write by the trial

Photo Credit: the trial

‘How do you choose an introduction for your stories?’ I actually get this question a lot. I do think your introduction has to be strong. This is what may make or break your reader’s decision to walk out of a store with your book.

I always go by one rule for my stories. I start where the action is, or at least right before. No one wants to ‘commit’ to something that is as boring as the day is long. Readers want to go on a journey, and they want to do it now not in thirty pages.

What if I NEED to write the lead in, before the action? Or What if I am not sure about where the action starts?

I have a simple solution. Write it. Write your story as it happens, as your characters go through it. Then, once the story is on paper/screen and you know everything that is going on – trim the fat.

Trimming a story is the hardest part. But when you look at your story and find the part where the action really starts and cut away the stuff that is unnecessary you convince the reader the story is going somewhere. THIS is where the action is, thinks the reader.

Of course you may need to write in details that are vital that get cut in the beginning. This is easier than convincing a reader that 30 pages of inner dialogue and public commute is vital to your plot.

Get your character DOING, which is important in the ‘Show Not Tell’ method discussed on dailywritingtips.com found here.

It really comes down to your edits. Move stuff around and make sure your attention grabbing scene is in the front.

At least that is my opinion!

As always, thanks for reading!

How do you determine the beginning of your novels?