5 Ways to Open any Story (but especially a novel)
Avoid Clichés and Pitfalls
Start your story in an unusual or unexpected setting. Refrain from having characters wake up or attending typical events like a funeral, birthday party, or the scene of a murder. Put them in an environment that shows the character to be unique and specific.
The shot that will decide the championship is slowly arching its way toward the basket.
I do not care.
Everyone esle in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium stares at the ball eith mouth open.
I do not.
I stare across the court. At him.
from Win by Harlan Coben
Allow your first sentence to be a part of establishing a scene, to let us see the main character in their world. Cold dialogue can feel eerie, but also confusing, and a touch annoying. We don’t have the benefit of movies, and their backgrounds full of setting, and props, and set design to wash over us as a character speaks. We don’t even have the advantage of the actor’s voice. This really asks the reader for a lot of patience, or to feel out of place, when we want to invite them in, to show them that they are a part of the story.
Her bones were discovered by a group of children playing in the woods. It was October, a Sunday morning, and the ground was crisp with fallen leaves. Two boys and one girl. I don’t remember who told me that. They stumbled upon the skull while digging around gathering rocks. They were going to build a little wall, a fortress in the trees.
from Knife River by Justine Champine
Populate the start of your story with more people than just your main character. Characters driving, doing dishes, sitting at a picnic table by themselves often leads to starting with interior thoughts, of a character not acting, but mulling over the past. Get that main character acting with or against someone else, it will reveal something about their innate character much sooner and deeper than them lost in thought.
We never fight. Not in the past six years, as long as we've been married. Not even in the months before that. It isn't that Jack is always right, or I'm always right. Usually our disagreements are about things that don't matter, so it's easir and quicker for me to acquiesce. Jack's a lawyer, so he likes to win. It makes him happy. And that's good.
But now on a Saturday morning in May, sitting face-to-face across our breakfast table in sweats and ratty slippers, we're definitely on the verge of a real fight. This time, the fight matters. This time have to win.
“I forbid it" Jack says.
I burst out laughing–all I can think to do–because “forbid” is such an odd word.
“Forbid?" I say the word, repeating it, diluting it, undermining it.
from The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Save that backstory for after the first scene. Or hint at the backstory with small ribbons of backfill that create intrigue! Characters are usually revealed deeper and better through their actions, and yes we need context for their choices, but that can come later!
She held the gun the way a certain kind of careless man held his glass of whiskey. It was illegal, illicit. But, nonetheless, it was hers. She would do with it as she pleased, consequences be damned.
The gun made her hot, restless, wanting. Her heart pounded in her chest, a Nora Bayes song. The one playing that sweltering, innocent night when she saw him, years ago. Get your gun. Get your gun. She had her gun now.
He didn't see her at first, as he walked out of his house, toward the pool. Tall and slender, his naked flesh so pale it was as if he'd made it through the entire summer without letting even the smallest bit of sunlight touch him. Nothing touched him. Isn't that what made Jay Gatsby so great?
He stepped toward the pool, that arrogant walk, that look on his face. That knowing. He had it all; he had everything. He'd taken everything. But then, just before his toe touched the water, he stopped suddenly, looked up, as if sensing her presence. He noticed her standing there, half behind the shrubbery, and he smiled.
from Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor
Unless part of the vibe and structure of your story, don’t hint to the reader that you or the narrator knows everything already, and you tease them with abstract feelings about what is to come. Stay in the moment with your character, build the idea that the character, narrator (writer), and the reader and finding things out at the same time! This will only add to the tension!
She scratched her fingertips on the smooth walls until they bled, and pounded her fists on the thick panes until she could no longer feel her hands. At least ten times she had fumbled her way to the steel door and stuck her fingernails in the crack to try to pry it open, but the door could not be budged, and the edge was sharp.
Finally, when her nails started pulling away from the flesh of her ice-cold fingers, she tumbled back onto the floor, breathing hard. For a moment she stared into the thundering darkness, her eyes open wide and her heart hammering. Then she screamed. Screamed until her ears were ringing and her voice gave out.
from The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
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Great advice! I especially love the tip about how to reveal back story. I’ve always struggled with that.
Love these examples! Actually reading Knife River now.