Writing Advice: Opening Scenes

To be more precise, this bit of advice is about opening scenes that don't work and why they don't work.

Is it good to open a novel with a dramatic scene that is a dream the main character is having?

Opening a novel with a dream sequence—or with a fantasy scene of some sort, i.e. something that is completely in the character's head—is usually not a good idea.

But, you may ask, what if the character is dreaming about his or her own specific horror, fraught with emotion and action. Won't that draw the reader in?

Uh, no. Usually not.

Dream as Novel Opener Doesn't Work

Upon opening a book, the reader does NOT know the character therefore he has no emotional attachment to the character you're asking him to like and follow through a few hundred pages to the end.

Does the nightmarish suffering of a stranger move you to spend hours of your time getting to know her? Let's be honest. Probably not.

Sure, you might feel sympathy toward him, but would you like him and want to follow him for a few hours and stick around to see how they cope with their nightmare situation?

That's pretty much why a dream sequence as the opening of a novel doesn't move the reader. In fact, it can be a rather ho-hum experience for the reader who may skip ahead to find out where the actual story starts.

That's right, the story. A dream at the beginning is not the story. It's just mood setting.

Always Remember

As a writer, you must realize what you are striving for immediately is reader identification or reader bonding to character. You want the reader to say: "Yes! I understand that woman. I like her. I'll follow her for the next 8 hours to see how she deals with what life is throwing at her."

The reader must "bond" with the character and care about the character. This is done by seeing how the character acts and reacts, by understanding what the character wants and how he goes about getting it, and what stands in his way.

The reader needs to get acquainted and know the character before he or she has any kind of emotional reaction or interest in that character's nightmares, dreams, or fantasies.

You can't get acquainted with a character who's asleep and dreaming, and action can't begin until the character is awake and doing something.

Takeaway Truth

Save that nightmare that explains your character's deepest fears for later in the book—after the reader "knows" the character and is willing to follow him on his goal quest.