On Writing Romance_ How to Craft a Novel That Sells - Leigh Michaels [49]
You should be able to convincingly answer the question, Why does page one pick up the story at the moment it does?
At what point can you begin telling this story in order to capture the readers' attention most effectively, without boring them with background or confusing them with action they don't yet understand?
The best beginnings show—within the first few pages or even paragraphs— the main character under pressure and facing a challenge, a change in circumstances, or a threat that will significantly alter the rest of her life.
Where to Start
There are no hard-and-fast rules for exactly how to begin your book, but certain starting setups have proven successful over time. When you're deciding where and when to begin, keep the following options in mind:
1. Start with one of your two main characters. The readers expect the first character they meet in the story to be either the hero or the heroine (though most often it's the heroine), and they're immediately prepared to care about thin person. If you start instead with the heroine's friend or the hero's barber, tin-readers will be confused.
In this opening paragraph from her historical novella The Bake's Bride, Nicola Cornick not only introduces her hero but gives us a thumbnail sketch of his history.
The April sunlight was as blinding as a flash of gunpowder and the rattle of the bed curtains sounded like distant artillery fire. For a moment Jack, Marquis of Merlin, wondered if he had gone to hell and ended back in the Peninsula War.
After two brief sentences, we know how the hero fits into society, what his history has been, and what time of year it is—but most importantly, we know exactly who the hero of this story is going to be, and we have a pretty good idea why we'll be rooting for this war veteran to find love: as a reward for the hell he's been through.
In the opening paragraphs of her historic novella The Virtuous Widow, Anne Gracie establishes her heroine and the basic situation she faces:
"Is my wishing candle still burning, Mama?"
Ellie kissed her small daughter tenderly. "Yes, darling. It hasn't gone out. Now stop your worrying and go to sleep. The candle is downstairs in the window where you put it."
"Shining out into the darkness so Papa will see it and know where we are." Ellie hesitated. Her voice was husky as she replied, "Yes, my darling. Papa will know that we are here, safe and warm."
Amy snuggled down under the threadbare blankets and the faded patchwork quilt that covered them. "And in the morning he will be with us for breakfast."
A lump caught in Ellie's throat. "No, darling. Papa will not be there. You know that."
Notice that even though a secondary character speaks the first line, the first name used is that of the heroine, and that name focuses our attention on her. It isn't until the fifth paragraph, after we've gotten a quick glimpse of the heroine's emotions as she soothes her daughter, that Gracie gives us the name of the secondary character.
The single exception to starting the story with either the hero or the heroine is in a brief prologue before the main story begins. You can focus that bit of the narrative on an important secondary character—like the villain—because it's clear that a prologue is a preview and not the story itself. Chapter one should still start with either the hero or the heroine (or both).
2. Start with action. Often a good option is to show the main character at the point when that character's life is disrupted by some kind of danger or threat. The danger doesn't have to be life-threatening, and it's better if it isn't complex and doesn't require lengthy explanation.
Starting with action is particularly effective when the situation is easily un-derstood or the peril is something the readers can relate to—as in this example from Liz Fielding's sweet traditional The Billionaire Takes a Bride-.
His was a mistake. ... Every cell in Ginny's body was