Ibelieve the opening of a book is your first contract with the reader. All the elements you need for a successful contract negotiation must be present in that opening:
• one, a good overview;
• two, trust;
• three, space for dialogue.
Space for dialogue in this context is the gaps left for the reader’s imagination to interact with the story; trust is how much the reader allows you to lead them, a privilege you attain by a combination of authority and allure; and a good overview is simply a snapshot of what the novel might offer.
In my work, I like to challenge myself to achieve all three elements as early as I can: if possible, in the very first line. For example, my previous novel, is about power and how humanity endures no matter how power shifts, and the first line, ‘The achieves alleveryone imagines a different bird – that’s the dialogue with the reader; and allure and overview are embodied in the mythic, aphoristic quality of the line, as well as the endurance implied by the birds’ incessant singing.
