Opening with Action and Intrigue: Hook Readers with Excitement
Leading with conflict and questions in a novel.
Have you ever read a novel that sweeps you in from the very first line? Either by thrusting you into conflict right off or by using a line or two that has you asking “Wait, what!?”
When we open with conflict, it gives the story momentum that will carry readers forward. When we open with intrigue, we draw readers forward with curiosity. Either way we are engaging readers, which means they’re more likely to continue reading.
Why this works:
Urgency: The urgency and immediacy let readers feel like they’ve been dropped right into the thick of the story, encouraging all those edge-of-your-seat endorphins or feelings of surprised delight
Novelty: Never underestimate the power of surprise. Novelty makes an introduction memorable. In Donald Maas’s The Emotional Craft of Fiction he challenges writers to delve three layers of emotion deep, to present more than just the basic, expected feelings. This can bring the intrigue of a situation to the forefront. The detective could be grim or sad about the body he finds, OR a writer might explore his excitement that the bad guy changed his routine, giving more clues to help solve the case.
How to do it:
Stay True to Tone: Don’t feel the need to reach for a gritty opening line for a bakery rom com. Use the main character’s or narrator’s unique voice and perspective.
Use surprise: What is unique and relevant to your character, your world, or the opening scene? Dig deep here, and you might find yourself able to succinctly showcase a core fact about the world or character in a way that draws readers in.
A familiar example
In Blood Rites, Jim Butcher opens with
“The building was on fire, and it wasn’t my fault.”
The Dresden Files are one of my favorites when I think of books with fast pacing. The man constantly has something going on. The building might be on fire at the beginning of the chapter, and he might be getting decked in the face out of nowhere by the end of the chapter. It keeps readers flipping pages, eager to know how each conflict will end. This first line is true to both the tone of the books and the voice of the POV character, giving a clear neon sign of what to expect in the rest of the book.
1984 opens with,
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
This line is surprising, because our clocks don’t strike 13. Its intriguing and unsettling, letting readers know this story is set in a world only slightly altered from the reality they know. The slight dissonance pulls readers in, tickling their curiosity.
A lot of advice for new writers encourages them to start in the action. In medias res. While it’s not the only way to engage readers from the start, it’s easy to see that it works. Thinning exposition to favor an immersion-heavy, fast-paced, possibly surprising first scene can prime readers to want to know more.
Happy writing!
Megan G. Mossgrove
Museandmargins.com
P.S. This newsletter has a twin! Check out Niki Fiction’s newsletter all about opening with emotion!