How to Craft The Opening Of Your Novel

The opening of your novel is the most important part you'll write. If you don't hook the reader in those first few hundred words, you're done for. They'll put the book down and probably not pick it up again. So you need to make the opening paragraph of your novel a real page-turner. So, how do you craft a cracking opening for your novel?

Dive right into the action

Remember that the beginning of the novel is not an introduction, it's not a school essay, you should dive straight into the action.

Reveal the time and place

Make sure that it's clear where and when the story takes place in the first few paragraphs if you can. This is really important because you know when you are reading a book, you form images in your mind of how the people and places look. Most experienced writers take care of this factor. You can learn from the best by subscribing to Wantate and reading their works.

Introduce the main character and his rivals

This is very important. You need to introduce the main characters in the first chapter. The reader needs to know what kind of lifestyle and background the main character has, including how old they are, what they look like and their likes and habits.

Make it clear what type of book it is

You need to show the reader what kind of book it is fairly quick. By doing this you'll be setting the theme for the rest of the book.

If you'd like more ideas to craft the opening of your novel, get some inspiration from Wantate.