15. Beginnings
Have
you read 1984 by George Orwell? Among its many memorable images
and events, the opening line tells us that the clocks are striking 13.
Grabs your attention, doesn't it?
Once, when I was at school, I had to read the opening of the Gospel according to John at the Christmas service:
'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was
with God and the Word was God. By Him all things were made and without
him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life and the life
was the light of men …'
The lines are slightly obscure – perhaps cryptic – but you are instantly drawn in.
I like to think of openings as a balance between action and tone. At the beginning of Dickens' Bleak House, before anything actually happens we get a long description of pea-soup London fog, thickening and obscuring everything as we get closer and closer to its heart – the law courts whose snail's-pace machinations cause such misery throughout the novel. It seems to be all about tone, but it's drawing you into the action at the same time.
Every book, every chapter and every paragraph has an opening. Look carefully
at how you use them and you will be rewarded.
