Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Speaking of openings....

This is topic Speaking of openings.... in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by MAP (Member # 8631) on :

At the LTUE conference, I attended to a class on how to write killer openings which was very interesting.

We all know, and have discussed here repeatedly, how important it is to write a strong opening. The problem is that everyone has different tastes, and what is a hooky begining for one person falls flat for another. So it is hard to determine what makes a strong first sentence or even first paragraph.

This was the advice given by our own John Brown on the panel. He said, and John feel free to correct me, that we should go to a library or bookstore and pick out ten books that look interesting. Read the first sentence of every one of those books and put the books into two piles: those that grabbed your attention from the first sentence and those that did not. Then look carefully at the sentences that caught your attention and examine why.

Not everyone will agree with your choices, but some people will. And I think that we, as writers, will have similar taste in books as our intended audiences, so this seems like a great way to determine what kind of openings work for our theoretical readers.

I think this is great advice, and I wanted to share it with you guys. And thanks John for your insights on the panel.

[This message has been edited by MAP (edited February 13, 2010).]

Posted by genevive42 (Member # 8714) on :

You're right, that is great advice. I'm going to have to give it a try.

Posted by Jeff Baerveldt (Member # 8531) on :

One of the hardest things I had to learn about writing was that I first had to write for myself.

This might seem odd. Doesn't one naturally write the stories he/she wants to write?

Yes ... and no. At least for me.

I write the stories I want to write, but for a long time I tried to tell them the way others wanted. That's a disaster.

What I've learned to do is to think enough about my story so that I know the why's behind my choices.

If, for example, I decide to open with the weather -- which breaks Elmore Leonard's 1st rule of writing -- I have to have given myself a GOOD reason for doing so.

Will it work? Maybe. Will others like it? Maybe.

But what's more important than anything is that it has to work for me.

Now, if an editor who was going to pay me told me to change the opening, I would. I'm not stupid, you know.

So I think John Brown's advise is excellent. Part of learning how to write is learning what you like.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

Tony Hillerman used to open his novels with weather reports, and sometimes, he'd open later chapters that way. It amazed me, and I even asked him about it, but he always managed to make those weather reports interesting. He told me he didn't know "how he did it," so I had to decide for myself what I thought it was that made it work.

I think it was because those weather reports were always from a character's point of view, and there was a specific reason why the point of view character was noticing the weather, so those "weather reports" were part of the characterization in the story.

I don't generally like description, especially "weather reports," but I loved the way Hillerman did it.

Posted by rich (Member # 8140) on :

quote:
I think it was because those weather reports were always from a character's point of view, and there was a specific reason why the point of view character was noticing the weather, so those "weather reports" were part of the characterization in the story.

Goes to the point that one can write anything and anyway that one wants as long as it's fulfilling the first obligation of writing fiction: story.

Posted by MAP (Member # 8631) on :

KDW makes a good point. Many times people counter the "rules" with examples where published books break the "rules," and use this as an excuse as to why the "rules" don't matter.

I think it would be more beneficial to examine how the professionals make it work when they break the "rules."

Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :

quote:
I think it would be more beneficial to examine how the professionals make it work when they break the "rules."

Probably exactly the same as everything else they do that "works." That'd be my guess. Storytelling is storytelling, and usually "breaking the rules" is just telling a somewhat unpopular or "cliche" story type or using an usual style or idiom (Richard Matheson's "Born of Man and Woman" springs to mind) or structure.

Often times the best way to learn to do something is...to do it. Which is why I'm against discouraging people from writing stories that "break the rules."

Likewise, I think a somewhat inverse version of what your saying can be applied when critiqueing. Rather than criticising something for being what it is the more useful approach, I think, is to do as you do with any piece-figure out what doesn't work for you and why and convey that. Preferably within the context of what the author is trying to accomplish if stated (or based on what you can imply from what your reading.)

[This message has been edited by Merlion-Emrys (edited February 16, 2010).]

Posted by dee_boncci (Member # 2733) on :

I prefer a more positive approach to critiquing--identifying what does work for me and why. All I can do is give my reaction, and trying to infer what a writer is intending and commenting based on that is something I avoid. I can only put on my reader hat and respond as such.

As far as "breaking the rules" amounting telling a "cliche" story (sorry I don't have the direct quote), I agree in the sense that "cliche" stories are primarily stories that draw on very commonly employed tactics and are told badly to boot (i.e., greatly lacking in the craft of storytelling).

When the storytelling is compelling, as someone astutely alluded to in a different thread, elements that are often pitfalls can exist without detriment because they coincide with story forces in motion rather than standing alone in dramatic stagnation where they draw undue attention to themselves.

Posted by MAP (Member # 8631) on :

quote:
Probably exactly the same as everything else they do that "works." That'd be my guess. Storytelling is storytelling, and usually "breaking the rules" is just telling a somewhat unpopular or "cliche" story type or using an usual style or idiom (Richard Matheson's "Born of Man and Woman" springs to mind) or structure.

Yeah, I'm talking about finding out what works for me personally, not trying to crack the code of the publishing industry. Like in KDW's example where she found the beginings about weather in Hillerman's stories very compelling and analyzed why. Not everyone is going to agree with her.

Tastes in literature very greatly. I think that if I can write a well-written novel that it will appeal to others with similar tastes as me. Yeah, yeah, I know well-written is subjective.

quote:
Often times the best way to learn to do something is...to do it. Which is why I'm against discouraging people from writing stories that "break the rules."

I have a more analytical brain. I like to have a hypothesis before I experiment.

quote:
Likewise, I think a somewhat inverse version of what your saying can be applied when critiqueing. Rather than criticising something for being
quote:
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what it is
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the more useful approach, I think, is to do as you do with any piece-figure out what doesn't work for you and why and convey that. Preferably within the context of what the author is trying to accomplish if stated (or based on what you can imply from what your reading.)

Sure, but I don't think the author should make a statement of what he/she is trying to accomplish. The story itself is a form of communication. If the readers can't infer the author's intent fom the context of the story, then I would think the author should reexamine the story. Of course not everyone will "get it" but the majority should.

Posted by Devnal (Member # 6724) on :

I agree with MAP

There IS a difference between telling a story and the manner in which a story is told. My writing technique is a vehicle by which to tell a story I already have. I don't want to try and razzle dazzle an audience with fancy wordplay or redundant cliches (no matter how much I think I HAVE to have it in there). My story stays the same, the manner by which I deliver it can change, and will change without hestitation, if there is a better way to convey my story whether it's by avoiding cliches or infodumps, or both.

on a side note I'm happy with any critiquing, and for the most part the less positive approaches I find to help more. I don't need it sugar coated and I don't want to be lead by the hand on how to make something better, (discovering what makes your writing better is the majority of writing anyway).

If what I write sucks, tell me it sucks.If i figure from the feedback that it does suck I'll shelf it and start on something new. Also, it makes me feel better when what I write is good.

I'd rather honest blunt feedback, good or bad, from a commentor, than time wasted trying not to hurt my feelings.

Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :

Honestly, I think that analyzing what works for you in others work is a great way to improve openings, or fiction writing in general. The more study we can do, the better, as long as we get down to the actual writing.

That being said, I'm not sure I'd limit the study to the first sentence. An opening for me may be the first sentence, or it may be the first paragraph, the first five paragraphs, or the first five pages. I do think a great and compelling first paragraph is a huge selling point for a novel, at least to have a request given to see more.