| BEGINNINGS (Continued) |
| by Elizabeth Sinclair |
| Example: The report had come back. Jane was pregnant. She strolled beside the babbling stream, hearing not the gurgle of the running water, but the voices of happy children, her children, the children she and John would have over the years, starting with this new life that nestled inside her. Tiny red wildflowers winked at her from the verdant carpet of grass at her feet, as if they knew her secret and were as anxious as she to shout it to the word. Overhead, the pines swayed in time to the tune she hummed as she followed the meandering stream's bank. Life was in deed good. The report had come back. Jane had miscarried her child. She wandered aimlessly along the stream, its bubbly mirth seemed to taunt her with the echo of a child's laughter. Blood-red flowers hidden deep in the grass that snatched at her skirt's hem like a ghostly small hand glared up at her. Overhead, the pines swayed, beckoning her deeper into the forest, deeper into the darkness that would protect her from more pain. With the loss of that small life, her reason for living had also vanished In the above examples, we have the same elements of nature -- a stream, flowers, grass, trees. How they were perceived by the character makes for the changes of tone from one example to the other. Story type -- What type of story should the reader expect to find within the cover of your book? Let them know as soon as you can that it will be a mystery, a romance, a western, an historical. Readers are funny. They like to know what they're investing their time in from the beginning. This too is often conveyed through the setting of the tone and is probably the most advantageous place to do this. In the above examples, if s not hard to tell that the first story will probably be a contemporary, however since the beginnings is so positive, should the reader expect this mood to alter drastically, such as the loss of this eagerly anticipated child? Could the second example be the setup for a suicide? Perhaps the setup for a murder? The answers to these questions will ultimately be answered in what follows these brief passages. However, by establishing tone and setting you have set up the reader to ask that all-important question that will have them turning pages to find the answer. CHECK LIST FOR BEGINNINGS 1. Have I introduced my major characters? 2. Have I established that characters story goal, motivation and conflict? 3. Have I set the scene and named the location? 4. Is the tone of the story clear in the introductory paragraph or very soon thereafter? 5. Is the type of story my reader should expect clear? 6. Is this the strongest beginning I can use for my story? Have I started where the story begins? 7. Have a I used a lot of backstory to introduce the plot? 8. Have I planted a question in my reader's mind, a question that will force them to keep reading to find the answer? |
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