Thread: How to start my novel.

I'm going to begin my fantasy novel with my main character on a cruise liner, and then I'm going to sink the ship to the bottom of the Atlantic. So far, so good. Now I'm contemplating how to start it off to best catch the reader's interest. I figure I go with either one of these:

A) In chronological order: "The luxurious ocean liner MS Tethys cut through the ocean bound for New York. Two hours later it would sink into the depths of the sea, but so far everone was having a good time." Then I introduce the MC, and then I sink the ship.

B) Out of chronological order: "Simon was drowning." Then I flash back to earlier when the ship was still afloat, inform the readers who Simon is, and have the ship sink, after which Simon can continue to drown.

Which do you guys think is better? I'm also open for alternatives if you're offering.

My opinion is, until it is written there is no way to say which is better.

Here is the only thing I would say about the flashback option. If you are going to set up from the beginning that the the character whom the story is about is going to die, then the story that occurs during the flashback had better be one Hell of a compelling story. Nothing wrong with giving away the ending ... or at least eluding to it since there is nothing that says he cannot be saved at the last minute. But the story post the starting point better kick butt.

Originally Posted by Mathias Cavanaugh

My opinion is, until it is written there is no way to say which is better.

Here is the only thing I would say about the flashback option. If you are going to set up from the beginning that the the character whom the story is about is going to die, then the story that occurs during the flashback had better be one Hell of a compelling story. Nothing wrong with giving away the ending ... or at least eluding to it since there is nothing that says he cannot be saved at the last minute. But the story post the starting point better kick butt.

Oh, he's not going to die - I'm just drowing him a little. He's a big boy, he can handle it. :p

He gets rescued before the first chapter is over, it's just that the drowning thing is kind of a vital plot point.

My personal style / preference is toward the "B" option. I like using a moment of high tension to draw the reader in, then immediately re-direct them.

While Simon is drowning, he can see someone floundering in the sea. He can then remember that person's actions hours / days earlier ("John was an a-hole. I hope his swimming skills are better than his social skills were last night.")
Or, as the ship is going down, and the stern is sticking up: "The teak deck radiated with warmth yesterday afternoon. Now the moonlight shimmered coldly on it as the sea digested the last bite of the massive ship..."

I'm a sucker for contrasts.

Out of those two choices, I would rather read option B.

With the exception of tremendously good prose, the only way you will capture the attention of fickle readers like myself is to have the stakes raised very high from the opening sentence. "Simon was drowning" does exactly that.

Option A is more of a let down. "The luxurious ocean liner MS Tethys cut through the ocean bound for New York. Two hours later it would sink into the depths of the sea, but so far everone was having a good time", I would be saying to myself "oh, great, so now I have to read through a bunch of boring stuff to get to the real story?" and I would probably put the book down and look elsewhere.

So yeah, for me, I'd go with Option B.

Originally Posted by Winston

My personal style / preference is toward the "B" option. I like using a moment of high tension to draw the reader in, then immediately re-direct them.

While Simon is drowning, he can see someone floundering in the sea. He can then remember that person's actions hours / days earlier ("John was an a-hole. I hope his swimming skills are better than his social skills were last night.")
Or, as the ship is going down, and the stern is sticking up: "The teak deck radiated with warmth yesterday afternoon. Now the moonlight shimmered coldly on it as the sea digested the last bite of the massive ship..."

I'm a sucker for contrasts.

Contrasts are good, agreed.

Originally Posted by KyleColorado

Option A is more of a let down. "The luxurious ocean liner MS Tethys cut through the ocean bound for New York. Two hours later it would sink into the depths of the sea, but so far everone was having a good time", I would be saying to myself "oh, great, so now I have to read through a bunch of boring stuff to get to the real story?" and I would probably put the book down and look elsewhere.

...Not a very patient man, are you Kyle?

I don't think I have ever put a book down only because I didn't like the first two sentences.

I'll throw in a vote for A. More interesting to me than "Simon was drowning." Who is Simon and why do I care?

But an entire ocean liner full of men, women, and children at leisure and enjoying themselves, unaware of impending doom? Now you're talking.

As a reader my preference would be for b. The proposed opening for the novel I'm trying to write (on a bet) by my 72nd birthday next year starts out:

The Missionary's Tale - Chapter One
Larry wiped the spilled rum from the cover of the Bible and thought about the days when he'd stood behind a pulpit instead of a bar.
Then I go back to Larry's beginnings in McRae County, Mississippi, before he came to Belize as a missionary and later, converted by white rum and a Creole woman, opened a bar named Preacher's.

And as for threatening the death of a principal character at the start of the novel, consider this opening:
Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.
(from One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márques, translation from the Spanish by Gregory Rabassa ©1970 by Harper and Row, Publishers)
Of course we find later that Colonel Buendía...well, read the book and find out.

Originally Posted by Anders

I don't think I have ever put a book down only because I didn't like the first two sentences.

I do it all the time. When I'm perusing a book store, I open up books and read the first few lines. If it doesn't grab me, I put it down and pick up the next one. : )

It's the author's job to grab me by the throat and shake me, the way I see it.

I would choose option B, but I wouldn't start so bluntly with 'simon was drowning'. I would prefer to gradually come to that realisation.
Perhaps you could start with a brief description of the ship, how big and impressive it is, how many fine restaurants it has, how there was no expense spared in its making. Then cut to Simon in his room or wherever he is. Maybe he's fumbling with a door handle, trying to get it open, but his fingers keep slipping off. In the distance he hears the sound of metal being twisted to its breaking point. His possessions litter the small room. A shirt playfully covers his vision with its silken arm... Then we realise that he's underwater. I'm sure you could do a better job of it, though.

I seem to be in the minority here, but I disagree with Option B just on principle. If you have to present your book out of order to get the reader's attention, the book must not be very interesting to begin with. Find ways to make it interesting. Moby-Dick didn't start with "This would be Captain Ahab's final battle with the White Whale." No, it was "Call me Ishmael."

And you know what? That book did alright.

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

I seem to be in the minority here, but I disagree with Option B just on principle. If you have to present your book out of order to get the reader's attention, the book must not be very interesting to begin with. Find ways to make it interesting. Moby-Dick didn't start with "This would be Captain Ahab's final battle with the White Whale." No, it was "Call me Ishmael."

And you know what? That book did alright.

It's more about getting the publisher's attention, I believe. I have no publishing experience, but from what I've read you need to catch the publisher's attention within the first few pages, if not the first few lines. I think a lot of the classics would have a lot more trouble being published in today's market.
You're right that the story itself still needs to be interesting, though.

The Iliad starts in the middle of the action, and it has been quite successful. Either way will work if the writing is good enough.

I think either way would be telling the story differently.

If you choose option A, it doesn't have to be as important that the ship sinks. Take the movie Titanic. The boat sinking is obviously important in the movie, but some of the more important parts are what happen before the ship sinks, and the drama and interactions of the characters.

If you choose option B, it seems more like you are going to go back and explain the reasons leading up to the boat sinking. I think this method makes it a much more substantial plot piece.

Just my two cents.

Instead of doing A or B why don't you write the action of the ship sinking. The reader will be thrown straight into the story.