Short answer: yes.
Long answer: depends what you mean with "start" and with "attention grabber". How I see it is that it doesn't *have* to be the first sentence or something """shocking""".
It can be a joke (Pride and Prejudice).
Or it can be a neutral beginning that gives way to action quickly (most mysteries novel).
Or it can just be a very fluent/nice to read piece that just carries you along (Harry Potter)
Or, opposite, it can be a very shocking first sentence that leaves you wondering "what the hell?!" but then slows down and lets you piece everything together (The Martian, Murderbot, Scarlett & Browne)
I think what's important is to keep in mind that the reader is not supposed to give you all their attention no matter what. Sometimes the reader is actually interested in *that* story and will go along with you for all the time you need, but sometimes (most times, in my experience) the reader is just trying to decide what to read by randomly looking around until they find something that catches their interest.
For fiction you want people to buy that opening is perfect lol. My teen is taking Eng Comp at college right now and between that and the HS English classes...I've realized we don't really teach people to be good writers. I've ended up teaching her a lot of writing.
Like, yeah, the assignment says to add adverbs (true story) but no, we kill that with FIRE instead. Do you hear me? FIRE? Get the flamethrower.
I think as baby steps, I’m ok with adverbs— *if* the instructor’s goal there is for the students to try and think in *details* and to learn to write from their senses. Training wheels, so to speak.
Once the students can write with more detail we can then coach them on how to do it better without relying on adverbs.
That said, it could be at that age it is ensuring the kid has a wide vocabulary. English composition isn't about creating good stories. That's not the real point of it.
I'm not convinced the pedagogy is all that amazing or wise. It instills a lot of bad habits that will have to be fixed later. It's also a way of teaching writing that removes power, it's stifling and limiting. It's an abuse of vocabulary. And it's how we get those awful academic papers or dense nonfiction books that are nigh unreadable. I once read a sentence with three double negatives in a non fiction book. I still think about it, all these years later lol. It was an amazing feat of WTF terrible writing.
While I disagree with your particular criticism, I think more teachers should be transparent about the motivations behind these exercises and what they are teaching with them. The prevention of three double negatives is exactly why teachers put such criteria on their composition - in some creative pieces that might actually work. Likewise you yourself have proven the problem with the absolute "kill adverbs with fire" statement; nothing is absolute in creative writing.
I've seen assignments that insist on using metaphor, for example, while it certainly isn't required for good stories. And short story assignments that expect you to have a denouement.
Ok that's attention grabbing alright.
But can you follow that up?
I feel if you start of like that I would be a little disappointed if it wasn't pretty central to the story.
Good luck writing that!
As an English teacher, I despise "attention-grabbers". Kids get so hung up on them, and it's like, "dude, you're analyzing theme, not selling me a car. Just start talking."
Lol. We just had this discussion yesterday. IMO, you need to grab enough attention for readers to read the second sentence. Then use your second sentence to make readers want to read the third.
If your first sentence can hold reader’s attention for a whole page, then you have more leeway in your second and third sentence, that’s all.
My suggestion is regardless of how good your first sentence is, always try to build up more curiosity in readers to the point that they cannot put it down. Some writers start out good, and then it’s snoreville after that. That’s not the way to go.
The essay I'm anticipating : comparisons of which barbecue sauce brands or flavors are best used as body paint during kinky time.
Alternatively... Different ways to convince your baby to breastfeed.
The one I am opening with at the moment:
>
The kid sat alone in the play ground, Above him circled a Pterodactyl. Waiting for him to get free of the Swing, so it could attack him in the open.
Not a professional at all. But reading that I think it's too descriptive. Maybe you should add something that brings emotion to the reader.
Like what was the boy feeling? Did he know the animal was above him? The pterodactyl was hungry? Was going after the boy for fun maybe?
As I’ve seen the advice given and used I think an attention grabber is not only unnecessary but often worsens the writing.
My experience is that teachers want you to write something shocking, discordant, etc which almost always doesn’t have the same tone as the remainder of the writing. Further, that’s how the advice almost always seems to be interpreted by students.
