Plot hooks: movies or books?
Novel openings have always been my curse. How do I make it instantly captivating AND introduce the characters, setting, back story, and action, all in the opening scene? How do I maintain the tension throughout the first chapter and entice the reader to turn the page? I have always found that once I am through that dreaded first chapter, the story flows much better and everything finally snaps into place.
If only I could have the readers start from chapter 2... But then, how in the world would they know what is going on?
I often turn to other authors for inspiration on how to make the book instantly captivating. Beautiful prose is always a winner, for those gifted with it, but it rarely serves as the foremost hook in an adventure fantasy. Instant action is another good one, usually combined with a strong no-nonsense main character whose point of view dominates the scene from the very first words. But too much action too soon can serve against you if you didn't make the reader care for the character first.
More and more, I found myself turning to movies as examples of strong openings — after all, these stories have not only captivated readers, but attracted a major movie studio and were successfully advertised to millions of viewers. But what I realize more and more is that the hooks in movies don't work the same way as they do in books.
After you saw the breathtaking trailer and paid ten bucks for a movie ticket, you are not going anywhere, even if the opening seems a bit slow. You might sneak out to the movie next door if things are still slow after 20 minutes or so. Or, you might stick to it to see those special effects the trailer was packed with. If things remain disappointing until the end, you'll go home and tell your friends not to see it, or go on line and write a bad review. But if the ending moves you, or makes you say 'wow', you would not even remember the slow opening. You would go home thinking about the story, and highly recommend it to anyone who asks.
This made me realize that what sells in movies is the ending. Okay, the plot culmination needs to lead up to it. But the ending has to leave the viewers satisfied, and this is much more important than starting things off on a fast note.
Yes, there are happy exceptions, when a movie grabs my attention from the start and keeps it until the end. But more and more, I am realizing that a good novel and a good movie script are not the same.
Do script writers have it easier? No, because to make it to a movie, one has to write an attention-grabbing story that captivates from the very first words. But, can a good story be modeled on a successful movie? Probably not.
And, do those who skip reading the book and watch the movie based on it instead miss out in a big way? Definitely yes.
If only I could have the readers start from chapter 2... But then, how in the world would they know what is going on?
I often turn to other authors for inspiration on how to make the book instantly captivating. Beautiful prose is always a winner, for those gifted with it, but it rarely serves as the foremost hook in an adventure fantasy. Instant action is another good one, usually combined with a strong no-nonsense main character whose point of view dominates the scene from the very first words. But too much action too soon can serve against you if you didn't make the reader care for the character first.
More and more, I found myself turning to movies as examples of strong openings — after all, these stories have not only captivated readers, but attracted a major movie studio and were successfully advertised to millions of viewers. But what I realize more and more is that the hooks in movies don't work the same way as they do in books.
After you saw the breathtaking trailer and paid ten bucks for a movie ticket, you are not going anywhere, even if the opening seems a bit slow. You might sneak out to the movie next door if things are still slow after 20 minutes or so. Or, you might stick to it to see those special effects the trailer was packed with. If things remain disappointing until the end, you'll go home and tell your friends not to see it, or go on line and write a bad review. But if the ending moves you, or makes you say 'wow', you would not even remember the slow opening. You would go home thinking about the story, and highly recommend it to anyone who asks.
This made me realize that what sells in movies is the ending. Okay, the plot culmination needs to lead up to it. But the ending has to leave the viewers satisfied, and this is much more important than starting things off on a fast note.
Yes, there are happy exceptions, when a movie grabs my attention from the start and keeps it until the end. But more and more, I am realizing that a good novel and a good movie script are not the same.
Do script writers have it easier? No, because to make it to a movie, one has to write an attention-grabbing story that captivates from the very first words. But, can a good story be modeled on a successful movie? Probably not.
And, do those who skip reading the book and watch the movie based on it instead miss out in a big way? Definitely yes.
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