Beginnings. Quick and dirty, or slow build up?

Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Cheyenne, Mar 20, 2015.

  1. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

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    Sure there are. But not written in the last 10 years or so.
     
  2. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    I think it's easy to misunderstand what is meant by introducing the story's substance in the first couple paragraphs. You need not reveal the conflict like a summary. If I read a beginning with "the main character waking up and everything going wrong. Her boyfriend dumped her via text message, her faucet broke and flooded her kitchen, and her car has a wheel clamp from the police because she hasn't paid her parking tickets," I would expect the story to have something to do with a disaster befalling the character that this opening introduces. I don't mean this specific disaster, but some disaster for the character.
     
  3. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    And once again, for an established author, sure, you should have leeway and still expect readers to read beyond your first couple paragraphs. There are few absolute rules for writing.

    But as a new writer, you do have to capture those readers' attention right away. It's foolish not to recognize that.
     
  4. Ben414

    Ben414 Contributor Contributor

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    Yeah and I may not have been clear, but this is what I meant.

    I'm not sure if you'd still say that using what Ginger wrote above, but I'm skeptical of this ... although I haven't read many newly published books recently, so I can't recall a specific example off the top of my hand. It couldn't be a 30 page opening of a character thinking to himself, but I think what I stated could be a viable opening for a contemporary book.
     
  5. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Pick 3-4 books you've read that you enjoyed and look at the first couple paragraphs in the Kindle preview if it's available. See what is indeed introduced in those first couple paragraphs.

    Then let us know what you found.
     
  6. Ben414

    Ben414 Contributor Contributor

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    I started by using Amazon's top selling kindle books. The first three did not use this technique, but the fourth did. James Patterson's NYPD Red 3's first chapter was composed of a cocktail party and an introduction of the main characters. The main conflict wasn't introduced until chapter 2. If a popular action novel can not introduce its main conflict in its first scene/first chapter, then it seems very doable to me.
     
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  7. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    The prologue I'm doing introduces the setting and the main villain, but for the most part is slow and relaxed till the end. I'd say it depends on the setting personally, for fantasy or scifi, you might want to set up some of the world and some basic ideas. Otherwise, action is an acceptable opening in my opinion.
     
  8. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    I'm not sure what you are saying, three books didn't introduce the main conflict and Patterson's did? Or Patterson's didn't? :confused:

    Lets look at the book I think you say doesn't tell the reader what is going on at the beginning. This is where I think people misunderstand what is meant by the opening reveal.

    In the first couple sentences we see a billionaire is involved, he has a drinking problem he'd like to end but something bad happened and it will make him want to drink. He's also angry about it. We see his father's hosting a party and the character has disdain for the invitees.

    Your claim is this only introduces the main characters with the main conflict not introduced until later. But the main conflict is introduced, it just isn't completely revealed. The reader has some idea of what is to come. There is a father son conflict, they are billionaires and something happened and we don't yet know what that something is.
     
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  9. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

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    Good point. To it I will add a practical consideration for those seeking traditional publishing - most agents these days want query letters accompanied by the first few pages, which means you only have a short stretch in which to grab them. It doesn't have to be high-wire intensity, but it does have to pull them in. I recently changed my own opening because I felt the original was too static.
     
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  10. KaTrian

    KaTrian A foolish little beast. Contributor

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    You might also want to take into account the genre, like @Mckk mentioned (although her romance novel starts with an explosion, which was awesome. :D)

    So if you have a military thriller, a bang-boom assault would work. The fans of the genre will be able to follow the pace more easily and aren't thrown off by acronyms. If it's epic fantasy, a slower beginning that introduces only a small conflict, not the central one but something related to it, it could also work.

    As a debut author, you do want to have some tension from the beginning, and preferably do something that's not entirely unrelated to the main conflict. Off the top of my head, I couldn't find a single debut novel that didn't get its plot rolling within the first few pages, even paragraphs. Although, with genres like fantasy and sci-fi, the plot might be so long-winded that it's difficult to get to the very meat right from the start. @Ben414 : Brent Weeks's Night Angel Trilogy (his debut effort) cooks slowly, but since it shows how a young boy grows into an assassin, that goal is clear from the start. We have a direction, something to look forward to, instead of a mere everyday vignette from his life. It also sets up the political intricacies between different players in town (yawn) and introduces a couple of other characters who have their own goals. Not within the first few pages, mind you. It takes a while. It doesn't really seem to introduce the central conflict (or maybe that's debatable ), and the first book, The Way of Shadows, was published in 2008, so it falls under the last-10-years-or-so time period.

