Probably a Silly Question, but...

[Myra]

Hello, me again!

Just out of curiosity, I am aware that books can begin slowly with not much action being thrown in, but if this 'slow, boring part' goes on for a few chapters, would that tend to put the readers off?

However, on this note and it's just an example, if the first chapter mainly revolves around one of two main protagonists within a story and has pieces of background information, but not giving full information, would this also be boring or would it keep the reader hanging on?

And, hopefully the last question, even if the book is slow to get into the action, but gives a bit of information on the pasts and the presents of the characters, important or main protagonist, would this be too much telling at the beginning or would it be deemed acceptable to have some information while giving the element of 'why did that happen?' to the readers? Obviously, that last bit would probably only work if it is correctly written.

I was just wondering because, from looking back in my plans, I realised that the first 4 or 5 chapters of my story will most likely come under the above categories (except maybe the correctly written part but I'll work on that with the help of the useful Critiques Forum) and I wasn't entirely sure if it would be acceptable to have bits of info-dumps and little action going on or to maybe put a little more action in to balance it out?

I will appreciate any feedback on this

Thanks

[Glitch]

Stories may start slow, but they should never be boring.

[Venusian Broon]

Hi Myra,

It's really difficult to answer your question. You may write absolutely beautifully and a chapter of infodump and slow build-up may be greater than anything I will ever produce in my life.

But,

If you are a first time author and trying to get published then I'd make this analogy. The first line, page, chapter and start are like a shop window - it has to entice the reader in and make them stay and spend. If you haven't got some hooks or excitment or mystery (something!) so that the reader stays with you, you risk losing them. Deliberately putting 'slow' chapters at the front is surely just going to make it more difficult to sell yourself to readers and editors alike.

If you are established then I'd guess there's less requirement for you to do this.

As for reader behaviour - I personally always read a book all the way through when I start something. But there are plenty of others that will throw the book away if they get bored by chapter 3.

[Myra]

Originally Posted by Venusian Broon

Hi Myra,

It's really difficult to answer your question. You may write absolutely beautifully and a chapter of infodump and slow build-up may be greater than anything I will ever produce in my life.

But,

If you are a first time author and trying to get published then I'd make this analogy. The first line, page, chapter and start are like a shop window - it has to entice the reader in and make them stay and spend. If you haven't got some hooks or excitment or mystery (something!) so that the reader stays with you, you risk losing them. Deliberately putting 'slow' chapters at the front is surely just going to make it more difficult to sell yourself to readers and editors alike.

If you are established then I'd guess there's less requirement for you to do this.

As for reader behaviour - I personally always read a book all the way through when I start something. But there are plenty of others that will throw the book away if they get bored by chapter 3.

Hi, thanks for this. I am a first time author and I have tried to give it a little 'why did that happen?' feel to it, but I'm not sure if I have done it right :/ I could take an excerpt from it and put it on the Critiques Forum to see what they think...hmmm. I knew the start of my book would be slow as I introduce the characters and the story, but I didn't think it would be THIS hard and it's making lose my confidence in writing a little I have been writing short stories since I was 11 years old, but now that I'm trying to actually write something that I want published one day, I'm not sure how to go about it...

I don't want to give up though, I'm just not feeling what I probably should feel when writing

[Venusian Broon]

Originally Posted by Myra

I knew the start of my book would be slow as I introduce the characters and the story, but I didn't think it would be THIS hard and it's making lose my confidence in writing a little I have been writing short stories since I was 11 years old, but now that I'm trying to actually write something that I want published one day, I'm not sure how to go about it...

I don't want to give up though, I'm just not feeling what I probably should feel when writing

Don't be despondent! Like you say it's your first novel and it'll take some time to get used to the length of the story that your going to produce. In fact by the time you get to the end of the first draft, if you think it's not right I bet you will be overflowing with ideas on how to recast the start and make it stronger.

Secondly the first part of a book (unless it's book 2 & 3 of a trilogy), will always tend to be slower and involve loads of set ups as you introduce the reader to your world and characters. You don't need to have an all-guns blazing James Bond-esque starting sequence at the start

Personally, (because this is way I'm doing mine), I would just keep writing to your plan and aim for a complete first draft. And then when you have a whole piece of work go back and really work it. That might not be your style, so always good to experiment and see what works for you.

But most importantly remember that everyone has down days with their writing, even the most successful and fabulous authors.

Perservere and you will be rewarded. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

[Montero]

As others have said, plus, can you come up with a good "hook" in the first paragraph/opening line?

There was a thread on good first sentences (in published books) in General Writing a year or two back that you might want to do a search for.

I remember contributing from one of Lois McMaster Bujold's books (and this is now from memory so may not be perfectly accurate)

"The Prince was dead, but the King was not so there was no unseemly rejoicing in the faces of the men in the courtyard."

[Myra]

Originally Posted by Venusian Broon

Don't be despondent! Like you say it's your first novel and it'll take some time to get used to the length of the story that your going to produce. In fact by the time you get to the end of the first draft, if you think it's not right I bet you will be overflowing with ideas on how to recast the start and make it stronger.

