What makes a poor lead
Posted by njlindquist on April 8, 2008
Everyone is different, and what you like to read might not be what I like. However, I expect most of us can agree on what not to do in the opening of your novel or short story.
Leads that don’t even begin to grab me, and which I would give a 1 on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 as the highest), are those which are:
A. Too confusing - I have no idea who these people are or what’s happening, and there isn’t anything that makes me want to keep reading to sort it out. The writer may think the passage is mysterious, but the reader is simply at sea.
B. Too didactic - This is fiction. You’re supposed to entertain me, not teach me. Stop telling me what you think I need to know and give me some credit for being able to figure it out myself. Show me the people and the action, and otherwise be quiet! And don’t, above all, tell me what you are going to show me. Yes, people used to get away with this, but not these days.
C. Overloaded with information - You may have interesting characters and an intriguing plot, but you’ve bogged it down with so much description and so many details that I can’t find the good parts. Again, if it’s important, don’t tell me, show me!
A good lead has to make the reader ask questions (other that “What on earth is going on?”) and must let the reader get enough of a feel for the story that he or she will keep reading.
When would I give a 2? When the above things are going on, but there is at least a sense of what the story is about so that I feel I have a vague understanding of what to expect.
Tomorrow - when do I give a 3 or a 4?
