A short one, this time…
I was trying to think of a topic for discussion when a random thought occurred to me, an immutable law, if you will:
Every great story begins with someone doing something they should not.
Tell us (one of) yours. I’ll reciprocate. Eventually.
I had to think about this one. At first, I disagreed, and then I thought about my own work, and I’ve certainly followed that guideline in my work so far.
But if we’re talking about opening scenes, I’m thinking that this ‘happens’ more often in crime fiction than in, say, literary fiction.
I think I’d object to an opening scene where someone does something stupid, however.
I think it also happens in romance novels as well, Sheryl, at least the ones I’ve seen. And I would agree with you about “stupid” actions, for sure, for purposes of a story or novel. I watched a guy on an outdoor patio who, while eating lunch, attempted with his bare hand to catch a hornet that was buzzing around his food. He caught the little devil, and was amazed when it stung him. That’s stupid, and strains credibility. Playing poker with a guy named “Doc,” however, is something you shouldn’t do. Thanks for stopping by!
Good morning, Joe.
I suppose the beggining of the story could be the premise or the inciting incident, or the opening scene.
For my first novel, MARK OF THE FIRE, the three “Thou Shalt Nots” :
Premise – Secret group of top military brass set up special ops to commit atrocities, then blackmail them into returnign to the States to set up drug distribution rings.
Inciting incident: Rogue SEAL team involved in Colombian drug trade shoots down protag (Delta Force choper pilot) and leaves him for “dead” in the Colombian jungle.
Opening Scene; Protag returns to U.S. to find his “killers” with the plan of “an eye for an eye” rather than acceptable legal measures.
Thought provoking post, Joe. Thanks!
Thanks as always, Steve, for stopping by and especially for giving us a preview of Mark of the Fire! And of course, that list of things that one shouldn’t do isn’t confined to the Ten Commandments, it can be situational as well! For instance: usually, nothing good ever happens outside of one’s home after midnight :-). Thanks again!
Every great story begins with someone doing something they should not.
You’re a wily one, Hartlaub. Some people could think you’re saying the main character has to do something wrong, but that’s clearly not the case. Jack Reacher is usually minding his own business when somebody else does something bad (doesn’t he realize by now that buying used clothes is bad luck?)
Or you could be saying the wrong thing should be in the opening pages, but It can be “behind the scenes” as it were. Like when Jesse Stone is called out of his office because Suitcase has discovered a floater. The “wrong thing” is the murder, which happened “off screen.”
How’s that square with your theory, Joe?
A computer forensics specialist moonlights as a cat burglar, breaking into the home of a white collar criminal, or so she believes.
Oh, I like that, Sue! I hope to see the rest of that from you in the future. Thanks!
You’re only now figuring out that wily thing about me, Jim? Me thinks you’ve overlooked it out of the goodness and kindness of your heart. You have squared and cubed my humble thoughts with your comments. The behind-the-scenes action, if you will, is particularly true in THE DEVIL WINS, Reed Farrel Coleman’s latest — and very well done — effort to continue Robert Parker’s Jesse Stone canon, where an act which occurred several years in the past has adverse repercussions in the present, including the occurrence of more of the same. Thanks for your comments!
A belated Happy Birthday, Joe!
Someone doing something they shouldn’t? Hadn’t thought of it in this way before, but it certainly applies to my crime novels.
My suspense-thriller WIP opens with woman receiving a smartphone, ostensibly a gift from her son, but actually a trigger for a terrorist plot that will frame her.
Another opens when a best friend tricks the uptight hero into visiting a nudist park, where she is stranded when the best friend is murdered.
And a couple picking huckleberries in the Montana mountains stumble on a bear eating a corpse.
In each case, the protagonists haven’t done anything wrong outside of a variation in their normal pattern of behavior. But that variation draws them into a sticky situation where the antagonist/murderer has done something they shouldn’t.
Thanks for a thought-provoking idea, Joe.
Thank you for the birthday wishes, Debbie, and the present: those opening scenes from your WIPs! I’m jealous and I’m certain many of our readers are as well. Please let us know when we can see the completed works!
A female U.S. Marine MP assisting a Afghanistan Nation Army detail man a crossroads traffic checkpoint, suddenly hears the wails of a woman, 20 or so cars back. A fat–way beyond portly–Afghan man is beating his tiny wife, pulling her from the car as he hits her in the face and her stomach. But he is careful not to touch her chandri.
Our Marine, having been warned NOT to get into domestic matters of Afghans, takes off toward the couple, carrying her M16 and side arm, willing, if necessary, to kill the ole boy to stop him from beating her. But that’s not Lisa Ryan’s reputation.
She can hear members of the Afghan Army detail screaming and shouting behind her. Her friend and fellow female Marine is shouting at her to stop. The Marine sergeant in charge of the Marines is yelling at her to stop.
But Lisa continues on.
The opening line is, “It’s strange what you think about when you’re running across the Afghan high desert to kill someone.
Jim, thanks for sharing. That scene sounds damn near perfect. My argument, if I were the soldier involved, would be that I was unaware that it was a domestic situation and was simply breaking up an aggravated assault visited upon one stranger by another. Then, of course, the aggressor grabbed my rifle, turned the gun on himself, and fired. I of course couldn’t hear the order to halt since I had my earbuds on and The Stooges cranked to eleven. Great stuff! Thanks again!
Thank you, Joe. Your advice is welcome and, frankly, needed. I appreciate it.
As I thought about your hypothesis, I ran through my own opening lines. I realized that “doing something wrong” could be doing something unusual based on something wrong or that will lead to something wrong.
My current WIP starts:
Eve Bell held her chin high as she passed three reporters aiming microphones and shouting questions, and two photographers clicking cameras like they were machine guns. She didn’t like people who ducked and covered their faces when the media were present. Own up, Evie, own up, her dad used to tell her. She said nothing to the reporters. Didn’t pause for the cameras
After thinking about it, you’re right.
That’s a great opening scene, Brian. It leaves us wondering what she did or didn’t do that had the chattering class after her. Let us know when that WIP is complete and ready to hit the market. Thanks!
“Every great story begins with someone doing something they should not.”
Joe, I think this is an EXCELLENT sentence to use to brainstorm story ideas! Just that one little sentence has fire in it and stimulates the creative juices to put ideas down on the page (or computer).
And when I think about this in relation to my stories, it mostly holds true. I have one story where an Army major does what anybody else in command would not think to do. In another story set in a very racially divided time, a father takes a step no one would expect. But then I can think of a couple other stories I have where this does not apply (maybe that’s why they’re still on the back burner!).
Very thought provoking. Thanks!
BK, it is I who thanks you for your kind words, which have made my day. And thank you as well for those teasers on your own works in progress, which look quite interesting. Let us know how those progress. I should note that from what I see today — not to mention on other days — here at TKZ, we are blessed with some extremely talented people who come by and comment on a regular basis. Good luck to all!
Cutting their hair. In my story world, a woman’s hair is her glory and therefore a no-no to cut.
Actually, that’s true in my world as well, Traci, but for different reasons. I can see where someone cutting her hair (or having her hair cut) could take a story in any one of several different directions. It’s a deceptively simple story point that could have a lot of mileage, imho. Good luck and thanks for sharing!