    Anyway, to the OP, sounds like your story already starts with a conflict that is relevant to the overall story, so you should be fine.
     
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  11. GoldenFeather

    GoldenFeather Active Member

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    I personally prefer quick and dirty. There is nothing that turns me off a book more than a slow beginning where I'm chapters in and still don't know what the book is about.

    I also think slow beginning are a waste of space and story. You could be intriguing the reader and building more and more on top of all the story you already have. I feel like very slow buildups are just a waste of space and take up a large chunk of the book that isn't necessary.

    For example, if you cut out the first half of a book that has a slow buildup, you're not exactly missing out on that much. At least that's how I feel when I read slow building books.
     
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  12. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    This is another good point, is it slow and tedious to the point you love it but the readers don't? If you're not going to at least hint at the problem, which makes no sense but say you have a reason, then your opening had still better be interesting and intriguing on its own.
     
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  13. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    @KaTrian - haha thanks :D It was my co-author Sonya's idea.

    @EdFromNY - You changed your opening? What does it look like now? I remember rather liking what I read!

    @GingerCoffee - thanks to your link, I now want to read the rest of Patterson's book. Haven't read anything for several months. *disappears off to Amazon*

    For the sake of contributing the thread of Openings, I think Patterson's move of introducing a pretty interesting character - and with it, interesting relationship dynamics - was pretty smart. I don't think I'd be quite as interested in NYPD Red 3 if it wasn't for the introduction of the rather intelligent and witty wife. It tells me this will be a fun book to read and appeals to me since I'm the kinda reader that prefers interesting relationships rather than necessarily action. I think the fact that it appears the MC and the wife Janelle seem to have a positive marriage made it better - it defies the norm of the negligent billionnaire cheating on his bitter and frigid wife. A slightly more non-standard relationship in an otherwise fairly standard set-up (father trying to impress, disobedient son etc)

    Really, bottom line is - just make it interesting. Slow is fine if it catches reader's interest. I wouldn't say Patterson's book had a particularly "fast" opening - I've read a few pages and nothing's happened beyond the conversation between MC and wife. Not what I'd class as a "quick" build-up. Now I'm off to keep reading his book.
     
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  14. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

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    @Mckk - yes, I did. Not much, just the first couple of pages.
     
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  15. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Well, quick and dirty doesn't necessarily mean exciting and intriguing. And don't assume a slow buildup is neither.

    For me, nothing is LESS exciting than a slash-stab-explode opening scene taking place between characters we don't give a hoot about yet, in places that aren't particularly interesting, for reasons we don't know. Not that a slash-stab-explode scene can't work—but it won't work if there is no personality in the piece. One of my favourite slash-stab openings is the first chapter to Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself. Why? It's brimming with personality. We are clearly inside the head of the main character right at the start, and while we don't know the ins and outs of the backstory, we know exactly what he is trying to do in this scene ...which doesn't initially go well for him. I think anybody considering writing a slash-stab opener should read this one. It's classic, and it works a treat.

    A slow-buildup must contain intrigue. You should feel you want to know more about the characters you've just met, or something about their situation grabs your attention.

    If a reader gets to the end of the first chapter or Prologue—whether it's a fast or slow start—and doesn't particularly care if they read the rest or not, then the author hasn't done the job. But don't fall into the trap of thinking it HAS to be a fast start, or it cannot be a slow start. What it needs to be is an intriguing start. One that hooks the readers and drags them in and makes them want to know what happens next.

    Whichever route you take, as an author, keep one thing in mind. It's not what happens in the first chapter that counts. It's what the reader wants to know about the second chapter. And the third....
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2015
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  16. GoldenFeather

    GoldenFeather Active Member

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    I suppose it depends on the reader. Some prefer a quicker start while others would rather have a slow buildup. OP maybe you shouldn't worry about pace, and just focus on writing it truest to yourself, meaning how you really want the story to be told.

    There are always people out there who will appreciate it exactly the way you wanted to write it.
     
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  17. peterhill160

    peterhill160 New Member

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    I tend to go for quick and dirty, exploring the characters origins whilst the story is progressing.
     
  18. Urban Profanity

    Urban Profanity Member

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    The central conflict of No country for old men is Chigurh chasing Moss. I think that the opening is more about introducing the themes: the degradation of society and the inevitability of fate. That's not to say it that it isn't action packed, but the action depicted is more tied to theme than it is to the central conflict, in my opinion.
     
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  19. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    But I don't think theme goes against the principle of introducing the problem.

