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Opening Scenes are not just -- the story starts here.

It's true, Reader.

The beginning of a story is possibly the most important moment in any film or novel.

Even nonfiction narratives rely on a writer’s ability to create an opening moment that stimulates the audience to turn the page or sit back and follow along in the film.

How writers construct the opening scenes varies. But there are certain basic techniques that we all utilize. Here are three.

Opening scenes that throw the audience right into the middle of the action.
An opening that sets up an intriguing or suspenseful mood or atmosphere.
An opening is told through the voice of the character or makes a personal statement intended to build a connection between the character and the audience.

Examples:

““Come on, fight!’” Nat Blount jeered. “Or are you yellow? Is that why you let poor Tim Doolan down?”

Archie Wiggins slowly pulled himself up from the grimy Cobblestone pavement. His ribs ached where Nat had just kicked him.

“Tim got killed, and you done nothing. Well, we ain't going to take that.” Blount was talking to his audience now, and the other four boys were in a half circle around them. They were faceless blurs to Wiggins. With the skin around one eye swollen and bleeding, he could barely make out Nat.”

That one is from The Raven League: Sherlock Holmes Is Missing, 2006, by yours truly and an old friend, Bill McCay.

Here, we’re introduced to a character, Wiggins, who's already been hurt. We’re told he’s done something that caused the death of someone else. Or someone has died, and Wiggins hasn't done anything about it. Either way, he's facing a violent payback.

Next.

“Missed, thick, black mist, nothing but missed. it seemed to invite his plunge. Yet he hesitated as many weight when they are upon the brink of death until, with a mad impulse, he swung his body across the rail and loosened his hands.”

That’s from “The Living Shadow” by Maxwell Grant. First published in 1931, it is the first in a series of books about the crime fighter The Shadow.

Before that scene is over, there will be a phantom-like stranger who will prevent the man from taking his life and yet thrust him into a world of adventure and danger where he might lose his life anyway.

Now, before you get the sense that these techniques are only for fiction tales, take a look at this one.

“Friday, March 8th, 1991. I'm feeling sick. I tried to escape Austin without catching my wife Elizabeth's stomach virus. I didn't make it. I drove to Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, and arrived at Carlos Gallardo's empty house. HB, Carlos's pitbull, didn't even recognize me. He tried to jump the fence and kill me.”

This opening is from Rebel Without A Crew by Robert Rodriguez, a non-fiction autobiographical book about filmmaking.

In the end, the beginning is what starts everything off. It sets the story in motion, establishes the world we're going to move through, introduces the characters we will meet, sets the tone of the tale, and, if you're lucky, the conflict that will fuel the struggle for the length of the story.

Deciding how you want to open a story is more than just what you need to show of the plot. It’s also what do I need to write that will draw my audience in and make them want to stay for the ride.

Okay, this was certainly not a minimalist article, but it was something I wanted you to think about.

And to give you additional insight, click on this link and listen to my cohost and I reveal more tips on episode #324 of our Tell The Damn Story podcast.

Next week, Exposition. How do you share information without boring your audience to tears?

Au revoir.

Best,

Alex Simmons

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