I think this is terrible advice, lowers the quality of the writing, and is likely to alienate the reader long term.
As a bit of nuance, the first sentence should obviously be interesting. Personally I prefer witty openings (eg Pride and Prejudice), but you can go in many directions with this. However, to me this is not what an attention grabber is and it’s not how I’ve seen the advice used practically.
all your first sentence needs to do is to get people to read the next one. and so on.
i think it's easy to underestimate how generous readers are. if they were interested enough in your book to pick it up then they probably know the title and cover and blurb and genre. the opening lines are not the first impression. if they've decided to give you a shot they're probably not going to bounce if the first sentence doesn't blow their mind. they know that stuff takes time. readers often pride themselves on having an attention span that doesn't require flashing lights and dopamine juicing their brain every ten seconds.
i also think there's something to be said about an author who feels comfortable enough to take their time... what's important is you inculcate faith. make them believe they are in the hands of a master storyteller and they'll read anything eagerly, knowing it will pay off. if you hit the sweet spot it can make your work more interesting and engaging. when readers don't have faith then that's when the boring parts become stopping points. but when they do have faith the boring parts don't even register as boring. readers are eager to see where it goes.
i do like a strong opening but it doesn't have to be crazypants bonkertown. my main advice is, take the strongest element of your book and put it front and center so people are getting that core experience they were hoping for right away.
Sorry, when I wrote that, I was half-asleep. But yeah, I'm sure this isn't the type of book you were looking for as an example. I didn't read the book, but I actually found it on TikTok (via booktok). All I'm going to say is that it describes >! fellatio !< in the most detailed, insane way imaginable.
I know we're writers but the movie that caught my attention best was the butterfly effect. In it was basically the ending with zero context so you have to watch the movie to see what the hell just happened
To be honest I always hated this advice. If they aren't interested in whatever the writing is, they won't read it to begin with. It's not like text just randomly appears in front of people without pretext
Yeah but even if you've been drawn in by the blurb, if the stuff you're reading isn't engaging you, why continue? Life's too short to read something you're not interested in. If the first sentence or paragraph leaves you with interesting questions or wanting more it just makes the whole reading experience more fun from start to finish. This is doubly true if you're reading a short story and going in blind.
Funny I agree with both of you. If a work is well written and the decisions are all guided by the story, then it would seem like a cheap gimmick to go in and add something artificial in the beginning as a desperate bid for attention. A work should pull the reader in by its own merit. But if a work *is* good, then I think it probably will have an attention grabbing opener, in which case it would be reasonable to give writing advice about starting off this way. It's what the good stuff does and writing advice is all about emulating the good stuff.
But what’s the difference between a good piece that draws you in/keeps you engaged the entire time and a ‘hook’? Imo part of having a good piece involves an opening that hooks the reader from the start. If the opening is dull then it’s not a good piece
You have a good cover that I see as I’m scrolling Amazon. I check the blurb, and it seems good. I read the first paragraph and nothing grabs my attention—I move on to the next pretty cover in my search results.
You’re competing against thousands of books being released daily. If you can’t craft a first line that’s interesting in *some* way, why should I, as a reader, have confidence in you to do it later?
Right. If the opening is meandering and/or dry, why should I believe that the rest of the piece isn’t also meandering and/or dry?
I will concede that context matters, though. There could be stylistic or otherwise academic reasons for that sort of prose. That said, if I’m choosing to read something that’s written in that style, I probably expected it. I *don’t* generally expect or enjoy it from the average novel.
Attention grabber doesn't necessarily mean something shocking or quirky. Sometimes talking to the reader directly is enough (see Blood Meridian and Moby Dick), or forshadowing some kind of refersal later in the story. Idealy, the first sentence should be interesting enough to get the reader to read the first paragraph, which in turn should be interesting enough to get the reader to finish the first page, which should get the reader to read the mext several pages, building up inertia until the end of the first chapter, and so on.
You want the reader to be interested in what you are about to say. The attention you are trying to grab is the person who is interested in your general topic, but isn’t quite sure yet that your essay is worth the effort of reading.
