Ever heard an editor say a story needs to grab him—or her—by the second page? Have you ever thought about what that means for you, as a writer? What it really means?
In the business of reading slush, where hundreds of stories pour in weekly, those first few pages can mean the difference between rejection and acceptance. Some say a story needs to grab hold from the opening line, and while some authors pull this off with ease, others take a slower approach. Some authors start with an explosion, while some light a small flame that grows and grows. Is there a wrong way here? Not at all. Some stories need a slow build...
But how often is a great story overlooked because of this?
I recently finished a 5,300-word story. In standard submission format—12pt Courier font, double-spaced—it's 29 pages long. Now let's discuss exactly what that translates to. Changing the format to Times New Roman, single-spaced, the story shrinks from 29 pages down to 11. What was once the first three pages an editor sees is now barely a quarter of the way down page two, and the story starts halfway down page one! So we're talking a mere 483 words.
Frightening. But it's worth thinking about.
We, the writers, must impress within the first few pages, right? We're told this over and over again. But that likely seems much longer than it really is. In truth, we have but a handful of words just to keep the door from closing, let alone get us across the threshold. And beyond that there's a whole new set of obstacles.
Less than 500 words...
Scary.
8 comments:
That's... wild. I'd never thought of it that way. So few words!
I do try to grab the attention within the first paragraph, but it's hard to do with every single story. Because in that, you are very right. Not all of them can start with an explosive opening.
However, gaining attention needn't be "explosive" and a slow start can garner that interest. It can be something as mundane as making a pot of coffee. It's the delivery that makes the difference. If the writer can make such a simple act, like putting the coffee on, interesting, then they can grab their reader. And as the editors are likely the very first readers... that had better be some damn good coffee-making.
Great post, K. Wood.
I think you're playing with all of our insecurities now Ken. lol...stutter...um... crap, that kind of sucks.
I'm going to have to second Effie's explanation (as if that surprises anyone right?) Tension and an unusual character can only pull a reader in so far, an explosive beginning can sometimes be very clique. All we can do is work it to the best of our abilities and hope that the story reaches someone.
If we all had the answer to what sold well and easily writing wouldn't be as challenging and everyone would be doing it. (perish the thought) I wouldn't have it any other way. It's hard for a reason and if we can get that magical formula down then it's all worth it. 500 words or not.
This was a goodun Ken. Thanks :D
Great post, man. Totally agree that there has to be something special in the first 500 words. Too many stories seem to start the same, and an editors eyes can glaze over unless the voice is very engaging. But, I bet you're right too, that a lot of stories get overlooked because of a slow build. I'm sure I've overlooked some. If I'm half way into a story and nothing is happening, I will set it down and move onto the next one though.
It is scary.
Ah, but I don't think there has to be something special in the first 500 words. Now don't get me wrong; it has to be engaging, but I don't have to be blown away. If it's well written and interesting, I'll keep reading, and I think others should as well.
How many classic songs out there start with the chorus? Some do, of course, but most do not. Stories also shouldn't have to start with a big hook.
Good point, Ken. I like 'well written and interesting.' And yeah, the 'hook' idea probably discourages a lot of writers and all of their stories probably start the same way, which could be an easy way to forget the characters and story and worrying too much about the setup.
LOL. Wow, I'm not making much sense today.
I am a huge fan of the 'well-written and interesting' beginning. I prefer a slower start. Let me, as a reader, get to know the characters a bit before you do terrible things to them; otherwise, I really won't care too much when the hurt happens.
Eh, I don't worry about it too much. The way I figure it is, if a story's good, it's good, no matter how long it takes to "get going", so to speak. (What "get going" means, by the way, is open to massive amounts of interpretation)
That being said, however, I do understand that it's the norm, which is why I'm focusing on flash right now. The way I figure it, if I can start to build a resume with stories that are "catchy", that resume will eventually lead to editors giving a story of mine more time than they normally would.
Just a thought, my brother.
It should be noted that this post was in no way for or against that sort of approach. I don't want people thinking that we at Shock Totem read just 500 words of a story and then toss it into the rejection bin if it doesn't grab us.
In fact, this isn't something I even realized until the night before I posted this. I don't like to print out final versions of my stories in Courier font because I don't like wasting paper. For some reason, when it went from 29 pages to 11, it just popped into my head that those first few pages that editors look to be impressed by aren't really pages at all. It's not even a page, really.
So this is a new revelation. And honestly, it's not something I'm going to worry over.
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