My Writing Guide

First and Last Line

Start your story with a bang!

When you start writing a story, do you begin with boring miscellaneous details? Don't be surprised if people quickly tune out if you don't hook them right away. The best way to engage your readers is to provide a hook that makes them want to find out more.

Open with a punch! So, how exactly do you open with a punch?

Voice. A strong, interesting voice catches me every time. Take a look at some of your favorite books and pick out what makes the voices unique.

Disorient me. Most of my favorites left me completely bewildered after those first three paragraphs. I'm confused. I have questions and no idea what the answers could be. I'll probably start reading in the parking lot.

Action over explanation. Back story can almost always wait until after you have your reader on the line. It's best to give them something to sink their teeth into before you go unloading all the lore of your world. I'll be much more interested in (and less likely to skim) the back story if I'm already invested.

Seriously. Action. It's important. Like I said, you can start your story however you want, but boring content will always be boring content. You wanna open your novel by talking about the weather? That's fine. But it's only interesting to read about if it's something out of the ordinary. The blizzard of the century. A damn meteor shower. Something I can't just walk outside and look at.

Give me an existential crisis. This one might be specific to me, but I have quite a few favorites that, instead of starting with action, use their openings to scare the shit out of me with some horrifying theory or observation.

Of course, these are just a few ways you can punch your reader with your opening. Play around, experiment, and write your own hooks.

The first line of your book is insanely important. Like, I cannot stress to you how important it is. It sets the attitude of the narrator, the mood of the scene, and—when done properly—draws in your reader.

The first thing you should ask yourself about your first line is, "Does this prompt a question?" Does it make the reader ask why? Does it have a bit of intrigue to it?

Take a look at your first line and see what kind of question it asks, and what kind of tone it sets.

Now let's get more detailed and talk about your opening paragraph.

I can't stress enough how critical the opening paragraph is. It's important for a published book, of course, but it's especially important in a manuscript because the writing is everything. There's no cover, no fancy display, no endorsements. All you have is the text.

I can't speak for all agents and editors, but the ones I know aren't just sitting around dying to say no to every project that comes across their desk. They want to be swept off their feet by your words. They want to get carried away to story world. They want to fall in love with your project.

But they read a ridiculous amount of submissions, and they don't have time for a writer to meander his or her way to the story. (Nor do readers browsing at a bookstore.) That's why your first paragraph is critical. Because it might be all the time you get to hook your reader.

One thing I think all writers should strive for is the right last line.

The type of line that makes the reader hesitate to close the book.
The type of line that makes the reader think, "Just five more minutes, and then I'll go do something else..."

The type of line that compels the reader into the next chapter.

The right last line will be different for every chapter.

Leave 'em wanting more!

Achieving the right last line isn't something to be stressed about in your first draft, but there's no reason why you can't at least make an attempt with the understanding that you can edit later.