 Short Stories: March 23, 2022 Issue [#11258] |
This week: Riveting Openings Edited by: Lilli  
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| In today’s fast-paced world, the first few sentences of your story should catch your reader’s attention with the unusual, the unexpected, an action, or a conflict. Begin with tension and immediacy. Remember that short stories need to start close to their end. |
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You know it when you see it — the perfect opening paragraph that immediately grabs our interest and holds it, until the next thing we know, we’re deeply absorbed in reading.
So how do we do it? How do we capture the readers’ attention in just a few sentences? It’s easier than you think. By following these tips, you can write a great opening paragraph that will keep your readers with you, page after page.
 Create a Sense of Motion
People and things in motion give a sense that the action has already begun. It's key to grabbing your readers right from the beginning.
Use Declaratives
Readers want to believe you’re about to take them on an engaging adventure. One way to ensure you don’t let them down is to use a declarative, or several declaratives, in your opening paragraph. A “declarative” sentence is one that states something directly and ends with a period. It communicates clarity and confidence.
Define Your Setting
One way to ensure that readers will keep reading is to let them know where and when your story is taking place. It’s best to do this as soon as possible.
Create Tension
Perhaps the best use of an opening paragraph is to create tension for the reader, give them something to question, something to see resolved. Tension can come in many forms: psychological or physical conflict, characters with opposing goals, something mysterious that needs explanation.
Examples:
 I heard my neighbor through the wall.
This is a dry opening and will not spark the reader's imagination.
Try something like this instead:
 The neighbor behind us practiced scream therapy in his shower almost every day.
This is better and will get the reader's attention. Who is this guy who goes in his shower every day and screams? Why does he do that? What, exactly, is“scream therapy”?
Let’s keep reading…
The first time I heard him, I stood in the bathroom listening at our shared wall for ten minutes, debating the wisdom of calling the police. It was very different from living in the duplex beside middle-aged Mr. and Mrs. Campbell and their two young sons in Providence.
The rest of the paragraph introduces 'I' and an internal conflict as the protagonist debates a course of action while introducing an intriguing contrast of past and present settings.
As you look back at the various example I gave you, keep in mind that many writers combine these techniques to create the perfect opening paragraph in a variety of ways. At the end of the day, all openers are unique — that’s because first and foremost, you have a vision for your story that’s yours alone to tell. Hopefully, these techniques will help you to shape that vision into greatness. |
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