(Literal) Beginnings
The number one problem I see with manuscripts? They just don’t start where they should.
The advice that you “need an amazing first sentence” could be etched in stone at this point. But when I was an acquiring editor at two major publishing houses, a just okay first sentence never made me stop reading. I was more concerned about a just okay beginning.
What does that mean? Usually there is too much backstory or set up - so much time introducing us to your characters, their history, or how they got to where they are now - while poor readers are left wondering what type of story is this? When will it start? Where is the action? How many more info dumps do we need to wade through?
An important question to ask yourself when looking at how your novel begins is: what is the inciting incident? This is the event that will start your character on their journey. And ideally, their journey is what will pull us through the narrative step-by-step. You can think about the inciting incident like the first step up an escalator or a set of stairs. Once they start climbing you want to keep your character moving up, to hit the climax, as fast as possible.
You want to make sure your character’s journey is clear and you’re never too far away from it. I’d also watch what you’re telling us versus what you’re showing us, another big problem I’ll go into in a future newsletter. But ideally, most backstory and set up can be woven around true action that connects to the plot.
One mistake I often see is authors adding a prologue, because they know their beginning is slow. They choose a section in the middle of the book and move it up or add some kind of generic action, in hopes that will keep readers reading and unaware that no true story has started after that exciting prologue for another 50-100 pages. Don’t do that! Can you cut some of the explanation or set up in the beginning to make the story more organically exciting instead?
I’m a commercial editor. I’m always concerned about pace pace pace. How can you keep a reader reading? Most manuscripts are fine. But my goal is to make them commercial. And my advice applies to all types of books…well, unless you’re writing something super literary or experimental. In this day and age you have limited time to catch a reader’s (and agent’s!) attention. Catch it early and quickly by making it clear what your reader is in for as soon as you can.
What do you think of this? Take a minute and look at your first 10-20 pages. When does your plot truly start? What can you do to make the opening even more exciting? Feel free to share your advice or thoughts in the comments.
Until next time,
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I have rewritten my first few pages so many times to get the pace right. It still feels I need to work more on it. This is actually great advice. I don't know if every novel can have a great first sentence but it can have a good first page.
Prologues can and do work, but agents are kind of over them so you need to make sure yours is necessary and very good. The most recent book I’ve read that sounds comparable to yours is Fourth Wing. Take a look at how the author handles action versus description. Her world is huge. And very detailed. But all the characters are moving forward and there’s a ton of action. She does a really good job balancing both. Taking a look at something like that might help!