Wednesday night I had the opportunity to be a fly on the wall in an agent's office. Well two agents to be more exact. Kristin and Kate hosted a workshop for the SCBWI in which they listened to the first two pages of manuscripts and shared where they would stop reading and why. The agents didn't get a chance to hear my opening, but I learned from the evening and I'm happy to share some of the things they pointed out. First, don't get sucked into the myth that a novel must use extreme tension to hook the reader. Can this technique work? Yes. But writers often do it wrong.
An example of this is putting emphasis on the wrong thing in an attempt to hook the reader. Sometimes this happens because the writer is trying to show and not tell. Through the use of too many descriptive words, a detail takes the focal point. This happened with a hat. Even though the description of it flying away was beautiful, it just wasn't the best place to draw attention.
It's also important to start in the right place. A scary graveyard may factor into the story, but it may not be the best place to begin. The reader may need time to develop a fear or curiosity of the place rather than being dumped into it on page one.
Another thing is to avoid cliché beginnings. Two that came up were beginning with a dream and the "if only" opening. Both agents were immediately on notice and would have passed on the manuscripts.
Of course, there are always exceptions to these tidbits of advice, but the story opening has to be the best of the best, different in some enormous way, to work.
Have you thought about these things in your own story?
The truth is I don't know anymore that and I've long stop writing with agent in mind. I know it sound stupid and arrogant but it just got to be too much for me to think about when I write so now when I write I do so with abandon. I follow my character and the plot I've set in place. Then I write the best story I can then I edit fearlessly to the best of my abilities.
ReplyDeleteWarm regards and a lovely weekend,
Simone
Fortunate for you to be there! You probably came away with a wealth of advice.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice! Sounds like it was an interesting evening!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'm so jealous you got to go in real life! And second, yes, I hate my beginnings. I always have to rewrite them a million times.
ReplyDeleteThis is great advice! I fret over the first page of my manuscript so much that it no longer makes sense to me when I read it, it's just words...I have to take time away and go back to it at a later date!
ReplyDeleteI actually just changed a beginning because it was too tense with no "justification" to be that way. So it made my MC look bad, instead of someone to sympathize with. Good to know I'm on the right track with that...
ReplyDeleteI bet that was a fabulous experience - thanks for sharing!
What a cool experience. Thanks for stopping by today and nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteYes I have thought of these things. So much so that I think I'm making myself crazy! And now I've come to the point where I need to just tell myself to shut-up and write (I tend to over think and doubt myself). Thanks for these tips they're VERY helpful.
ReplyDeleteI recently struggled with this issue. I started my story in a high action scene. Thanks to my beta readers, I discovered that although it was a great hook, the reader didn't even care about the characters yet, so it didn't quite work. I've rewritten the opening scene a dozen or more times. I'm still not sure I'm happy with it, but I'm getting there.
ReplyDeleteMy second novel begins with my MC struggling out of a nightmare. Maybe I should cut to when she crawling out of bed to make the coffee.
ReplyDeleteLots to think about here. Thanks for sharing your experience.
......dhole