Beginner's Guide: Writing a Killer story Opening

Having to write the first chapter of your story can be the most challenging part of the process. As a writer, you will put yourself through a lot of pressure trying to make the first chapter of your book a success. After all, they say the first chapter is the best way to hook your reader.

It may be challenging at first. You may not know how to write a captivating story opening, despite knowing exactly what you want to write. Thus, here are six writing tips that will help you write a killer story opening.

Don’t overdo the scene descriptions.

Conduct this little experiment on your own. First, try and find a best-seller novel in the genre that you want to write about. Then search for a few fanfictions or in the same genre and try to spot the difference between the two works.

More often than not, you will notice that the fanfiction has a way of telling the reader what is happening in the story. But when you read the bestseller. You notice that you understand the story and have an image in your head from the first two pages. This is because a good writer knows how to pace their story. This mean they do not compile a lot of unnecessary information about an incident at once.

For example. If you want to describe your character. You can pace this by first introducing the features of your character in the most mundane way and as as possible.  If you’d like to say that your character has long hair, then you can do this by showcasing it in the character's routine. If you are writing historical fiction, you can describe it when her handmaid brushes her hair.

Be careful of the descriptions you use. Try and be as creative as possible. Do not use generic words to describe everything, but use your creativity.

Surprise the reader.

This is by far the most casual yet effective tip for writing a story opening. For your story opening to capture the reader's attention. You need to ask yourself where the chapter is going and how you can pique the reader's curiosity. The element of surprise can be the best way to achieve this.  Using something out of the ordinary can be the best way to use this. For example, if you are writing a horror story, then you can use the shock factor. Start your story off with a child sitting in an empty room cradling a person's head.

That would make anyone question what exactly is happening. The reader will ask themselves, why is there a child in the empty room whose head is being cradled? Why isn’t the narrator running for the hills? Who is that child? And so much more that it will make the reader flip through the pages trying to understand what exactly is happening.

Put them in the action.

This can be quite hard to perfect as a new writer, but when done well, this will keep the reader interested. Bringing the reader into the action can confuse the reader, but it can also pique their interest. They would want to know what exactly happened in the story that led the story to where it began. This can be an amazing way to start any genre. It does not play favorites.

Have your character in the middle of a battleground, shot with an arrow. Have your character crying for help as he or she holds the dying body of a loved one. Have a character in the middle of a labyrinth who is trying to find a way out while being hunted down by creatures. Put your character in a prison fight in the middle of space. Any way you choose to use it will be appropriate. Finding a balance between the future and the beginning would be a challenge at first. But once you master that, everything will be fine.

Avoid information overload.

Your book needs to have suspense. Cramming a lot of information into the first part of your book is a bad way to go. No one wants to read a book that is jam-packed with information. Reading it will be like giving a 3rd grader a topographical map to read. Half of the world's population, if not more, can’t even do that. As we discussed in the above point. Pacing is the key, as much as a lot of people do not believe in structuring and planning your story out. It does help the flow of your story.

If you have the main character and the supporting character' backstories within the same chapter. You can introduce the villain’s backstory as well, with added Easter eggs on what will come next. Needless to say, it will be one heck of a confusing chapter.

Find out what the key thing is that you need to express, then run with it. There is no limit to how many chapters you write. If you feel that your story will take a lot of chapters and are afraid that the reader won’t want to read a book that has over a thousand pages. Then you can make your story into a series of books.

Make an attempt to use mystery.

How about appealing to a reader’s curiosity? Do you know the term "curiosity killed the cat"? Well, I say curiosity hooked the reader. As we discussed earlier, we need to make sure the reader is interested in the story within the first few pages. What better way to do this than through curiosity? The reader loves a good tale. Focus on creating a situation that will leave the reader confused. For example. A story starts with an old man telling the story of a secret item and the main character swearing to find it.

The example sounds weird at first. I only said to find it. So what is "it" and why is the character swearing to find it? Notice that I have indicated two questions that need to be answer. I did this with a vague and completely made-up concept. Imagine using that in your writing. Wouldn’t the reader want to know more?

Establish a voice.

When we talk about a voice, we don’t mean who the character is. This is a rhetorical mixture of a lot of things. Such as the tone of the book. The point of view used in the book. The syntax used in the book that makes phrases. Sentences, and paragraphs flow, as well as vocabulary. So, when we talk about the voice, we mean the tone and writing of the story. You need to focus on your writing and the voice you identify with. If your voice sounds out of place, your whole book is out of place.

Let’s take the use of point of view in a story. If you use this in a bad way, it can result in your work being almost unreadable. So goes for the tone and vocabulary.