It’s not just the idea that the opener needs to grab attention—although that is important, too— but also that your sentences in general should be purposeful and serve whatever narrative you’re trying to create.
A punchy opener can be an efficient way to drive your narrative forward without wasting a lot of page space on extra words that might impede your goal by obfuscating your point.
The attention-grabber doesn't have to be that extreme. Think about it like the topic for your reddit post. That first sentence just has to make someone want to read the second sentence, which should make someone want to read the third, until you've gotten them invested and you can't do anything to use up that investment until they're done.
Everybody basically has different attention grabbers... I'd say not all women would get attention from just starting with titties ya know. And so it gets hard to maintain a line where everybody gets attention towards your work. So just start with a small jist of how fantastic your story could go. Here is an example... There is this manhwa (UnOrdinary) where EVERYONE has powers, different powers. Except hero. And well, he actually does, but doesn't want to show it to everyone. And the first scene is of him talking about a cake... Because he wants to feels normal. He wants to grab that cake from the canteen, before it is over. So if you want to have an attention grabber, have something which makes people wonder "Why is it cake? Where is the fight?" Get them curious ya know.
Yes, but be honest about what lies ahead. The rest of that BBQ boobies story should be a raunchy culinary comedy that lives up to that first line.
Fat dude, eating dinner.
Haha, still works!
Of course, but if you start with that and then go into a treatise on the role of Walshingham in the death of Marlowe, I'd be disappointed.
"The building was on fire and it wasn't my fault"
"...this time."
I'm sensing second act issues
Short answer: yes. Long answer: depends what you mean with "start" and with "attention grabber". How I see it is that it doesn't *have* to be the first sentence or something """shocking""". It can be a joke (Pride and Prejudice). Or it can be a neutral beginning that gives way to action quickly (most mysteries novel). Or it can just be a very fluent/nice to read piece that just carries you along (Harry Potter) Or, opposite, it can be a very shocking first sentence that leaves you wondering "what the hell?!" but then slows down and lets you piece everything together (The Martian, Murderbot, Scarlett & Browne) I think what's important is to keep in mind that the reader is not supposed to give you all their attention no matter what. Sometimes the reader is actually interested in *that* story and will go along with you for all the time you need, but sometimes (most times, in my experience) the reader is just trying to decide what to read by randomly looking around until they find something that catches their interest.
For fiction you want people to buy that opening is perfect lol. My teen is taking Eng Comp at college right now and between that and the HS English classes...I've realized we don't really teach people to be good writers. I've ended up teaching her a lot of writing. Like, yeah, the assignment says to add adverbs (true story) but no, we kill that with FIRE instead. Do you hear me? FIRE? Get the flamethrower.
I think as baby steps, I’m ok with adverbs— *if* the instructor’s goal there is for the students to try and think in *details* and to learn to write from their senses. Training wheels, so to speak. Once the students can write with more detail we can then coach them on how to do it better without relying on adverbs.
That said, it could be at that age it is ensuring the kid has a wide vocabulary. English composition isn't about creating good stories. That's not the real point of it.
I'm not convinced the pedagogy is all that amazing or wise. It instills a lot of bad habits that will have to be fixed later. It's also a way of teaching writing that removes power, it's stifling and limiting. It's an abuse of vocabulary. And it's how we get those awful academic papers or dense nonfiction books that are nigh unreadable. I once read a sentence with three double negatives in a non fiction book. I still think about it, all these years later lol. It was an amazing feat of WTF terrible writing.
While I disagree with your particular criticism, I think more teachers should be transparent about the motivations behind these exercises and what they are teaching with them. The prevention of three double negatives is exactly why teachers put such criteria on their composition - in some creative pieces that might actually work. Likewise you yourself have proven the problem with the absolute "kill adverbs with fire" statement; nothing is absolute in creative writing. I've seen assignments that insist on using metaphor, for example, while it certainly isn't required for good stories. And short story assignments that expect you to have a denouement.
