Today I’ve been thinking about that famous first line of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Out of respect for copyright I won’t quote it here (look it up! 😊), but I’m sure it’s already familiar to many of you because it’s a great opening! It offers an intriguing start to the story and du Maurier does not disappoint with what follows. Rebecca is an incredibly atmospheric novel and the dream-like (or possibly nightmarish) atmosphere that pervades the book is brilliantly evoked here in the very first sentence. I want to talk about opening lines because, as agents, we are so often asked by writers, ‘What can I do to make my novel stand out on submission?’
There are a lot of things that help a submission: checking an agent’s website thoroughly, making sure you give them the material they’re asking for (not everyone wants just the first three chapters, for example, we ask for the full right away), a cracking elevator pitch, an entertaining covering email. All these things have a part to play in hooking the reader and making an agent want to dive into your novel. But the truth is that the most important part of any submission package is the novel itself. You could supply an overly long synopsis, get the agent’s name wrong and write a covering email that’s dull as ditchwater, but if your book shines then every agent I know will overlook all those peripheral things. We are all seeking a story that hooks us from the very first page, the very first line. And there you have it! If you can make your first line, and then your first paragraph and then your first chapter really work hard to lure the reader in, grab them with something unexpected, startling or mysterious, and then keep them hooked with luscious writing and good plot development, you’re winning!
It really is worth examining the opening of your novel carefully. Is every word necessary? Does each one contribute something to the reader’s understanding that is vital, compelling, atmospheric? Be ruthless – cut away anything that isn’t driving the story forwards and generating excitement or intrigue. Are you starting your book in the right place? Remember that your reader hasn’t yet got to know and care about your characters, so don’t bore them with the character’s back-story or their start to the day. Much better to throw the reader in at the deep end, at a point in the story that’s different from other stories, that signals your novel has something fresh and new to offer.
If you can surprise and delight with your opening line then you’ve already made your novel stand out from the crowd! Of course, then you have to deliver on that promise – so that opening needs to be true to the story, not a trick to sucker the reader. If you deliver a great opening only to then tell us ‘it was all a dream’, your reader won’t feel kindly! But if you can find an opening line that’s simultaneously authentic and compelling then you’ve started us on that winding path that makes for a great story, and if you can do that then we’ll overlook almost everything else. What can you do to make your novel stand out on submission? Write a great book, obviously, but more than that – write a great opening line...