    Now that I'm half way through The Windup Girl, I'm finally interested in it. That's a long way into a story before it catches on with the reader. But the author has a strong reputation and the book highly recommended. I think once you have that best sellers, plural, under your belt you have a lot more leeway.

    But going back to the first page, the threads of the plot are at least hinted at in the opening. It's rich in references to genetically altered food which is central to the plot. And. "another Thai genehacking success," is noted at the top of page two and that is also key to the plot.

    I think one should be careful understanding what is meant by introducing the plot in the first couple paragraphs. I'll say again, it's not a summary of the plot or a summary of the problem you are putting in those first few paragraphs. But it is something that ties the paragraphs to the story to come.

    I keep rereading the openings of books I've finished. It's an interesting exercise.

    Quick or slow, however, varies greatly among good books.
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2015
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  20. ToBeInspired

    ToBeInspired Senior Member

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    I feel that it depends more on were the talents of the writer itself lies. Some can pull of the action-all-the-time pull, while others can build a plot into a crescendo until you're left breathless.

    If it's done well, it's not an issue for me.

    However, I like a slow build up usually. That's 90% the case with the first novel in a series, but lessons with each one that comes out. I don't want a recap for the first hundred pages of each novel. I like everything to come together, but only if it's done well. Simple, you know?
     
  21. Thairen

    Thairen Member

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    I think it really depends on the story, while a lot of action may set the wrong tone for the story, too much of a slow opening would bore the reader, making them move on to something else. I prefer a healthy mixture of both, something engaging but also shows me the MC so that I can form a sort of bond with them. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't need to be some high stakes, gun blazing action, but something other than "Tom woke up and had his usual breakfast of eggs, ham etc.." you get the point right? I'm sure someone else posted something similar, but I didn't take the time to read every post as maybe I should have.
     
  22. daemon

    daemon Contributor Contributor

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    Neither a cold open nor a slow build-up per se is better at getting me interested. What helps most is an opening that shows me what is most interesting about the book.

    I only commit to reading a book when I have an idea of how I will fill in the blank after I finish reading it: "I am glad I read that book. This is what I got out of it: _____." I make that decision based on how readers have reacted. There is almost nothing the author can do to influence me -- except in the first few pages. If, when I finally pick up the damn thing and start reading, I immediately have an idea of what to expect, then that makes the difference between putting it down forever, and putting it down, forgetting about it, then suddenly remembering about it a month later and letting my curiosity get the best of me.

    So, write an opening that never stops nagging someone who starts to read it, loses interest, and "forgets" about it (which just means "subconsciously processes it for a month").
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2015
  23. Michael Pless

    Michael Pless Senior Member

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    Many authors want the first line or sentence to be a hook, and work at a maximum of a handful of words. I googled best opening sentences in novels and happily, on one page, at the top of the list was "Call me Ishmael". There are many instances of longer opening sentences, such as "It was the best of times, it was the worst..." and this one goes on for some time.

    A particularly memorable opening paragraph is in A Time to Kill, by Grisham and is worth reading.

    There's some interesting stuff here:

    http://review.gawker.com/the-50-best-first-sentences-in-fiction-1665532271

    - particularly the thoughts of King.

    Personally, I chose to make my first sentence short (5 words or so), although I went in the other direction a few years ago:

    "Several strides after hearing the engine of the four wheel drive, Gabrielle Conway knew fear and loneliness with an intimacy reserved for those about to die horribly."

    - it needs a little work, I know, but I don't think it would cause anyone to turn away from the story. It is a matter of taste and style but I think a shorter sentence will attract more readers than a longer, rambling one.
     
  24. A Fellow Stalker

    A Fellow Stalker Member

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    I think you should always start with something to set the tone. If I'm writing a murder mystery, I start with a view of a mysterious figure doing something shifty or the murder itself. If I'm writing a war story, I'm going to start with a battle scene. If it's based around a revolution, then it's going to start with protest or mumbling among the workers.

    Readers should know what they're getting into when they read the first ten pages, I think.
     
  25. wellthatsnice

    wellthatsnice Active Member

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    On the first page of the story chigurh is cuffed and in a police station, uses his cuffs to strangle one officer, takes his police car and uses it pulls over a car on the interstate. He then flips a coin to decide the fate of the driver of the other car and then kills him.

    By page 3 moss has found the trucks in the middle of nowhere which sets the entire plot of the book in motion.

    Books do not start any faster than old country for old men and the theme of the book has been completely set. Also we know everything we need to know about the two main characters of the book.

    I'm not saying your point is wrong, but you did not pick the best book to make it. The only worse book would have been kings "the gunslinger" which sets up the plot in the first sentence. " the man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger chased after him"
     

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