Post #201 February 3, 2020

“Grabbing the Reader’s Attention Right Away”

The first line or paragraph of your story are the most critical words in the entire story.  Try out these memorable lines from famous works:

“Call me Ishmael.”  (Moby Dick)

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.” (Lolita)

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” (Anna Karenina)

“It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.” (1984)

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” (A Tale of Two Cities)

 

First lines and paragraphs have numerous functions but none are more important than grabbing the reader’s attention right away and sucking them into the story. Here are some of the main purposes of a good first line:

1. Hook or intrigue the reader.  The reader asks “What’s going on here?”
2. Set the stage and tone of the story.  Is it a mystery?  A comedy?  Action adventure?
3. Build the foundations for later conflict.  Who, what, when and where?
4. Indicate who’s telling the story.  Whose story is this?

In creating a memorable and riveting first line, ask yourself this: what are you trying to achieve?  Is it suspense?  A unique sense of place?  Are you trying to make a philosophical point?  Detail a character attribute?  Maybe the character is kind or impulsive or happy-go-lucky.  Show this early on, in a first line or paragraph.

Here’s a first line from my sf short story “Second Sun,” now available in my collection of short works called Elliptical Galaxies:

“Not everyone was happy about having a second Sun.” 

What comes out of this first line?  That there is a second Sun, whatever that means.  That somebody’s not happy about it.  Makes you wonder why some are not happy.  A certain amount of conflict and intrigue is implied here.  Perhaps this is not the best first line ever created but it points in the right direction.  It makes you want to know more.

How do you go about hooking or intriguing your reader or generating questions in the reader’s mind?  You want the reader to ask these questions about what he’s reading:

1. What do I have to do to get my questions answered?  You have to read on.
2. Why should I care? (this involves creating empathy for your character)
3. What do I gain from going on?  Satisfying curiosity, validating or proving out my suspicions, seeing how the character gains his goal or gets his comeuppance.

Spend some time or thought on your first line or paragraph.  What intrigues you?  Try it out on your reader.

As in life, so it is in storytelling.  You only get one shot to make a first impression.  Make it a memorable one.

The next post to The Word Shed comes on February 10.  In this post, I’ll look at some idea for how writers create memorable characters that readers can empathize with.

See you then.

Phil B.