OPENINGS That Kill It

Since only the keenest of readers will persevere if your story’s beginning is ordinary or dull, hooking your reader’s interest early on in your story is a key to writing success.

Readers are drawn to stories where authors pose a question, establish a dilemma, or otherwise inspire curiosity right from the start, creating the turn-the-page urgency that readers crave.

ANATOMY OF A NARRATIVE QUESTION

Deciding where your story starts is one of the most important and challenging decisions you face as a writer. Your opening serves multiple purposes. It must engage readers’ interest, create a mood, and introduce a situation that includes an implied question. This implied question—your narrative question—represents a promise to your reader, that whatever conflict is introduced at the start will be resolved by the end. Framing a powerful narrative question is crucial—not only does it entice readers to start and stay with your story, it also helps you write it by setting the plot in motion and informing your characters’ decisions. If your narrative question is weak, muddied, delayed, or missing, you’ll lose readers. If it’s vivid, clear, compelling,