“At heart, despite its infinite variety, the hero’s story is always a journey.”
—Christopher Vogler, “The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers”
It helps to have a map, itinerary, or even hotel reservations when setting out on a journey. The writer works with symbols that settle reader in for the journey.
The beginning of a story is like a travel guide enticing the person seeking to travel for adventure or fun, or to escape for rest and relaxation.
It must answer, at the very least hint at, some very basic questions.
Where are we going? What is the destination?
Who is at the center of the drama, and chaos fueling the need for change?
The opening of the novel must beckon the reader to come along, and join the journey. It must reflect the mystery and suspense of the story that piques the interest of the potential reader. The writer must also take care not to overload or scare her or him.
The first pages of engaging novels reveal the quality of the ride through what we call pacing and tone.
They reveal their rhythm through sentence structure, a balance of dialogue with prose, or through an adequate mixture of prose conveying characterization and events providing a description of scenery that reflects the internal states of the protagonist, and the supporting cast.
The opening of a story or novel is one large symbol that must work with deftness and subtlety, and in smooth, but quick fashion.
It must create a dream state that all the elements of fiction work in tandem to maintain, and not puncture or perforate by deviating from the aesthetics established by the title, book cover, and opening lines.
What is the dream state you seek to achieve with our story or novel?
What is the last movie you were sad to see end?
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