Starting Without a Bang: How You Can Successfully Use Something Other Than Action to Begin Your Story

I have written thus far about the importance of beginning your story with some form of action.  I discussed that showing your characters in action is the surest way to grab your reader’s attention. However, it is possible to successfully start your story with something other than action, such as a dream, philosophical exposition, or description.

One example of a novel beginning with a philosophical overview is Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities which opens as follows: 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Even though no one is doing anything in this opening paragraph, Dickens is still able to get our attention and hold it.  We want to know more. Dickens leaves no question in the reader’s mind that these were days of confusion and tumult. This is an example where opening with a philosophical essay worked. 

As I have mentioned before, beginning with description can also be hazardous.  However, John Steinbeck pulls it off in his novel Grapes of Wrath.  He opens the story with a description of one of the largest dust storms in America’s history.  Here is a part of it:

The dawn came, but no day. In the gray sky a red sun appeared a dim red circle that gave a little light, like dusk; and as that day advanced, the dust slipped back toward darkness, and the wind cried and whimpered over the fallen corn.

Men and women huddled in their houses, and they tied handkerchiefs over their noses when they went out, and wore goggles to protect their eyes.

When night came again it was black night, for the stars could not pierce the dust to get down, and the window lights could not even spread beyond their own yards. Now the dust was evenly mixed with the air an emulsion of dust and air. Houses were shut tight, and cloth wedged around doors and windows, but the dust came in so thinly that it could not be seen in the air, and it settled like pollen on the chairs and tables, on the dishes.  The people brushed it from their shoulders.  Little lines of dust lay at the door sills.

Steinbeck does a remarkable job describing the situation.  He doesn’t just tell us how bad the dust storm was, he shows us in a way that helps us experience it.  And most importantly, he gets the our attention.

Purely philosophical beginnings can be wonderfully effective or they can fall horribly flat. Beginning with dreams and flashbacks pose the same potential problem.  So unless you are a tremendously skilled writer, it is better to begin with your character or characters doing something. 

Although beginning effectively with a dream, description, or philosophical essay can be a challenge, it can be done as I have just illustrated. Just remember that in creative writing hooking the reader is what counts.