Remember parties? Writing fiction is a little like hosting a party, with the reader as a new friend you’re bringing into your home. Your job, as the writer, is to host the party: make sure everyone is supplied with food and drink, show them around, keep the conversation going with snappy dialogue and intrigue, remind everyone there’s an end-point, and then see everyone out the door, satisfied.
But first, you have to get the guest to want to come in the door. And that’s where your first line – which can extend to the first paragraph – comes in. It’s crucial to get the opening of a story, whether it’s a 400-page novel or a 500-word work of flash fiction, just right so that the reader wants to stay in the fictional world you’re creating.
Whatever the form, the first line of a work of fiction needs to pique the reader’s interest, give them a reason to leave their nice, comfortable “real” life. This is often described as “catching the reader’s attention,” but what does that really mean when you’re face-to-face with the computer screen?
Wait a minute. Before you even think about writing your opening, I urge you to write the story or novel. When you sit down to write, don’t start with whatever you think is going to be the beginning. Start with whatever scene is the most compelling to you. Work your way forward from that point, and don’t worry about writing it chronologically. Once you’re satisfied with how the plot moves, go back and write your opening.
In this way, you can bring to the opening whatever you need. It’s only once you know how the story will turn out that you can properly prepare the reader with
