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| Who Brings A Knife To A Gun Fight? (Photo credit: Cayusa) |
Actually,
I can think of some downsides to opening a first chapter with
conflict. The reader won't care about the character unless the type
of conflict is chosen carefully because the reader won't know the
character enough to really care. To combat this, I'd use the conflict
to say something about the character. But what about the initial
hook? Use suspense, tension, reader curiosity, mystery, just long
enough to set up character before diving into the conflict.
Some
types of conflict are rarely effective as an opening hook because
most books (except sequels) start with the reader knowing nothing
about the characters, issues, or world. And the opening hook makes
promises to the reader about what kind of book they are about to
read. So avoid starting in the middle of a conflict that is...
- Character-dependent.
- setting-dependent
- back-story-dependent
- different type of action than typical
- different mood than typical
- no connection to main issues
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