A Great First Impression Or None At All

I’ve modified the opening paragraph of my first novel a few dozen times. It’s safe to say that it has received the most attention, by far, of any section of the book. In fact, I made a couple of changes to it earlier today. While some may argue that I’ve let my obsessive personality get the better of me, this post over at Redlines and Deadlines makes me think I may not have spent enough time on it yet.

Some [editors] faithfully read three chapters all the way through before making a decision. Some read only until the first typo. Some read the first page.

And, of course, there are some editors who will only give you that first, vital paragraph. That leaves it up to you to impress them, interest them, immediately. That leaves it up to you to come up with a truly great beginning.

The window of opportunity can be very small, indeed.

My job as a writer, though, is not just to make that first paragraph shine. As the post goes on to explain, the opening has to contain a compelling hook, but can’t be over the top. Going too far with the opening is as certain to fail as not going far enough. And of course, the opening can’t outshine the rest of the work. If an editor or agent is suitably impressed by the hook and continues reading, the following pages must meet the standard established at the outset. Set the bar too high and the rest of the novel will disappoint; set it too low and the rest won’t even get read.

It’s ironic, in a way, that a career based on bodies of work that average maybe 90- or 100-thousand words each should hinge upon a few documents that are only one or two or three pages long–the query or cover letter, the synopsis and the opening paragraph.

But that’s the game, and I like a challenge.