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Tips for Writing a Solid Lead Sentence
It's no secret that a first impression lasts longer than any other. You've always heard that Chapter 1 is especially important because it draws in readers (including agents and publishers!) however, your lead sentence can often be even more important, as it makes your true first impression.
Don't Lead With the Weather
It was a dark and stormy night. It was a sunny and clear day. It was a partly cloudy and humid morning.
Does any of that matter to the plot of your story? Even in the cases where the weather does matter, is it such an integral part as to warrant being the first thing mentioned?
The fact that weather is the epitome of "small talk" precludes it from capturing any attention. Yes, setting the scene is important but it can be done gradually throughout the text with greater success. Leading with character or plot is typically a much better way to pull the reader into the story.
For example, the opening sentence
of The Trial by Franz Kafka is:
“Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.”
You can easily discern certain meaty elements of the story: a potential protagonist, a potential antagonist and the fact that there are lies, which always create complexity. If Kafka had decided to lead with scene instead of a gripping plot point you may have a better view of Joseph K.'s bedroom, but you'd be much less likely to have continued reading.
Get Philosophical
You can take the philosophical route like Tolstoy does in Ana Karenina:
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
It challenges readers to think about the statement as it pertains to their own lives and families. One may either agree or disagree with the statement, either way the highly charged nature of the sentence builds solid intrigue.
Set the Tone of the Story
From Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut:
“All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true.”
The information you get from this lead is that the story is centered around a war theme and that there is some confusion or ambiguity in the mind of the narrator. It’s short. It’s to the point. And it introduces a style that sets the tone of the entire novel.
Don't Dwell On It
There are an infinite number of possibilities for your first sentence, many of which you will not even be able to see until after the entire story has taken shape. That being said, pick one and move on. Write the draft of the story and during edit, pay close attention to that important lead sentence. Does it still match the tone of the story you've written? You can always tighten it up in the editing process.
Make it Original
If the first sentence you have on the paper is identical or very similar to any you have read before (example: 'Once upon a time' or a buzzing alarm clock) you need to toss it out and start again. Your opening is like the face of your story and an unoriginal open is like a cheap Halloween mask. Many readers will (correctly or incorrectly) identify your story as a copy of some other and likely assume that it has nothing new to offer.
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