Jenny Martin is the first of our librarian and booksellers guest blogs. Shonna, Kitty and I thought it would be break from the routine to hear from some non-writers aka readers (our target market, right?). Who better than those who help people find and enjoy the many books available? I first learned about Jenny Martin when Shonna sent me to Jenn’s blog, Book Binge. I hope this post whets your appetite for more from Book Binge and Jenny Martin.
As a writer and a librarian, I read a lot. Seriously, I’ve picked up a ridiculous number of books.
And unfortunately, I’ve thrown too many across the room because they failed to enchant me within the first five pages.
Five pages!? I hear you groan. You may think that’s harsh, but there are too many vibrant, spectacular novels in the world to waste time on stories with lackluster beginnings.
Each time I read opening pages, the author and I strike a bargain. The writer promises a string of the wondrous, fearsome words and in return, I agree to stick around. I want to keep that promise, I really do. I want to fall in love with the story. But sometimes, I can’t.
To read on, I must:
- Understand the nature and conflict of the novel.
- Care about the protagonist.
That’s it. That’s all I’m asking. An easy request to fulfill, right? Wrong. Making a grand first impression on the reader requires great skill. Sadly, many writers don’t make a memorable impression at all.
Their first pages fall flat because:
- The prose meanders, burying tension and conflict.
- The characters are stiff, unreal.
- There is no voice; the point of view character does not interpret the action.
- The story is devoid of life, a meaningless string of “… first this happened, then this happened, and then…”
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not about having a dead body on page one. It’s not about thrusting the protagonist into a battle in the first paragraph. It’s about making the reader care. It’s about the implicit promise of a good story.
And it is possible to hook a reader in half a page. For example, look at the opening lines of “Prom Dates from Hell” by Rosemary Clement Moore:
As an interactive horror experience, with beasts from Hell, mayhem, gore, and dismemberment, it was an impressive event. As a high school prom, however, the evening was marginally less successful.
I should start at the beginning, but I’m not entirely certain when that is, so I’ll start with the day I realized that despite my most determined efforts, I was not going to be able to ignore the prom entirely.
Rosemary is a skilled storyteller, to say the least. See how her voice shines in the first few lines? In less than one hundred words, I know that:
- The protagonist is a teenager.
- The protagonist is witty and whip-smart.
- The protagonist is uncomfortable with high school norms.
- There will be blood. And hellish beasts. At prom.
Wow. Three sentences and I can relate to the protagonist. Three sentences and I’m clued in to both the internal and external conflicts. Three sentences and I want to read more.
I did read more. And then I bought every book the author has published.
Perhaps I’ll buy your book someday, too. I hope your first five pages make a grand first impression.
Jenn Martin writes YA about weird, trippy stuff. (She’s so not kidding about the Evil Elvii who spring from volcanoes.) She is represented by Mary Kole at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc.
She is also a school librarian, a baker, and a certified Beatle-maniac.She sometimes answers to the name SCARLET WHISPER, Librarian/Rockstar/International Jewel Thief. As a librarian, she’s a member of ALA, TLA, and AASL. As a writer, she’s a member of DFW Writers’ Workshop. As a Beatle-maniac Baker, she belongs to the imaginary Fab Four Stickybuns Society.
Find out more about Jenny Martin by visiting her blog and twitter pages (@jmartinlibrary).
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5 users responded in this post
Once upon a time I started a collection of first pages in my writer’s notebook. I haven’t added any new pages in awhile, so thanks for the reminder to analyze those beginnings! It’s a fun exercise to flip through all the first pages, one after another, and see the different ways an author can hook you.
Shonna: I think the The notebook of first pages is a fabulous idea! I really like to analyze good writing. It helps me to learn.
When I first started writing, I believed wonderful, compelling descriptions worked for first pages. I’ve since learned better. In the immortal words of my crit group member, “We don’t care.” Cold, but true. Hopefully I’m writing more compelling openings now.
I think you can write whatever you want, as long as it’s engaging to the reader. Sometimes, I’m drawn to a character, sometimes I’m drawn to the plot, sometimes it’s the tension.
Even seemingly ordinary moments can captivate. It’s all in the writer’s unique voice. It’s how you tell the story, right?
Great post, Jenny! I have to say, it really is the first few lines that grab me in a new book. I’ll give an author a lot of leeway for a couple chapters if the first page or two make me want to know what’s going to happen next. I personally love starting with a comment on imminent action from the protagonist’s POV, or the action itself. I love getting right into the story, as a reader and as a writer.
Shonna, I may have to start making photocopies of my favorite first pages and see if I notice or learn anything interesting. Great idea!
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