Every writer knows how important a strong, engaging, punch ‘em
in the gut opening is to selling a story.
It’s the antithesis to the way we teach schoolchildren to
write letters, beginning with “dear so-and-so” and proceeding with “I am
writing to you...”
BO-RRR-ING.
The first paragraph is a rude thing. With it, we must break
ingrained habits of polite address, which build methodically and leisurely to the point of why
we are writing in the first place. None of that pitter-patter to the entrance, folks.
But I find the first paragraph serves not only to engage a reader,
but to set me, the writer, on the right course. It is a reminder of who,
(the voice, i.e. the personality of the narration) the why, (why is writing the whole thing worth my while) the what, (the theme is embedded
right there) the where, (at least in terms of how it's emotionally situated if not
physically as well) and the when.
If, along the winding way of first drafting, I find myself
unsure of any of the above^, I re-read and reorient with the help of that first paragraph. In the
event that it doesn’t serve to correct my writerly meandering, it’s a failure.
It’s not only for the reader or the marketing department. Great
first paragraphs are the writer’s lighthouse to get back home.
©Shelagh Duffett
6 comments:
I find that going through the first draft helps define that voice, so that when I'm done the first draft I can rewrite the first paragraph to capture that essence better.
Sounds like good advice, Mirka.
Very well stated, Mirka!
The 5 Ws--good advice.
Yes. You definitely need a compelling hook if you're going to catch a publisher's interest!
That first paragraph is also important in a writer's query letter to editors. When I used to write for magazines and journals, I had to make sure that I "hooked" the editor with an engaging first paragraph in order to get an assignment. Otherwise, the editor wouldn't bother to keep reading my pitch. Sometimes that initial paragraph also served me well when finally writing the article.
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