{"id":271,"date":"2012-10-25T19:45:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-25T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/blog\/2012\/10\/25\/blog-pos\/"},"modified":"2015-11-25T12:23:15","modified_gmt":"2015-11-25T19:23:15","slug":"blog-pos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/blog-pos\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday’s Tips: Questions for your Opening Scene"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nStory openings can be very confusing. There are a few
\nunasked questions an author must answer in the opening pages of a story in
\norder to hook readers. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nHave you ever started a book and wondered what was
\nhappening? I mean, you could see the story playing out, but the point-of-view
\ncharacter\u2019s mission wasn\u2019t clear. Brings me to my first item. As
\nyou\u2019re writing your story\u2019s opening, help the reader connect with the story by
\ngiving them an idea of the character\u2019s goal in that scene, of the \u201cmission\u201d
\nthey\u2019re on. This applies to genres outside of suspense. Even a trip to the
\ngrocery store to pick up milk classifies as a mission. Give us something we can
\nrelate with. So, first question: <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWhat is my
\npoint-of-view character\u2019s mission in this scene? <\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nSecond question relates with the entire book, but must be
\nrevealed in your story opening: your story question. I\u2019ve covered story question on this blog before. (Tip: Use the Search<\/i> box at the top of this blog and search for keywords: story question.) <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAre you clear on your overall story question? First, verify
\nthat you are, and then include this element in the opening pages. Story
\nquestion helps engage readers, gives them another reason to keep reading. It\u2019s
\nvery important to include in your opening pages and will keep you on track as
\nyou write the entire story. Remember, as soon as you answer the story question,
\nthe story is over. Wind down quickly following that and let your readers go.
\nSo, second question:<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWhat is my story question,
\nand how did I represent it in the opening pages of my book?<\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nNext area is characterization. What makes readers care for
\nmy character? How have I made my character relatable, noble, respectable, or
\notherwise likable so that readers will keep reading? Characters must undergo an
\narc or transition from the opening of the story to the ending. So, they don\u2019t always
\nbegin the story in a likable way. But we\u2019re expecting our readers to keep
\nreading. That\u2019s challenging if all they see are the rough edges and annoying
\nquirks. So, give characters a likeable or relatable element, something noble
\nthat helps us connect with him\/her. This will help keep us reading. Ask
\nyourself:<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nHow have I helped
\nendear my main character(s) to readers?<\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nPart of the reader\u2019s job as a story opens is to get a sense
\nof story world, or setting. Readers want to picture it. Characters might be
\ntrapped in a dark cave underground, and readers will still require some type of
\ndescription, preferably one laced with
\nemotion so we feel what the point-of-view character (POVC) feels<\/i>  while being trapped there. The descriptors
\nshould not be overly long, and don\u2019t even have to be visual (as in the cave
\nexample), but they should be included so readers can immerse themselves in the
\nstory. This is part of the enjoyment of reading. Give this to your audience, and
\nthey\u2019ll come back for more. So, as you are crafting that opening scene where
\nyou are setting up the story world for your book, ask yourself:<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWhere are the
\ncharacters, and how have I grounded the scene in that location? How have I
\nhelped readers experience it? And how have I used setting to aid the telling of
\nmy story?<\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nDeep POV<\/i><\/b> will help ground readers in the character\u2019s
\nperspective and should include at least one anchoring emotion<\/i><\/b> so
\nreaders can relate immediately. Some definitions: deep POV<\/i> <\/b>is point of view
\n(perspective or \u201ccamera lens\u201d) that helps us experience the story from deep within
\nthe character. There are some tell-tale signs that a story has not been written
\nin deep POV. For example, the narrative should never read: he thought or she
\nimagined. Instead, just give us the line. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nLack of deep POV: <\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nIf she ran any faster she was likely to trip, he thought. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nDeep POV:<\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nIf she ran any faster, she was likely to trip. (Leave off
\nthe final phrase. Notice the punctuation changes as well.) <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n(Tip: For more on deep POV on this blog, use the Search <\/i>box above and put in keywords: deep POV.) <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe other definition is for anchoring emotion<\/i><\/b>. An
\nanchoring emotion (my term; others may call it something else) is one that is
\nrelatable for most readers. It\u2019s universal. Most people have felt it. If you
\ncan dig into your character\u2019s heart and find a universal, fitting, believable
\nemotion for the situation they\u2019re in (the situation the inciting incident sets
\noff), you will hook readers. So, let\u2019s say your POVC (point-of-view character)
\nis a mother to a three-year-old daughter who has gone missing. This scenario is a
\ngreat well for universal emotions. By
\nassigning the strongest, most relatable anchoring emotion to this scene, you
\nwill hook the most readers<\/i>. Then, let us feel it with her. The best
\nanchoring emotion might be fear. What will happen to her daughter? No one loves
\nher like the POVC does. No has the protective instincts the POVC (mother) does.
\nHow will the POVC live without knowing her daughter is safe? How will she keep
\nbreathing? How will she keep from panicking so she can help the investigators?
\nDig deep and feel the anxiety so you can translate it in a few lines on the
\npage. (Don\u2019t overdo it.) Anchor the scene, the POVC, and the reader in that
\nemotion, and you\u2019ll have engaging fiction. So, ask yourself:<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nHave I used deep POV?<\/b>
\n(For more info on this, just Google \u201cDeep POV & Writing.\u201d)<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAnd have I used an anchoring emotion<\/i> in this scene to hook
\nreaders?<\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThis list of questions should give you a good
\nstart. So, take a peek at your opening scene and double-check. How would you
\nanswer these questions?<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story openings can be very confusing. There are a few unasked questions an author must answer in the opening pages of a story in order to hook readers.  Have you ever started a book and wondered what was happening? I mean, you could see the story playing out, but the point-of-view character\u2019s mission wasn\u2019t clear. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[504],"tags":[200,107,172,134,201,138,10],"class_list":["post-271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editing-writing-advice","tag-anchoring-emotion","tag-deep-pov","tag-hooks","tag-opening-scenes","tag-setting","tag-thursdays-tips","tag-writing-craft"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}