Amazon Kindle discussion

How do you like a novel to start? What entices you to read on? Is it description, action, dialog? Is it character, setting or an event?
I'd be interested in your thoughts on this. And do you think that an excellent plot and story overcomes modest writing - or vice versa?

Respectfully, Miriam, you're asking for absolutes. And I don't think there are any for most readers. Description, action, etc., etc., are simply technical parts of writing. And what "entices" me to read on can be said simply: if what's happening catches my interest.

I've already bought the book, so if it's a new-to-me author, the cover and the blurb intrigued me enough to spend some of my ebook bucks. If it's a known author, or an auto-buy author, it's all the same. If the writer doesn't capture my interest with whatever the opening is, I'll give [insert pronoun] the benefit of the doubt and read on. And usually finish the book, even if it's not a particularly good one.

And frankly, in all the many, many decades of my reading, starting with hardcovers and paperbacks, and seguing into ebooks, I've never seen an "excellent" plot/story paired with bad or modest writing. Unfortunately, if the author's writing skills are few or modest, [pronoun] isn't likely to have the skill to come up with that "excellent" plot/story.

Of all the books I've come across with bad/modest writing, I can truly say I don't recall a single one paired with the creativity needed for the "excellent" plot/story.

Just my USD .02.

Eric

it takes both - if the writing takes me out of the story, I usually won't continue. And for Kindle books, you need to grab them withing the first few pages due to the Look Inside/Read a Sample feature or people won't buy them. Ditto for hardcopy books listed on Amazon as they also have the same feature.

Miriam wrote: "How do you like a novel to start? What entices you to read on? Is it description, action, dialog? Is it character, setting or an event?
I'd be interested in your thoughts on this. And do you think..."

Good question. Nowadays, I think you need to open with a story question. Fifty years ago it could be description, maybe a little action. But moderns have lost the ability to wait. We would rather run to McDonald's and order a burger, get in in two minutes flat, than stand at the counter, chop vegetables, marinate a piece of meat, cook it all slowly and with thought. Another thing that affects what your opening must do is the fame or stature or oeuvre of the writer. There are authors I enjoy who never disappoint. You KNOW that they're going to 'deliver' story in their novel. One such for me is Paul Theroux The Mosquito Coast Been reading his stuff since the 70s and he always delivers. So if a new writer shows up, we might be a little wary about his or her ability to write a tale.

As a writer, most of my stories start with a scene, not on the page necessarily, but in my head. Then I take that scene and plot out how to get to it and where to go after it. That seems to be my process.

Anyway, good thought-provoking question.

Miriam wrote: "How do you like a novel to start? What entices you to read on? Is it description, action, dialog? Is it character, setting or an event?
I'd be interested in your thoughts on this. And do you think..."

For me, something totally out there, a really random sentence, something that pulls you in and makes you want to read more.

I recently read a book that was kind of just bleh for the first few pages, but when it shared that the sister the MC was talking to was dead, I propped up like 'oh wait a second?' and got really into it. I wanted to know if maybe the MC is simply imagining her there or if she really was there as a ghost. I wanted to know how she died etc.

I'm not a massive fantasy reader but I'm more likely to pick up a book that has a weird/unusual premise; books that really deviate from the expected norms and tropes.

Consider the following list. Not all are needed all the time, but these are important for authors, on the first page.

- Does it introduce some kind of conflict, or potential conflict? Inner or outer, it doesn’t matter.
- Does it introduce character, a player in the story?
- Does it establish a sense of place or an immediate context?
- Does it somehow establish a hint of your voice or style?
- What is your promise to the reader?