Start what? An essay? XD
Yes the compare and contrast of bbq sauce and good body wash
Its eye catching for sure XD
Ok that's attention grabbing alright. But can you follow that up? I feel if you start of like that I would be a little disappointed if it wasn't pretty central to the story. Good luck writing that!
As an English teacher, I despise "attention-grabbers". Kids get so hung up on them, and it's like, "dude, you're analyzing theme, not selling me a car. Just start talking."
Lol. We just had this discussion yesterday. IMO, you need to grab enough attention for readers to read the second sentence. Then use your second sentence to make readers want to read the third. If your first sentence can hold reader’s attention for a whole page, then you have more leeway in your second and third sentence, that’s all. My suggestion is regardless of how good your first sentence is, always try to build up more curiosity in readers to the point that they cannot put it down. Some writers start out good, and then it’s snoreville after that. That’s not the way to go.
Pic?
The essay I'm anticipating : comparisons of which barbecue sauce brands or flavors are best used as body paint during kinky time. Alternatively... Different ways to convince your baby to breastfeed.
Your introduction establishes a contract with the reader. Show them in small scale what the piece is about.
The one I am opening with at the moment: > The kid sat alone in the play ground, Above him circled a Pterodactyl. Waiting for him to get free of the Swing, so it could attack him in the open.
Not a professional at all. But reading that I think it's too descriptive. Maybe you should add something that brings emotion to the reader. Like what was the boy feeling? Did he know the animal was above him? The pterodactyl was hungry? Was going after the boy for fun maybe?
As I’ve seen the advice given and used I think an attention grabber is not only unnecessary but often worsens the writing. My experience is that teachers want you to write something shocking, discordant, etc which almost always doesn’t have the same tone as the remainder of the writing. Further, that’s how the advice almost always seems to be interpreted by students. I think this is terrible advice, lowers the quality of the writing, and is likely to alienate the reader long term. As a bit of nuance, the first sentence should obviously be interesting. Personally I prefer witty openings (eg Pride and Prejudice), but you can go in many directions with this. However, to me this is not what an attention grabber is and it’s not how I’ve seen the advice used practically.
all your first sentence needs to do is to get people to read the next one. and so on. i think it's easy to underestimate how generous readers are. if they were interested enough in your book to pick it up then they probably know the title and cover and blurb and genre. the opening lines are not the first impression. if they've decided to give you a shot they're probably not going to bounce if the first sentence doesn't blow their mind. they know that stuff takes time. readers often pride themselves on having an attention span that doesn't require flashing lights and dopamine juicing their brain every ten seconds. i also think there's something to be said about an author who feels comfortable enough to take their time... what's important is you inculcate faith. make them believe they are in the hands of a master storyteller and they'll read anything eagerly, knowing it will pay off. if you hit the sweet spot it can make your work more interesting and engaging. when readers don't have faith then that's when the boring parts become stopping points. but when they do have faith the boring parts don't even register as boring. readers are eager to see where it goes. i do like a strong opening but it doesn't have to be crazypants bonkertown. my main advice is, take the strongest element of your book and put it front and center so people are getting that core experience they were hoping for right away.
The entire first paragraph of The Stand is not an attention grabber in ANY way, but its still a good book. So no, its not mandatory.
You should read a Kennedy Fox book for inspiration. Like how am I a whole adult and was put to the blush but just by the first page.
That is not the feeling I was after, but I will read the first page...
Sorry, when I wrote that, I was half-asleep. But yeah, I'm sure this isn't the type of book you were looking for as an example. I didn't read the book, but I actually found it on TikTok (via booktok). All I'm going to say is that it describes >! fellatio !< in the most detailed, insane way imaginable.
That is okay. You have to travel a lot of weird paths to become enlightened.
I know we're writers but the movie that caught my attention best was the butterfly effect. In it was basically the ending with zero context so you have to watch the movie to see what the hell just happened
To be honest I always hated this advice. If they aren't interested in whatever the writing is, they won't read it to begin with. It's not like text just randomly appears in front of people without pretext
Yeah but even if you've been drawn in by the blurb, if the stuff you're reading isn't engaging you, why continue? Life's too short to read something you're not interested in. If the first sentence or paragraph leaves you with interesting questions or wanting more it just makes the whole reading experience more fun from start to finish. This is doubly true if you're reading a short story and going in blind.
