Into the Fire

Writers are continually instructed to hook the reader with a powerful first sentence and the dynamite first few paragraphs to set off a spectacular and enticing first chapter. All of us could give examples of authors who’ve done just that very well. The Ty Buchanan series by James Scott Bell comes to mind in Try Dying, Try Darkness, and Try Fear, particularly in the start of Try Darkness. So incredibly clever and well-written. But I think the major part of the instruction which Jim Bell successfully accomplishes in his series is that if you throw the knockout punch in the first few sentences and continue it throughout that first chapter, then you better be prepared to carry the reader with incredible writing all the way to the end of the story because if you use it up in the beginning, and it sags or wanes on the following pages, you’ve just created the sinker to drive that story into tedious mediocrity.

If I get jaw-dropping writing in the first chapter, I expect it to continue throughout the book. If I don’t, I’m perfectly content to either wait for it as the story develops or continue with or without interest depending on the story itself and how it’s ultimately composed. We all can agree there are some “ordinary” writers out here in literary land who won’t surprise us with their incredible prose, fantastic metaphors, or to-die-for characterizations, but they do a pretty bang-up job of telling a tale—enough to keep us turning the pages anyway.

The major hook is usually a necessity with thriller, mystery, or any kind of suspense novels. We need to be enveloped into the intrigue quickly, and with these genres we expect that intrigue to be sustained—intensely with thrillers and moderately within the other categories, depending on the story of course. If after a snappy opening, the story gears down instead of ratcheting up, we might not get amped up again until it’s too late to care. A writer sets a tone and if it’s hot and heavy from the start, he must be very careful how he gets the reader to relax through the course of the story because he risks lulling them into a snore.

The hook for a romance novel needn’t always be intense. Most romance readers are patient, waiting for their protagonists and/or heroines to emerge from good characterization. The conflict can be subtle or pronounced, but it doesn’t always have to be intense in the beginning. Good development of scene, scent, and savor—referring to the hero or heroine—requires certain attention to details. These details are far different for stories of romance than they are for stories of major mayhem. Nevertheless, the same premise applies: if you capture the heart of the reader in the first sentence, paragraph, and chapter, you better keep giving them palpitations throughout the story. Not always easy to do in a romance novel when a lot of character establishment consumes the words.

So, my conclusion? The hook and first lines should be enticing in their own unique ways, but if they’re too clever to maintain throughout the story, to be equaled in the following chapters, the result will be a “sinker” in the interest of a reader. Consistency throughout a story requires diligence. Almost all of us could write a sterling first line, paragraph and/or chapter but sustaining near perfect writing? Not so much. Find your voice, set your tone, write from who you truly are, maybe not who you perceive yourself to be . . .

Father, guide my words, my hopes, my writing, my heart. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.