When I started writing my first YA novel, which eventually
turned into Elixir Bound, I really
had no idea what it meant to write a good novel at all, never mind one with a
good opening. To land a publisher or agent, though, a great—not good—opening is
crucial.
Over the course of the nine years until my first book was
published, I’ve learned a lot about how to write a solid opening, mostly by
learning what not to do.
Don't Open with an
Adult POV
One of my first professional critiques by an editor from a
big house taught me this important lesson. It may seem pretty obvious now, but
at the time I felt justified starting from the point of view of the main
character’s father. He was passing the torch of the Elixir’s guardianship to
his daughter, so shouldn’t the story start from his point of view? Umm…no.
Start with the character you most want your reader to care about.
Don’t Open with a Cliché
Some things have been done so frequently, readers (and
editors) are tired of them. Avoid opening with weather (“It was a dark and
stormy night”), having a character look in the mirror and describe herself, or
having a character waking up.
Don't Open with BackstoryYou’ve spent months developing an intricate fantasy world, complete with magical creatures, evil villains, and full languages J.R.R. Tolkien style. Awesome! All the details will help enrich the story and immerse the reader in your world. Just don’t throw all of it into the beginning. Weave it in gradually as it pertains to the main character and the conflict. Even in contemporary novels, you have to be careful of too much backstory. The reader doesn’t need to know what your main character was like growing up, her whole family history, or what she had for breakfast.
Don't Open with
Gratuitous Action
In an attempt to grab the reader’s attention right, you open
with your main character into a dark forest at midnight with an animal chasing
her. The reader’s probably thinking What
a great start to this paranormal romance. I wonder if she’s going to fall in
love with the creature. If it turns out your story is actually about a high
school senior who has one more chance to score high on the SATs to get into
college, you’ve got the wrong beginning. Only start with action that pertains
to the main conflict.
Don't Open with Generalities
An ideological rant or a general statement about life isn't
a good place to start a novel. Openings like this can sound preachy (a huge
no-no in YA); they are often somewhat obvious; and when it comes to divisive
issues, they can alienate a reader who may have the opposite opinion. Long
narrative descriptions fall into the generality category as well. You can paint
the most beautiful scene with your words, but if a reader doesn’t have an
emotional connection to latch on to, you might lose them right from the start.
Setting It Up Right
So now that you know what not to do, you’re probably asking,
“What should I do?” My advice is to try out a few different openings. Work on
fleshing out the voice of the character, establishing the main conflict of the
story, and setting the tone of the piece. Have a professional critique done (if
you can afford it) or have other writers look at it to. Then look deep inside
yourself and see if the opening feels right to you. Does it accomplish what
you’ve set out to do? Admittedly, I didn’t follow all these rules with Elixir Bound, but it was a long process of critical thinking and compromise that got me to a point where the story landed a publisher. After revising it to start with the main character’s point of view instead of her father’s, I had another professional critique done of it. The editor thought it was too heavy on backstory and description. She was right: I had this long passage with a snowstorm and descriptions of two different forests.
So I cut all that and started right in with action from the
main character. I read both the old beginning and the new one to several other
writers during an impromptu critique session at a conference. They agreed the
new opening was too abrupt and had lost some of the dark tone the descriptive
beginning had provided.
I didn’t scrap either one but combined them. I included one
strong descriptive image of the trees and the snow, and then got right down to
the action of the character. The snowstorm, a possible weather cliché, was
important to keep because it was the inciting incident of the story.
My Favorite Openings
“We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to
completely suck.” from Feed by M.T.
Anderson
“Gram is worried about me. It’s not just because my sister
Bailey died four weeks ago, or because my mother hasn’t contacted me in sixteen
years, or even because suddenly all I can think about is sex. She is worried
about me because one of her houseplants has spots.” from The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
“When he grabs Mama’s wrists and yanks her toward the
wall-hanging like that, it must hurt. Mama doesn’t cry out. She tries to hide
her pain from him, but she looks back at me, and in her face, she shows me
everything she feels.” from Bitterblue
by Kristin Cashore
“I greeted his tombstone the way I always did—with a swift
kick.” from Colors Like Memories by
Meradeth HoustonElixir Bound blurb:
Katora Kase is next in line to take over as guardian to a
secret and powerful healing Elixir. Now she must journey into the wilds of
Faway Forest to find the ingredient that gives the Elixir its potency. Even
though she has her sister and brother, an old family friend, and the handsome
son of a mapmaker as companions, she feels alone.
It is her decision alone whether or not to bind herself to
the Elixir to serve and protect it until it chooses a new guardian. The forest
hosts many dangers, including wicked beings that will stop at nothing to gain
power, but the biggest danger Katora may face is whether or not to open up her
heart to love.
Buy Links:
MuseItUp - https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/young-adult/ya-fantasy/elixir-bound-detail
Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elixir-bound-katie-l-carroll/1113575170?ean=2940045014328
Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/240854
Author Bio:
Katie L. Carroll began writing at a very sad time in her
life after her 16-year-old sister, Kylene, unexpectedly passed away. Since then writing has taken her to many wonderful places, real and imagined. She wrote Elixir Bound and the forthcoming Elixir Saved so Kylene could live on in
the pages of a book. Katie is also the author of the picture app The Bedtime Knight and an editor for
MuseItUp Publishing. She lives not too far from the beach in a small
Connecticut city with her husband and son. For more about Katie, visit her
website at www.katielcarroll.com,
friend her on Facebook,
or follow her on Twitter
(@KatieLCarroll).
