Openings That Sell
Success in writing is a lot like
success in other facets of life. It takes hard work, dedication,
knowledge of the craft, and a little bit of being in the right place
at the right time. Now there is no hard and fast way to know what is
going to be hot next week let alone next year, but one thing you can
know is what is hot now. To do that I am going to take some
inspiration from Robin Colucci Hoffman, a self proclaimed New York
Times Bestseller List stalker and a speaker I had the honor of
interacting with at the Missouri Writers' Guild Conference last
weekend. Like Robin, we are going to take a trip to the current best
sellers, and see how the number one book this week got it's readers
to stay.
Openings Matter
If you don't hook your reader in the
first few paragraphs, and sink that hook in the first few pages, then
you are probably going to let them get away. (This is also important
if you are looking for a publisher or an agent). I don't know about
you, but the last thing I want to do is let a potential fan escape
the world I created to capture them. In order to find out how this
weeks best seller, Whiskey Beach, hooked its readers we are going to
examine the first few paragraphs and briefly discuss aspects of the
first few pages.
Whiskey Beach, by Nora Roberts
goodreads rating 3.89 out of 5
Hook the Reader
Through the chilly curtain of
sleet, in the intermittent wash of the great light on the jutting
cliff to the south, the massive silhouette of Bluff House loomed over
Whiskey Beach. It faced the cold, turbulent Atlantic like a
challenge.
I will last as long as you.
In the first few paragraphs we are
introduced to Bluff House, its location “looming over Whiskey
Beach,” and the fact that it exist on the east cost facing “the
cold, turbulent Atlantic.” But we are not in the house, we are
watching it “through the chilly curtain of sleet, in the
intermittent wash of the great light.”
In the second, one sentence paragraph,
the house symbolically speaks, challenging the very ocean itself, “I
will last as long as you.” What power and arrogance this house must
have to challenge an ocean that is older than humanity itself.
Why Are We Hooked?
In only 47 words Roberts is able to set
the scene and introduce the powerful character of Bluff House, (yes,
locations have character thus are characters). As a reader my
subconscious is asking several key questions: Who am I, what is my
purpose for being here, and why am I staring through the chilly
curtain of sleet at the looming house? What is this place, what
stories does it have, how does it have such nerve to challenge the
very Atlantic. Over the rest of the first page and into the next we
learn more about Bluff House, its humble beginnings, how it has
survived for three hundred years when so many others have failed.
Be Poetic
On page 2, in a one line paragraph, we find out that “Within its walls, generations of Landons had lived and died, celebrated and mourned, schemed, thrived, triumphed and languished.” In one poetic line the author transitions us from the house to the family it has sheltered, and gives us insight into the lives they have led.
Set that Hook
We are then brought back to the house
for two more brief paragraphs before being introduced to the main
character, a London himself:
For Eli Landon it was the only
place left to go. Not a refuge as much as an escape from everything
his life had become over the past eleven horrible months.
He barely recognized himself.
After answering most of our questions about Bluff House, with just 35
more words, the author is able to answer our question of “who am I?” while at
the same time opening up a whole new line of questioning. Why is this
Eli's only place left to go? What is he trying to escape? What
horrors has he experienced over the past eleven months that leave him
barley able to recognize himself?
In less than two
pages the author is able to draw us in with an intriguing setting,
dazzle us with its personality and history, and then hook us, all while
introducing the main character of the story.
I can't tell you
how to write a best seller, but I can tell you that Nora Roberts got
it right. She drew in her audience and kept them in her world long
enough to please them. This should be the goal of all writers.
Read a few pages onAmazon
In the below comments tell me what you think of the opening, and why it did or did not work for you.
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In the below comments tell me what you think of the opening, and why it did or did not work for you.
Don't forget to subscribe to Write to be Badd.
Follow John B Badd on Facebook
Follow John B Badd on Twitter