Secondly the first part of a book (unless it's book 2 & 3 of a trilogy), will always tend to be slower and involve loads of set ups as you introduce the reader to your world and characters. You don't need to have an all-guns blazing James Bond-esque starting sequence at the start

Personally, (because this is way I'm doing mine), I would just keep writing to your plan and aim for a complete first draft. And then when you have a whole piece of work go back and really work it. That might not be your style, so always good to experiment and see what works for you.

But most importantly remember that everyone has down days with their writing, even the most successful and fabulous authors.

Perservere and you will be rewarded. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Thank you for this, I really needed someone to say this to me

You're right, I'm just having an off-day and no ideas are really striking out at me today, but your comments have made me feel loads better!

I'll do as you suggested and just work through the first draft (obviously I won't rush through it) and then go back through it. I know it will probably take a few drafts until I have the final draft

Thanks again!

[Myra]

Originally Posted by Montero

As others have said, plus, can you come up with a good "hook" in the first paragraph/opening line?

There was a thread on good first sentences (in published books) in General Writing a year or two back that you might want to do a search for.

I remember contributing from one of Lois McMaster Bujold's books (and this is now from memory so may not be perfectly accurate)

"The Prince was dead, but the King was not so there was no unseemly rejoicing in the faces of the men in the courtyard."

Hi Montero, thanks for the input and I will definitely look into this Hopefully it will give me some sort of inspiration

[Myra]

Originally Posted by Glitch

Stories may start slow, but they should never be boring.

Hi Glitch, thanks for this, I'll keep that in mind

[springs]

I find beginnings terribly hard, so don't get despondent if you get to the end and think it's not quite working. (there are people here who've read my blinking first prologue so often, they're probably screaming when I mention it). There probably does need to be a hook, but sometimes it's hard to see what we do or don't need to include. I woudl suggest writing it, and then, when it's polished and ready to go, see if you can get someone to read it through for you - it's amazing how much gets dropped when we know someone else gets the sense of it...

And, the old adage of showing is probably worth considering, and can speed things along nicely...

[Myra]

Originally Posted by springs1971

I find beginnings terribly hard, so don't get despondent if you get to the end and think it's not quite working. (there are people here who've read my blinking first prologue so often, they're probably screaming when I mention it). There probably does need to be a hook, but sometimes it's hard to see what we do or don't need to include. I woudl suggest writing it, and then, when it's polished and ready to go, see if you can get someone to read it through for you - it's amazing how much gets dropped when we know someone else gets the sense of it...

And, the old adage of showing is probably worth considering, and can speed things along nicely...

Hi Springs Thanks for this, I'm just going to write it and if it doesn't sound right then I'm gonna keep in my mind "It's only the first draft" and then will go back to it when something comes to me and I might only be able to do it once I written a few more chapters so I just have to focus Thanks for your help!

[Triceratops]

From one of my blog posts, which is not for everyone. But I am a firm believer in the hook up front.

Have You Hooked Or Are You Baitless?


At last count I've accumulated about 2,900 rejection slips, both email and hard mail, dating back at least 24 years. We writers agonize over just about every word in these little snippets of rejection death, attempting to decipher some type of meaningful logic out of these one or two-line zingers. Yet even in the form variety, there are a few that stand out over the rest which indicate a more specific problem, and they usually begin with, "I'm afraid I wasn't pulled into the story," or "the front bogged down," or "after a few pages, I wasn't compelled to read any further." Something to that tone, anyway. What we have here is a failure to communicate up front with that all important "hook."


The hook is that mystical teaser, that draw that pulls the reader into the story, and it usually begins on page one, and really never lets up. You can craft a hook by using dialogue, action, narrative or even description, but the one thing it does is present a unique problem that is not answered immediately, or is a set of circumstances that confounds the reader, asking more questions that it's answering. I think a really great hook uses deceit or subterfuge. It presents a "What the hell's going on here" in the reader's mind, or a "why or how could this be happening?" Setting a good hook, I later learned, is a crafting trick--a tactic. There's nothing artistic about it. Just like a magician uses sleight of hand, so too does the writer create an unfathomable scenario that begs explanation and further reading. Of course, it's wise to take the reader up to the confusion threshold but not beyond it, where incidents and plot seem random or haphazard. There must be a method to your madness, allowing the reader to glimpse that sliver of light at the end of the tunnel.

I can pontificate all day long about how stunning and fast-paced my second and third acts are, but when I read and interpret those pesky rejection slips, the ones that hint at boring, tepid, stuffy first-page or fist-chapter passages, I know then that I've failed in capturing my reader's attention--he/she will be reluctant to invest further reading time if I cannot CHALLENGE them to unravel a mystery or solve some problem. I've opened the door and invited them to ride along, but they're inclined to pass and let me drive off into the sunset by myself. Back-story is a killer, as is prologues, heavy, multiple character descriptions, uninspired dialogue, weather reports and heavy handed scenery that tries too hard to be literary.

