first-chapter – AUSTIN DEWAR

This week I studied story openings! I looked at a number of short stories and novels in science fiction, fantasy, romantasy, suspense, and literary fiction. Here’s what I noticed:

Starting in medio conflictu

I found that one thing 99% of openings had in common was that they began with some kind of conflict. It could be epic in scale, along the lines of “Once upon a time there was a war between the Humans and the Faerie,” or of middling importance (like a fight scene or argument about something fairly important) or even super low stakes (a guy struggling to open a jar of pickles, or bickering with his sister over something almost inconsequential).

It seems like it basically doesn’t matter what the conflict is, as long as there is one. Some do retain relevance on rereading—this seems particularly common in short stories, where the opening conflict often reflects the heart of the story. In these cases, the real significance of the opening conflict is only made clear at the end of the story, giving these stories a circular quality, as in the echoing and layering “We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M. Yoachim. The jar of pickles may turn out to be the key to saving the world! But this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. I found other stories where, however dramatic the opening conflict seemed, further reading revealed it was more of a throwaway event simply for the purpose of hooking attention or setting things up. Gideon the Ninth and its sequels are notoriously built for re-reading, yet I find that the opening of Gideon, where she tries to escape her prison-home, is actually a fairly unimportant conflict, soon swept away by more relevant ones.

The opening conflict can also be a single, sustained issue, or a barrage of problems. In “Lucky Thirteen” by Tracy Clark, the singular, subtle opening conflict is the hint of difficulty in an old man’s traversing an icy path. But in “La Chingona” by Hector Acosta, in setting the scene, each sentence describes a new conflict: a church which looks like it’s flipping off God, a storm and thunder making the lights flicker. Neighbors arguing upstairs. An eviction notice. Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes begins with a low-stakes conflict in the form of argument between the MC and her brother, then proceeds at almost breakneck pace, introducing new exposition, mysteries, obstacles, and stakes with every line of a dialogue.

Application: some writing exercises

Some exercises and methods I’ve drawn from this are:

1. Think of opening a story or scene in terms of conflict, not simply in terms of things happening. If I’m starting with a character, ask what would stand most in opposition to their achieving their goal right then? What kind of initial conflict, however low stakes, might exemplify the main character’s overarching problem, or explain the driving forces in the world of the story, etc.

2. Try out two ways of opening a story or scene: “slow,” going long and deep on a single, sustained conflict, or “fast,” piling on the problems like an opening salvo.

3. Ask how each sentence, aspect, or scene could be modified to most maximize or imply conflict. Instead of a tree standing next to a house, the tree’s branches might beat against the window. Instead of opening with someone reading a letter, open with them having to put on their reading glasses first. Turn each line of dialogue into a rebuttal or disagreement in some way, rather than allowing characters to chat obligingly. Write a scene like those classic commercials where everything goes absurdly wrong.

4. After finishing a story, go back and ask how the opening conflict could be revised into something emblematic of the driving conflict or that foreshadows the ending.

Some Types of story openings

I also noticed some common types of story openings crop up again and again. When I start working on a fantasy novel next year I’m going to do an even deeper genre-specific dive to understand common structures and beats, but for now here’s what I’ve found across various genres, that can be helpful in thinking about where and how to begin:

The Founding Legend Prologue opening

Usually 1-3 pages. Tells the foundational myth or event in a prologue that sets the stage for the world of the story, generally followed by a first chapter which can enter straight into action scene and not require as much explanation of the magic/world because the prologue has cleared up the basics. It also helps to serve as a promise of the premise or clarify what the story is about for the reader, so even if there aren’t werewolves in the first chapter, you know to expect them. In Elantris, a single page prologue briefly explains how the city of Elantris was once great and people magically turned into immortals to live there. In The Serpent and the Wings of the Night, the prologue establishes the origin story of an important character, and that this is a world of humans vs vampires.

The Theme or Philosophy Concept opening

Can be a prologue or opening to first chapter. In The Power, a couple pages describe the book’s stance on the concept of power: “The shape of power is always the same; it is the shape of a tree[…].” The Left Hand of Darkness features the MC ruminating on a concept that led him to where he is today. Or in Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Intriguing Clutter / Lagniappe opening

Opens with various pieces of “texture” leading us into the world of the novel, like news clippings, letters, email or text exchanges, poems, epigrams, fake author/title page, drawings, etc. (see The Power which includes many of the above). An exception is that in fantasy genre, it’s so typical to start with a map and/or dramatis personae that these do not feel like intriguing clutter and I would not consider them an in-story opening, rather I consider them frontmatter.

