Writing: The First Words are Vital

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“The first words are vital,” a publisher once told me.  They should grab your reader’s attention, hook them and make them want to read on. 

A librarian once told me that he noticed that people often read the first paragraph of the first and second chapter of library books to see if they wanted to read on.  Maybe starting the second chapter with attention grabbing words might also be a good idea.

The first words:

create an atmosphere

convey the impression the work will be interesting, intriguing, exciting, informative, controversial, (or boring!  If it’s boring, change it.  Be your own editor.)

Start with something dramatic, challenging, debatable, curious, startling or outrageous.  That way you can’t fail to get the reader’s attention.

Which of the following grabs your attention most?

A         Adam Dale was a good employer whose housekeepers didn’t stay with him for long.

B          Adam Dale did not seduce housekeepers.  Nor did he beat them, drink their wages, or expect them to sleep in a scarcely converted, unheated hayloft.  From all these points of view he was a model employer.  So why was it that not one of the three women Cathy had selected had lasted more than a month?

Tips:

Polish, re-read, re-write and analyse your beginnings. 

Novices try to convey too much information too soon.  This can be boring and unproductive, or off-putting as it is too demanding on the reader’s concentration. 

Action in a beginning hooks a reader better than long winded scenic description or describing the main character’s personality.  These are things which the reader can pick up throughout your work as they go along. 

Some established writers make a habit of throwing out their first paragraph altogether since it is in subsequent paragraphs that the writer gets into full flow.