I just finished reading Claire Kent’s Hold —yeah, I know I’m late, but dystopian isnt’ my thing. Suffice it to say I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the opening.
“Find the strongest man there. Give yourself to him. And maybe you’ll have a chance at surviving.”
Man.
Oh.
Man.
Before we even know the heroine’s name, we know almost everything we need to know.
She’s in a life-or-death situation.
She’s going to have to make impossible choices.
This is going to be a survival story with romance.
And most importantly? You have to turn the page.
It reminded me of one of the most famous opening lines in literature:
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Jane Austen somehow manages, in a single sentence, to establish:
The theme (marriage and society)
The genre (romantic comedy with social commentary)
Character archetypes (wealthy bachelors, marriage-minded families)
Reader expectations (this story is going to examine courtship with wit and irony)
All in one sentence.
I’ve been thinking about my own openings ever since. And I think I need to up my opening chapter game.
The job of the first sentence is to make a promise; a promise about what kind of story the reader is about to experience.
Four Questions for Your Opening
When I’m revising my next first chapter, these are the questions I’ll be asking.
1. What is my story really about?
Not the plot, the theme.
Is it about forgiveness?
Power?
Belonging?
Identity?
Found family?
Love conquering fear?
Your opening doesn’t have to announce the theme outright, but it should whisper it.
2. What kind of protagonist is this?
Readers love archetypes because they give us a foothold.
Is this:
A reluctant hero?
A chosen one?
A villain heroine?
A grumpy billionaire?
A sunshine kindergarten teacher?
A woman who’s underestimated?
A morally gray dragon prince?
You don’t have to tell us everything. Just enough that we know whose story we’re following.
3. What genre promises am I making?
Readers are buying an experience.
A romantasy reader expects something different than a cozy mystery reader.
A military romance opens differently than a dark mafia romance.
A romantic comedy gives us permission to laugh.
A thriller tells us danger is coming.
Your first few sentences should immediately reassure readers that they are in the right place.
4. Why should the reader turn the page?
This is where curiosity comes in.
Claire Kent doesn’t confuse us. She tells us exactly what’s happening. But now we desperately need to know:
Who said that?
Where is she?
Why does she have to do this?
Who is the strongest man?
That’s narrative momentum.
An Exercise
Take your favorite book. Don’t read the whole chapter. Read only the first three sentences.
Ask yourself:
What is the theme?
What character archetype am I meeting?
What genre expectations are being established?
What promise is the author making to me?
You’ll be amazed how much work those opening lines are doing.
Then go back to your own manuscript.
Do your opening sentences make the same kind of promise?
Or are they simply introducing the weather?
I’m asking myself the very same question.
Because after reading Hold, I think my first chapter just got another revision.
And don’t forget to follow my Diversified Author Blueprint Kickstarter. I’m currently documenting my processes for selling across various platforms and strategies so that I’m not dependent on one retailer or algorithm.
I love the simplicity of this concept, and also know there is nothing simple in the work it takes! Thanks!