I can have a dynamite query letter, but the editor or agent won't get past page five if I haven't pulled them into the story and forced them to wonder or agonize about something. The hook scene doesn't have to be complicated. (First Page--First Paragraph)--Imagine average Joe Blow pulls over in a picturesque grove of trees, gets out of his car and lights up a cigarette. He's on his way to work but has a few minutes to kill. He happens to notice a church a few hundred yards away and the church parking lot is filling to capacity. The back of the church looks to be occupied with a reception area, filled with chairs, tables, colorful streamers and a small stage. But no one is out there celebrating, meaning that the festivities must still be under way inside. He crushes out his cig butt and happens to look up, being prompted by the sound of a twig snapping in the boughs of a large tree.

He sees a woman in a full wedding gown, balanced precariously on a limb high up in the tree. The woman has a terrified look on her face; she is breathing hard and sweating profusely.

You've just set the hook. You don't have to have this guy figure out exactly what she's doing up there, but we have a pretty good idea. Or do we? We won't really know until the writer let's these two exchange dialogue. But we're not going to do that either. Joe Blow has decided, against his better judgement, to help this woman out. He can sort it out later once he gets her in his car and down the road away from the church. But when it comes time for her to confess her plight, she's evasive. He ends up being late for work, has to call in sick, then gets a phone call from his fiance, wondering if they're still on for their date that night. Now we have conflict, while still nothing has been resolved. And that's what you're doing--leading the reader along, who thinks he/she is on the main storyline highway, but are actually ending up on a lot of dirt roads. I think you get what I'm trying to say. Don't be predictable. Don't underestimate your reader. Shock and surprise.

How important is the hook? It is the most important page or pages of your entire manuscript, and that includes the query and/or synopsis. You've got one chance, one pair of editor/agent eyes to entice, to compel, to convince the reader to keep turning pages. Any lull or stoppage in the text is the mark of death, and it means your bait is inadequate, it stinks of age or it's missing entirely. Does your book really start on chapter 2? Then dump chapter 1. Is Chapter 1 a slough? Then cut and burn out everything that isn't thrusting the plot forward, arousing conflict and asking new questions. Yeah, but Chris, you should read some of these dud first pages in these bestsellers; hardly grabbers. Let those brand name authors craft their books the way they see fit; they're not hurting for readership. Study some of the debut author's works and see if you can't find those subtle hooks--those attention grabbers.

In Planet Janitor, I had a one of the worst chapter openings of all time--heavy character profiles, a boring, meaningless bar scene, no action, and a blatant "By the way, Bob" dialogue sequence that was just excruciating. My publisher suggested I write an entirely new action-paced first chapter, then follow it up with a drastically cut and revised version of the original chapter 1. It was the only way to save it. You can always do a "flash-back", which is exchanging chapter 1 for 2, but this is kind of an old trick that has been used since the printed word, and should be avoided unless there's no other way around it.

SO BAIT THAT HOOK!

[Myra]

Hi Triceratops,

The only word that comes to mind after reading this was...WOW! This is probably the best piece of advice I have ever been given by anyone. I will definitely keep this in mind when writing my first few chapters and then the re-drafts later

Thank you so much!

[Triceratops]

You're welcome, Myra. It's nothing special, and this topic has been elaborated upon by much better writers than myself. It took me sooooo long to find out WHY so many of my books weren't getting past the first chapter, and in some cases, the first few pages. There's plenty of time in the later pages to draw out the complexities of setting, characterization and main plot, but sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle--don't dump. I was too damn eager to get all of information up front, thinking I was doing the reader a favor. Not so. I wasn't stimulating thought--I was burying it under loads of info in a hasty attempt to snag the reader's attention. This was also akin to my early problems in dating relationships, Ha! TOO MUCH TOO SOON IS SUFFOCATING.

chris

[Myra]

Originally Posted by Triceratops

You're welcome, Myra. It's nothing special, and this topic has been elaborated upon by much better writers than myself. It took me sooooo long to find out WHY so many of my books weren't getting past the first chapter, and in some cases, the first few pages. There's plenty of time in the later pages to draw out the complexities of setting, characterization and main plot, but sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle--don't dump. I was too damn eager to get all of information up front, thinking I was doing the reader a favor. Not so. I wasn't stimulating thought--I was burying it under loads of info in a hasty attempt to snag the reader's attention. This was also akin to my early problems in dating relationships, Ha! TOO MUCH TOO SOON IS SUFFOCATING.

chris

I can definitely relate to the 'too much too soon'! I have done that so many times myself haha! I can't even count the amount of times I have dipped my toe in the water far too deep

This gives me something to really think about though so even if I do get rejection letters when I eventually try to publish my work, then I'll be able to go through it and really pinpoint where I went wrong as long as I use a fine tooth comb So keep the readers as hooked as possible by using things like mystery, suspense, 'what the hell is going on!?' and 'oh god, how (or why) did that happen!?' I think I can at least try to do that There is always a wonderful thing called editing

Thank you again