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Let’s face it: when you send your writing off in the hopes it will be

published, every word is important. You wouldn’t give yourself permission to get

sloppy after page 37, assuming the editor can handle choppy prose or “inventive”

spelling if she made it that far. But what you may not realize is that the

beginning of your manuscript is by far the most important part because it

will encourage an editor to read on or to toss the whole thing aside.

After all, you may have crafted an admirable middle or a breathtaking ending,

but no one will get there if your beginning is mediocre.
Despite the fact

that more books are being published than ever before, the publishing world is

more competitive than ever before. Agents and editors are inundated with

staggering heaps of unsolicited manuscripts, and it is physically impossible for

them to plow through — in their entirety — every one. The beginning is the

only chance you have to make the right impression.
Face it, unless you have

to, how often do you push through a book when you’re under-whelmed by the

beginning?
Which brings us to some rules for great beginnings. There are

exceptions to every rule, of course, but often those exceptions are only

successful in the hands of experienced writers or those with multi-book deals.

For the writers who make up the majority, it pays to heed what the current

market demands.
Make your beginning shine:
~Start with

action.
“Action” doesn’t necessarily mean a fist fight or an explosion or

a sky-dive gone awry. Action means starting your book or story at a compelling

place, with a scene, with something at stake for your characters. Look closely

and you may find that you have pages of material that shouldn’t be in the

beginning. They fill in some important blanks for readers, but that back story

can safely be moved to somewhere after your opening.
Don’t start your story

with history — start it with a riveting now that grabs the reader by the

collar and doesn’t let him/her turn away.
~Never put dialogue or straight

description in your opening lines.

This single event elevated Christianity, previously a minority sect amongst many, to the status of official religion of the Roman Empire. Thus it became the religion of a continent, a status it has never lost.

What is so original about Colin Thubron’s book, however, is its form. The novel is constructed as if it were a sheaf of documents by different authors.