"Just keep reading, and things will get better! Things will start happening in CHAPTER 2, I PWOMISE!"
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If you find yourself thinking this, or heaven forbid saying this to your readers, then you've got a problem. Here are some things to do and some things not to dowhen writing the beginning of your book.
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Do start at a turning point.
Something in the lives of your characters needs to be changing.
Do not start on just another day.
Not with someone hitting their alarm clock, or another boring day at school, or describing your main character's hair and eye color.
Do not worry if you start with dialogue.
You hear people say you shouldn't begin with dialogue. It's something we're taught. However, that's the sort of rule that just limits you for arbitrary reasons. Why in the world can't a story begin with someone talking? However...
Do not use all dialogue.
Because that is a little boring. You need to contextualize your world some, as we talked about a few chapters ago!
Do use mystery.
It's good to leave your readers with questions. It's good to present something that they want to know more about. However...
Do not annoy people with mystery.
One can be mysterious to the point people just don't care. If you don't present answers to your questions slowly but surely, people are just going to toss your book aside. See also again, the reader isn't you.
Do not look like the next story.
Write something you haven't read before. Start off in a wild way that no one would expect. Make your beginning unforgettable. Try really hard!
Do use unique style, voice, and language.
If you're funny, start funny. If you've got beautiful prose, start with an exposé of your beautiful writing. If you're good with short, snappy sentences, start with those. If you don't think your writing is special, try to! At the very least, try to emulate an author you admire.
Do foreshadow.
This is the time to inject meaning into your book. Show something in the beginning that might appear again later, whether that's a character, or a setting, or an object. Consider letting your audience in on some of the secrets your story will eventually explore. And on that note, finally...
Do have an idea what happen next.
Don't just write a beginning and hope it takes off. The beginning is incredibly important, and throwing it together—chock-full of mysteries you have no answers to—is not a good idea. You should outline your story to begin.
What is that you said?
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Tips on outlining?
Well what do you know! That's just where I was going next!
