reader in the character and in the story. That’s my aim.
Not easy to do, even when you know what you have to do.
My advice is to keep fiddling with your opening line and paragraph as you do your revisions. Don’t get stuck on it. Have it as a side project you pick up now and then as you move through your many drafts. Eventually, you’ll hit gold.
Because of querying, I’m very much focused on my novel Destructive Magic right now, so I’ll stay with it a little longer.
I’ve actually learned a lot about emotion and micro tension since I finished my last draft, and it’s been awhile since I looked at it, so I have fresh eyes.
I think, tomorrow I’ll see if I can do a micro-tension draft. Or a partial one, depending on how long it takes.
That’s it for tonight.
See you tomorrow.
Happy writing.
Joanne.
