Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

Lately I've been pondering with the opening passage of a story I've finished writing. There are a bunch of articles out there that are pretty helpful, I quite like this one because it gives tips and examples from published novels: http://bit.ly/howtostartastory

My favourite tip was #5) The reader should be looking for an answer. The opening to your novel should be a question that can only be answered by reading on.

I'm wondering if you have any favourite openings lines of novels where you felt a question was being posed, and you just HAD to keep reading to get answer.

Should you choose a question or any other kind of opening line, it has to be short, tease the reader and hook him for good. The basic idea is to quickly bring the reader somewhere inside the story and have him want to know the whole story.

In my novel, my opening line is “Prepare to drop the anchor.” You know you're on a boat with at least two persons and their on it and they're preparing to berth. It's not a question but it leads the reader into asking himself: Where? Why? When? Who are they? What kind of boat?

It took me six weeks before coming up with that line!

Here's an interesting article about Stephen King's opening lines:
Stephen King Spends 'Months and Even Years' Writing Opening Sentences


My Ripper Hunting Days

Isn't it funny how one sentence can take 6 weeks? It's just such an important line! It has to be one that you keep coming back to over and over, so you know it's right.

I've read that article by Stephen King, I love his mention of the opening line of the novel Shoot: "This is what happened."

What do you think of tip #3 in the article — about opening in the middle of action?

Arielle wrote: "
What do you think of tip #3 in the article — about opening in the middle of action? ..."

Actually, you can begin a story anywhere and use a flashback approach.

That's what I did in my novel. I used a double time reference. The story is about a diary I found which is presented in a prologue with a wrap-uo in the epilogue. In between is the main core of the story in a diary format which begins in the month of January 1889 and turns back to the month of August 1888.

As a matter of fact, flashbacks are used quite often. One must avoid chosing an opening moment which, combined with the flashback, would reveal the outcome.