Getting it right from the beginning

[John Dean]

I have just started writing my next crime novel for my publishers The Book Folks and as with every new book, that blank first page is at once exciting and daunting.

The excitement comes because it takes all that planning that I’ve been doing over recent weeks (mostly on my walks with the dogs!) onto the page, daunting because a lot of work lies ahead and a blank computer screen is a scary thing!

I’m only 1,000 words in, having started writing three days ago, but they are words with a big job to do because beginnings are crucial if a writer is going to grab a reader’s attention in an increasingly competitive world where there are so many books and authors to enjoy.

So, it’s a good time to recap on some of the rules of beginnings.  One of the key things that a crime writer, indeed any writer, must bear in mind is that a good start is as if the author has reached out of the page, grabbed the reader by the lapel and said ‘don’t you dare go away, this is going to be good!’

You need to create momentum right from the off, to make sure that the reader is so intrigued by what they are encountering that they keep turning the pages.

The first rule of opening lines is that they should possess most of the individual elements that make up the story. The opening paragraphs should have a distinctive voice, a point of view, a rudimentary plot, some hint of characterisation and a sense of a drama already under way, the latter because all stories begin in the middle, things have happened in the past, will happen in the future.

There’s a lot for those first words to do and also important for the beginning of a story is The Question, something that piques the reader’s interest. For a crime writer it could be anything from who is that lone figure watching the house to why are the detectives about to arrest the bridegroom!

There is another reason why beginnings are on my mind because they are one of the major themes of an event being staged as part of Kirkcudbright Book Week and featuring four authors, myself included, who are published by The Book Folks.

Event details: Wednesday March 6 In Conversation with the Book Folks Crime Writers Selkirk Arms High Street Tickets £8 7pm

Publisher The Book Folks presents an evening with its crime writers Traude Ailinger, Ian Robinson and James Davidson, with the event chaired by fellow Book Folks author John Dean.

The Book Folks event is one of three crime fiction events being staged during the week. Full details of all of them can be found at

https://kirkcudbrightbookweek.org/2024/01/05/a-treat-for-crime-fict...

How to acquire tickets Tickets, including for free events which require them, can be acquired via Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.co.uk or you can follow the link direct from  www.kirkcudbrightbookweek.org at https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/kirkcudbright-book-week-2024-2757849