Starting Your Novel With a Promise
by Mary Kole | Former literary agent, now a freelance editor, writing teacher, and IP/story developer for major publishers and creators.
If you’re starting your novel, you need to know about the promise of the novel. If you’re not yet paying attention to this incredibly important element, you need to add this to your writing toolkit. Writing an effective novel opening, and setting reader expectations are two of the toughest tasks out there when you’re starting your novel. In fact, Les Edgerton wrote an entire book about this challenge and how to overcome it, called Hooked (Writer's Digest Books). Let’s break down why you need to be starting your novel with a promise.
Starting Your Novel Is Very Difficult
When readers open a book, it is natural for them to allow their imaginations to run wild and conjure up a picture of where the story will take them. After they scan the first few pages, their minds may already be abuzz with ideas—perhaps spurned by the introduction of the protagonist, the writing style, the novel setting, or the opening conflict. (The reader’s impression of the book will also be informed by the cover image and other design elements, if the book is already published. These book marketing elements don’t apply to a manuscript file.)
As a writer, you want to prepare your reader’s imagination when it comes to setting their expectations. You have to make the right promise at the beginning of your novel and deliver on it throughout the story, or else readers might have a disjointed, disoriented sensation as they get deeper and deeper into things. To avoid this, remember that the key is to construct the right promise when you’re starting your novel, to make your reader excited to continue reading, and to lead them in the right direction.
Imagine starting your MG novel in a school setting, even though it’s going to be a portal fantasy. School is a very common topic for middle grade novels, for example. You know that you’re not going to be getting to the portal until about page 50. When an agent or publisher tells you that a school setting is a bit cliché, you might be tempted to say, "But the rest of the story doesn't even have anything to do with the school. I just thought I had to start off in a normal setting before getting to the good stuff."
It happens all too often: when I discuss plotting, I typically refer to the protagonist's regular life, and how it is disrupted by the inciting incident. Naturally, to many, "regular" is synonymous with family and school or work. But if you’re starting your novel with such a familiar setting or in such a familiar way, you might also be setting your reader’s expectations low. They have no idea the story is about to get awesome, because you’ve made them a very mundane promise. (The promise is also incorrect, because this will not be a school story.)
The Promise of the Premise
If on page eleven, aliens suddenly descend and your protagonist turns out to be a long-lost space queen, your reader may feel a bit disoriented. Or they might have quit reading on page ten because they didn’t think anything exciting would happen.
A good story can help your audience reset their expectations and keep reading, but you don't want them to experience a disconnect between the beginning and the rest. So starting your novel in the tone and style and setting that you expect to sustain it is important. (You’re obviously allowed to bake in surprises and plot twists, but your beginning should at least hint or foreshadow them.)
The promise of the novel applies to genre as well. If you've been writing a contemporary novel, don't introduce dragons on page 300. Your readers have already become accustomed to your tale and don't want to be abruptly taken into a different category.
If you're starting your novel with a mundane setting, why not drop some hints of the supernatural? Let your character catch a glimpse of a strange shadow, only for it to disappear when they turn around. If you plan to incorporate dragons, don't forget to show your reader that they are part of this world, if they are. Or that this is very much our world with no expectation of the supernatural … except your character starts seeing things.
Starting Your Novel In the Right Direction
As you plan your story, imagine the theme and message you are seeking to communicate. If it’s helpful, you can even imagine your ending, then work backward to the beginning to make sure you’re starting your novel in a cohesive way. Include some subtle clues that will point towards the central theme in the opening chapter.
Whatever elements are most influential as you’re starting your novel should continue to be examined throughout. There is no sense in dedicating ten pages to a school story if that setting and the characters we meet there are irrelevant later on. In starting your novel, you must cultivate the seeds you have planted right from the beginning—these should then build in significance as you approach the climax. So if you're aiming for a tomato garden, don't sow pumpkin seeds.
When starting your novel, never leave your readers in the dark. Instead, provide them with a promise that you will tell them the tale they think they're about to read. It might be filled with surprises and unexpected delights, but you are also promising that you’re aware of what your readers want. And you will give it to them, or intentionally subvert their expectations. By making them a promise as you’re starting your novel, you get them eager to follow you along the path that you have laid out for them.
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