“This is Real” Author Note opening

An author note references the book as if it’s real or what it describes is real. For example, Thomas More’s Utopia or Gene Wolfe claiming he has tried to translate The Book of the New Sun into English and Latinate approximations, explaining name choices and worldbuilding.

Hard Action opening

Opens in the middle of a fight scene, a raid, a dogfight, or interrogating somebody, etc. BAM hits you in the face with dramatic action. Typical of action thrillers, but also seen in fantasy or science fiction. A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair opens with the MC Opens in the middle of (really, right at the end of) interrogating a victim whose throat she slits at the end of a short scene.

Soft Action opening

Opens in the middle of an active scene (versus narration/exposition), but it’s lower stakes, not as dramatic. Gideon the Ninth opens with the dramatic situation of an escape in process, but it’s softened by humor and the fact that the character isn’t being pursued or prevented from carrying out their plan until the end of the scene.

Contemporary Day in the Life opening

See Starter Villain and many generic romance books, mystery, and contemporary horror: opens with character just going about their normal daily life activities, which each thing they do or reflect on giving a piece of information setting up the character, setting, and story to come. There needs to be some kind of driving mystery, problem, little conflict, or piece of intriguing news that drives you to keep reading among these generally humdrum details, although there is some general interest in this person just for being a person and demonstrating different quirks, complaints, gossip etc.

Fantasy Day in the Life / Hero’s Journey opening

Technically also day in the life, it starts with character waking up and/or going about their usual activities, but it looks pretty different from the contemporary one. Often because the hero is starting in a wretched village, and their status quo is wretched, whereas in Contemporary Day In Life, the status quo is generally pretty chill and pleasant. See Foundation by Mercedes Lackey, which starts with a young boy MC working in the mines. Elantris could be considered this I think, starts with character waking up and, if only very briefly, experiencing a moment of peaceful day in the life of a prince, before he’s suddenly thrown into a new reality.

Big Game Hunter opening

It’s funny this would happen enough to be its own category, but there’s a distinct trope of opening fantasy stories with the hero hunting a deer, in many cases only to stumble on a magical creature. Hunger Games, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Eragon, and The North Wind all open like this. I guess it’s an easy way to make a character be immediately engaged in action/conflict, while still setting up the status quo before the real inciting incident. It also seems to be a trophy way to demonstrate “strong female character who don’t need no man.”

The Tool of the Trade opening

Opens by demonstrating and/or explaining some craft, technique, or trade. “The Dragonslayer of Merebarton” by K.J. Parker opens with an explanation of mending a chamberpot. “Stingers” by LaToya Jovena opens with a bartender’s perspective on life and mixing drinks as chemical processes. Can be combined with another opening, for example the Hunter opening shows an everyday skill, as does the interrogation scene mentioned in “Hard Action opening” above.

Dialogue opening

This would also count as an action opening, but one comprised mainly of dialogue between the main character and somebody else. In a short story, this will often cut straight to the chase, and comprise a conflict between the main character and their foil, love interest, or antagonist. The reverse is true in novels, where the dialogue will either be with a throwaway character, or with a beloved sibling, best friend, or comrade in arms. In a novel, the antagonist and love interest aren’t usually introduced in the opening dialogue/scene, I think because you don’t want to rush past developing the main character before introducing them. But this convention is occasionally broken, as in A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet, where the love interest shows up in the first page. Like pure action, the dialogue should usually be a conflict between the two characters, although it can be low stakes, like “you look like shit,” “thanks a lot” “you sure you shouldn’t be resting?” “people depend on me” etc. Can also be combined with the Day in the Life opening, for example in Bannerless the main character comes down for breakfast, giving a glimpse of her normal daily life before she heads off to a detective assignment in an unfamiliar town.

The Ensemble opening

This may be a convention in some genres like epic fantasy and bad writing in others, like more basic fantasy. It’s an opening in which a bunch of characters are introduced, not just the main character and one or two foils or companions (I noticed most books have only 1-3 characters in the first scene). Now, this is different from an ensemble story, like Gideon the Ninth or Murder on the Orient Express, where each chapter introduces a couple more characters, until you’ve met everyone, and then the chapters sort of cycle through focusing on a couple at a time, so you can give each their deeper turn. No, this is referring to having over 3 characters in the very first scene/chapter. I am not personally a fan of this kind of opening, I feel it taxes my brain to try and hold too many characters at once right at the beginning of the book. I get them muddled up in my head since I don’t yet know them intimately on an individual level, and I also don’t get as interested with a broad sweep of characters (which can’t go as deep) versus giving me a single character or couple of characters to go deep on at first.

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Some ways that stories start