A strong opening is important to capture the readers’ attention. Fiction reviews that say, “A bit slow to get going” or, “Alright once it really started” have identified a weakness the short story cannot afford. While a novel can have a leisurely beginning to show the characters in context or build up the sense of location, a short story needs to cut to the chase at once.
Ways to Engage the Reader - Compare Styles
Compare the opening to Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Pan Books, 1990), with that of Brokeback Mountain from the short story collection Close Range by Annie Proulx (Fourth Estate, 2000). Both have Western settings and chart life-changing events for a small group of characters.
However, whereas Lonesome Dove opens slowly, showing the comfortable but boring routines that reveal just why the main characters respond to the chance of a dangerous adventure, Brokeback Mountain shows the lonely, haunted life of Ennis del Mar in a single page. As a lengthy novel and a short story, the different openings serve the needs of their form perfectly.
Exercises for Opening Paragraphs
After developing a story outline, try the following exercises to come up with three versions of an opening paragraph. Start in media res - in the middle – using the point of view that comes out of the setting and think only about catching a reader’s attention.
1. Start with a Description
A strong sense of location can be important to a story – start with a description of the setting, focusing on sensory detail to bring the place alive. What does a visitor see, smell, feel, taste and hear?
Describing a main character can also be effective in helping the reader feel involved with them by the time the main events of the story take place. Showing how they take their coffee, feel about their bony knees or respond to early mornings is like giving the reader a key to their personality.
2. Start with a Conversation
Try letting the reader overhear a key conversation that will drive the story. Experiment with several versions of this exercise – what difference does it make when the characters are excited, gossiping, afraid or shocked in response to the main focus of the story?
3. Start with an Incident
A slammed door, a loud bang, a cry, a dog barking in the middle of the night – anything that shifts day-to-day life up a gear can make a good catalyst for change and all stories are ultimately about change.
Identify a key incident in the story outline and use that as an opening incident then try something very small and seemingly unimportant as an alternative.
Choosing Material
Having a choice of openings to work from not only opens up the possibilities for the development of the story but also reveals perspectives which may not have been obvious before.
What if the minor character who just happens to be passing were to be the narrator?
What if the barking dog is simply disturbed by a cat but in waking the main protagonist starts something life-changing?
Refining the Choice
Read all three versions several times and decide which one is the most engaging and exciting to carry on from. Combining all three may be very effective.
One thing is certain - if the opening paragraph grips the writer, there is a much greater chance that it will grip the reader.
Elaine Walker - Elaine Walker has been a freelance writer since 1997. Her published work includes fiction, poetry and non-fiction, much of which is ...
