The Power of Irresistible Opening Lines
As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. This is especially true when it comes to the all-important first line of your novel. As you must know by now, to lure a reader to buy your book, you need to catch their eye:
- Book cover
- Summary
- Amazing opening line
Think of your first line as having just one sentence to convince a reader to give your book a chance and keep reading. Let’s be honest, on Amazon and other online book stores, some readers want to read the first few pages of your book before buying it. This initial impression will influence whether they continue on to paragraph two, page two, and ultimately whether they decide to purchase your book. That’s immense pressure and responsibility riding on your very first string of words!
Don’t be one of those authors, who believe that they can gradually build up to an intriguing hook several pages in. Why take that chance? Hook your readers with a One Shot Opener.
In today’s oversaturated market, you simply don’t have that luxury. Impatient readers sampling dozens of options need to be gripped instantly. Your opener must pop out and grab them from line one. Otherwise, they may swiftly move on to the next book competing for their attention.
While the rest of the first chapter matters hugely, that tantalizing first line sets the tone and trajectory. Like the gateway drug that gets readers hooked and hungry for more of your storytelling. So whether you opt for mystery, conflict, humor or surprise, your number one mission is for your first line to make readers so compelled and curious that they cannot resist reading line two.
Let’s examine what makes an irresistible opening line:
Mystery and Curiosity
Many blockbuster openers dangle an intriguing mystery, unanswered question or speculative hook that captures a reader’s inherent curiosity. Take these examples:
“The letter arrived on a rainy morning in July, its envelope soggy and smelling of the sea.”
“She recognized his face the moment he sat down next to her at the bar, though it had been ten long years since she’d seen it last.”
“The students never spoke of the door at the end of the hallway, though late at night we all heard the scratching from the other side.”
These immediately provoke curiosity by introducing peculiar details and ambiguity. Who wrote the ocean-scented letter? Why did she recognize the man’s face? What’s behind the off-limits scratched door? Our minds crave answers, and so we’re compelled to keep reading more clues.
Simmering Conflict and Danger
Conflict gets readers invested by presenting trouble brewing, dangers on the horizon, uneasy confrontations, or mysteries with ominous overtones. For example:
“As I sprinted through the ruined city with the stolen food rations, I dared not look back at the mob chasing close behind.”
“Deputy Mackenzie knew the bank robbers would be back at noon tomorrow, but the Sheriff refused to provide backup.”
“I’ll never forget the hatred in his eyes as he stared at me across the courtroom, promising revenge for betraying his terrible secret.”
The reader immediately wonders – will they get caught or escape? Why won’t the Sheriff help? How will she handle the threat of revenge? The urgency of looming conflict compels turning pages.
Concise, Specific Details
Memorable openers use vivid details and immersive specificity while avoiding lengthy preamble. For instance:
“The screech of tires and smell of burning rubber signaled the car’s impact two streets away.”
“Our spacecraft contained just three people – myself, Major Tom, and a combat engineer named Sue.”
“The knife plunged into his chest as the hooded assailant whispered ‘traitor’ in his ear.”
Just a few choice descriptive details transport us directly into the story while raising questions to pull us along.
Surprise and Intrigue
A surprising or shocking opener can also effectively hook by subverting expectations. For example:
“My sister died on a sunny Tuesday afternoon while I served her home-grown rhubarb pie that I had laced with arsenic.”
“The president tweeted nuclear launch codes to millions of followers after mixing up his official and personal accounts again.”
“Nobody expected the seemingly devoted husband and father to be behind the year-long kidnapping spree.”
The intrigue comes from how things are not as they first seemed. Our minds crave answers about motives and explanations for the shocking events.
Once you have an opener that pops, the true test is whether reading it in isolation immediately makes readers want more.
Get feedback from advance readers and writing groups specifically on your first line’s power to captivate based solely on its own merits. A strong opener both establishes your narrative voice and kicks the propulsive story momentum into high gear straight out the gate.
While later hooks keep readers turning pages, that first line sets the stage for an unputdownable book that ensnares attention from the very first word.
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When you get the chance, also check out: Write a Gripping First Page in Fiction and Writing Relatable, Sympathetic Characters.
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