That opening chapter...

Two weeks since I've blogged.  OOPS!

Still, what better way to start afresh than to write about...

Starting afresh.

Yes, as I begin a new novel (actually I started back on October 5th, but it's taken me this long to find the spare time to write about it!) I face that eternal question:

Just how do I start this damn thing?


Conventional wisdom has it that the first chapter should start as late as possible.  Basically, don't bore the audience; start when the story itself actually begins.  Which all sounds great...

UNTIL

... you start writing and realize that none of what you're typing (or scribbling) means anything because it has no context.  Without getting a sense of what your character's ordinary life is/has been, the reader cannot see what it means when it enters this new phase.

So what?  Start with describing her everyday life and transition as soon as you can into the actual plot?  What, then, is the hook for the audience?  What makes them want to read further into her story?

It's a bit of a frustrating Catch-22, and always has been.  So here is where I give you the answer:

Beats me, guvnor.


The temptation for a new book is to do that televisual procedural cold-open: An exciting bit of action, showing some one-off character dying, suffering, whatever.  Showing the consequences of the plot without involving the protagonist quite yet.

But this results in the reader not feeling attached to your actual main character when we finally cut to them.  They just bonded with this cannon-fodder, and now they don't know what to expect.  Is this next character similarly ill-fated?  Or is this the one I'm expected to root for?  Et cetera, et cetera...

So the idea is to write something instantly involving and engaging - but not one which mires the lead character too much in the plot, because we need to establish her routine so we have some context in which to place the craziness she is pulled into.

Simple, right?  You got it figured out?

Then drop me a line, would ya?  I'm dying over here; the sooner you can explain it all to me, the better.

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