First Lines

I've recently realized how important the first line in a story can be, how powerful. It is imperative to the failure or success of your story. If the first few paragraphs fail to draw the reader in, to intrigue them, then they will stop reading immediately and speak badly of your book to their friends. No, seriously. I have deleted samples of books based on the mere writing style of a story, but those are only my preferences.

Bottom line, if you don't give the reader a reason to read on, they'll just think, What am I doing here? Where is this going? 

So, without further delay, I present unto thee,

How to Hook the Reader in the First Paragraph.


1. Do something unexpected. Surprise the reader in the first sentence. Confuse them so that they read on hoping for an explanation.

Yep. Confuse them. But not for too long. This is called suspense. Emphasize in the first sentence, and say something shocking that requires explanation. Bold writing and italics help. Choppy, bold sentences can make it more impactful and surprising as well. Once you've surprised the reader, be a little vague, but give brief explanations as to what is going on. If you tell them too much, they'll have no reason to read on. If you tell them too little, they'll be in a confused daze and give up on it anyway. Add depth and emotion. Give your story a voice, a message. Explain some things, save others for later. Make sure that they always have questions from beginning to end. See that? That's called a hook. 

2. Jump into action. Save the self-reflection for later. 

I don't mean you have to start off with a chase, conversation, or anything life-threatening (unless that's your cup of tea.), but just make sure you don't get caught up in the description. I struggle with this. There has to be anticipation, a dynamic. Something has to happen in every chapter. It can't just be a jumble of poetic thoughts and pretty imagery. Imagery is crucial, and you must paint a good picture in the readers' mind, but don't get so caught up in it that nothing happens. Plan a few things. Cause a chain of events that connects to the plot. Make your characters relevant, but also lovable (or abhorrent, if they're a villain, disliked by the protagonist, etc.)

I'll come up with more tips later. Hope this helps.

Introduction

Hey. I'm Olivia. I'll be posting some writing tips, photography, writings, and sketches every now and then. 

I'm a home-schooler from Washington State who loves literature, art, photography, literature,  mythology, politics, writing, and oh, did I mention literature?

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