First Impressions

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First Impressions are the most lasting... 
​- English Proverb

     You adjust your collar, flip your hair, test your breath, touch up the mascara... It's likely that you've done it a few times already, working the cycle nervously over and again. Cold sweat, rapid heartbeat... It's the moment you've been waiting weeks, maybe even months, for... The first date. 
     We've all been there, to that crucial moment when everything has to be perfect. The moment you meet her family for the first time; the moment he sees you in the dress reserved for only him; the first kiss, the first dance, the first _____.  Fill in the blank.  How vastly important are these moments to us?  We fret over them, labor away in preparation to ensure that they are our dreams come to life. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. 
    First impressions can be critical.  And though I use the dating analogy that we can all understand, I want to impress (pun intended) upon you the value of first impressions in your art, specifically literary fiction. 
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     So, you're writing a story.  This implies that you want people to read it, to invest in it.  If that's the case, then you can't expect your audience to tough it out through the first several pages in order to get to the meat of the story.  You have to capture them.  Now, this could take several different forms, and may look different for different authors and different genres. But the idea is the same: grab attention. Explode onto the scene with might!  Or fade into the corner with tears and emotion... Leap off the precipice into the mystery, or build curiosity and tension with carefully planted words and scenes. Whatever your tale demands, kick it off in a way that impresses the reader from page one. 

     What exactly does that look like though?  At times it can be difficult to visualize your story with a dynamic intro. If you're like most authors, stories develop in your mind and imagination in the same manner as they come to the page: piece by piece beginning with ground zero. Stars may align, and your writing may naturally begin with a bang.  But more often than not, there's a slow chronology to every tale that takes time to build until the central point is found. If that's the case for you, and you can't enter with guns blazing and emotions flying wild, then here are a few options for you. 

•      Mix up the timeline.  This is a great way to start off strong and hook your readers before returning to the proper format of the story. You can open with a future scene, a moment that happens after the ball is rolling and really connects the reader with the central point. Doing so can even build tension and raise questions that the reader wants answered before you return to the quiet, subtle start of the tale. It takes some practice to find the right scene for this, so I tend to encourage writers to complete the story chronologically first, leaving a "Prologue" empty to fill at the end. Once the rest is finished, it will be much easier to find the perfect excerpt to snatch out and place in the Prologue slot.  A little adjustment here and there and you have successfully started your writing with a great first impression.    
•      Use another Point of View.    This one is a little more tricky.  Depending on what kind of story you are writing, you may be able to take a third party's point of view and forge a scene that impresses your agenda. The best way to illustrate this option is by example.  Let's say that I am writing a thriller about a young FBI agent fresh from Quantico.  My tale starts with the character acclimating to the climate of his new job, coworkers, etc... This is going to take me some time to build to my central point, the first big case.  So, what can I do to really grab attention in that first impression?  Since I know that the first big case involves a serial killer, then perhaps I change the original point of view to the criminal. In this case, I would start with the gruesome and callous murder of one of the villain's victims. It's edgy, it's dark, and it's a heart-pounding scene.  It has the qualities that I need to really capture the reader and keep them invested. After the initial scene, I can now shift back to my main character and begin working towards the point in time where the killer answers for the crime committed. 
•      Give the reader a reason to invest.   This can be the fail-safe to any writing endeavor, but it's going to take some salesmanship. If you either can't begin with an impressive scene or you don't want to for the sake of your story, you can always paint a picture worth savoring. If the introduction is rich enough, whether by emotion or grandeur or conflict,  it can still connect with readers in a way that keeps them interested. Though I can't describe this to you in terms of your work, I can say this: craft that opening page, that initial contact, in a way that cannot be easily forgotten. If this is you, stay tuned to the Institute and we may just give you some more ideas to work with. 

     Remember!  First impressions can work wonders in your favor, but the opposite bodes ill for any writer!  Leave a sour taste in the readers' mouths and they'll repay you with a closed cover and poor reviews!  Till next time readers...