Reading time: 1 minute, 47 seconds
I’m not making this up. And the timing is perfect, considering our current series here at SM 101.
The other day I brought a memoir home from the library because a prominent instructor praised it highly, calling it “a gorgeous book.”
Other learned people praised it, too. Besides, the author is a Pulitzer-prize winner. Her memoir was sure to be a winner. I just had to bring it home.
I’m sure glad I had checked out another book at the same time because two days later, I set the memoir aside.
Two days I gave the famous author. Two days to entice me to read her book. But the story only grew increasingly boring.
I just couldn’t read it any longer. I closed it and picked up the other book—which is much better. Much better.
Here’s the point we’ve been making for the past couple of weeks:
You, the writer, need to hook readers from the outset.
Your story’s opening should captivate the reader—
beguile, intrigue, attract, appeal to him—
pull him in and make him want to keep reading.
And, thanks to Denise Mast Broadwater, one of our SM 101 tribe, here’s a resource to help you do just that. Denise posted this on Facebook:
“Hooked, by Les Edgerton, is a book on first pages. I’m hearing this more and more: [the opening] must drag you in.” She adds, “I’m almost finished reading it and it’s been a big help.”
I haven’t read Hooked, but I see that Edgerton addresses writers of fiction. No doubt his material is relevant for writers of memoir, too. Look into it!
If you missed recent posts about how to craft your memoir’s beginning, click on the links below.
P.S. In re-reading that memoir’s reviews, it appears that those who loved it were drawn in because they could relate to the author’s heartbreaking experience. I, on the other hand, couldn’t relate, though I was willing to be convinced to keep reading—but the author’s hook (opening, beginning) just didn’t work.
“…Most people are not going to care about your story—unless—they can relate to or are interested in what you have to talk about,” she says.
“Readers are drawn to stories that speak to a specific issue or problem they face.
“They want to find inspiration and courage from someone who has already walked and survived the path they find themselves on.”
Sarah captures an important insight for those of us who write—as well as those of us who read: Not every memoir will interest every reader.
Come back Thursday!
You’ll learn about additional types of openings:
- Startling Assertion
- Question
- A “You” Message
Related posts:
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