by Jeffrey B. Allen

Created on: August 27, 2009

The importance of the first paragraph cannot be overstated.

The first paragraph of your novel may not seem like the most important thing when you are considering the total scope of what your novel will encompass, but it is something that should be worked on and edited until it is as good as it can be. It must achieve a carefully conceived purpose.

Haphazard beginnings never work. A great writer not only places importance on every line of his novel, but he also considers the opening lines paramount to getting the reader to the intended place, the emotional junction, the launch pad, so to speak. There are dangers in doing this incorrectly, and there are obvious benefits to getting it right. Over-done, cheesy beginnings seldom work for 'B' movies, so they will certainly not work for your novel. Original thinking is needed to orchestrate the beginning in order to maneuver your reader into exactly the right place as opposed to shocking him there. The shock value might be short lived without immediate reinforcement of substantive material.

Does the first line of your novel have to be the hook? Does the first paragraph have to be the hook? That will depend on the story, style of writing, genre of the work, and many other factors that will determine whether or not the first sentence, or the first paragraph, has to wallop the reader over the head so he sits up and says, "whoa, I need to keep going with this."

There are many novelists who pull their readers in before the fiftieth page. Frankly, that is a good milestone in a novel to be aware of because modern readers of fiction are much more impatient than they were in years past. You must recall the laborious classical novels you were mandated to read during high school English classes. By today's standards, those remain great works of literature, but they are no longer sought after as leisurely reading as they once were.

If you are just starting out as a novelist, or even if you're not, you will want to read, with a scrutinizing ear, the first paragraph of popular novels that are written within the same genre that you write in.

The first chapter of a novel should be used to set the scene and establish the pace. It should introduce, with mysterious ambiguity, the gist of the dilemma facing your main character or characters. There are more ways to achieve that than it is possible to count, however, one thing remains constant; the effectiveness of your beginning lines should culminate with an intentional point-of-no return for your reader. The real slam-dunk may not come until later. That is to say, the real hook may be something you will bring in after maneuvering your reader even deeper into the trap. That still does not discount the importance of the first few lines, or in some cases, the first few paragraphs.

It is fun, as a writer, to read the work of modern novelists, such as Stephen King or Michael Crichton, and try to find the exact spot in their stories where they put down the hook. Try it sometime. You will be fascinated by the myriad of ways authors have of reeling you in. Then find your voice and let the reader have it right between the eyes. Be original. Even with the hundreds of fiction books published each year, it is still possible to be original.

The following link will take you to the first paragraphs of some well known novels, past and present. A must read is the first paragraph of Herman Melville's Moby Dick.

Learn more about this author, Jeffrey B. Allen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.