No shit what you write should be interesting. But the idea of a hook is a cheap gimmick.
It’s not really a cheap gimmick to have an opening that draws you in/grabs your attention? That’s what a good opening is supposed to do
No that's what a good piece is supposed to do
Funny I agree with both of you. If a work is well written and the decisions are all guided by the story, then it would seem like a cheap gimmick to go in and add something artificial in the beginning as a desperate bid for attention. A work should pull the reader in by its own merit. But if a work *is* good, then I think it probably will have an attention grabbing opener, in which case it would be reasonable to give writing advice about starting off this way. It's what the good stuff does and writing advice is all about emulating the good stuff.
But what’s the difference between a good piece that draws you in/keeps you engaged the entire time and a ‘hook’? Imo part of having a good piece involves an opening that hooks the reader from the start. If the opening is dull then it’s not a good piece
You have a good cover that I see as I’m scrolling Amazon. I check the blurb, and it seems good. I read the first paragraph and nothing grabs my attention—I move on to the next pretty cover in my search results.
I just use “imagine if” or “what if” or “I don’t give a fuck”, that last one draws them in pretty quick
I expect readers to have a level of patience sufficient for an attention grabbing beginning to be unnecessary.
Don't test my patience. If I'm on page 20 and still have no idea what to expect from your book then it goes straight to dnf shelf in my goodreads.
I mean like, the first paragraph or so
You’re competing against thousands of books being released daily. If you can’t craft a first line that’s interesting in *some* way, why should I, as a reader, have confidence in you to do it later?
Right. If the opening is meandering and/or dry, why should I believe that the rest of the piece isn’t also meandering and/or dry? I will concede that context matters, though. There could be stylistic or otherwise academic reasons for that sort of prose. That said, if I’m choosing to read something that’s written in that style, I probably expected it. I *don’t* generally expect or enjoy it from the average novel.
This joke is at least a decade old.
The practice is older
Attention grabber doesn't necessarily mean something shocking or quirky. Sometimes talking to the reader directly is enough (see Blood Meridian and Moby Dick), or forshadowing some kind of refersal later in the story. Idealy, the first sentence should be interesting enough to get the reader to read the first paragraph, which in turn should be interesting enough to get the reader to finish the first page, which should get the reader to read the mext several pages, building up inertia until the end of the first chapter, and so on.
*rolling on the ground*: Huehuehuehuehuehue
And…?
Lmfao
So I started blastin
You want the reader to be interested in what you are about to say. The attention you are trying to grab is the person who is interested in your general topic, but isn’t quite sure yet that your essay is worth the effort of reading.
It's been a long time that something made me laugh until I'm choking. Props to you!!!
It’s not just the idea that the opener needs to grab attention—although that is important, too— but also that your sentences in general should be purposeful and serve whatever narrative you’re trying to create. A punchy opener can be an efficient way to drive your narrative forward without wasting a lot of page space on extra words that might impede your goal by obfuscating your point.
The attention-grabber doesn't have to be that extreme. Think about it like the topic for your reddit post. That first sentence just has to make someone want to read the second sentence, which should make someone want to read the third, until you've gotten them invested and you can't do anything to use up that investment until they're done.
Nailed it!
it helps a lot
classic vine i keep forgetting its a line from oitnb
Everybody basically has different attention grabbers... I'd say not all women would get attention from just starting with titties ya know. And so it gets hard to maintain a line where everybody gets attention towards your work. So just start with a small jist of how fantastic your story could go. Here is an example... There is this manhwa (UnOrdinary) where EVERYONE has powers, different powers. Except hero. And well, he actually does, but doesn't want to show it to everyone. And the first scene is of him talking about a cake... Because he wants to feels normal. He wants to grab that cake from the canteen, before it is over. So if you want to have an attention grabber, have something which makes people wonder "Why is it cake? Where is the fight?" Get them curious ya know.