Last month I posted about four ways to roll out the welcome mat for our readers by providing easily accessible openings. And I said, if the opening is too longwinded then readers may not have time to figure out your point, or the why of the piece. Too obscure and immediately readers must decide if it’s going to be worth their precious time to figure things out. Too overused, trite, or tiresome and readers may think there are better things to do with their time. This month we’re going to consider another four ways.
Ways to invite your reader in
- A strong image: Have you ever been suddenly stopped by a vision? You pause and think OMG, how beautiful! Or how horrible, sad, curious, etc. Images and other stark sensual details can stop us in our tracks so that we want to find out more. This kind of opening strives to take a reader by the lapels (a la Stephen King) and not let go. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that an image needs to be breath-takingly fresh. If it is, that’s good. But the image or sensual detail just needs to be exact so that the reader immediately gets it. Look at this opening by Billy Collins. It’s not an out-of-this-world unique image, but it does attract our attention due to how clear it is, and the fact that the poet stopped to see it. Now, we see it, too. We know what it’s all about. Been there—done that. And so, we want to find out what else he has to say about it, and why it’s important.
BREAKFAST
by Billy Collins
As I consider the carton of milk
with the picture of Elsie the Cow
suspended over my bowl of cereal,
I’m struck by her friendly grin…
- A command: Like asking a question which we discussed last month, this is another direct address to the reader. We are being told what to do or not do. Immediately, we wonder why? With a command we grab the reader and push him/her/them through the door of the piece. Listen to me! Here’s what you need to do. The reader often has no choice but to enter and pay attention. This is wonderfully illustrated by Thomas’ well-known poem below.
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT
by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light…
- Gut-level emotion: Like a command this type of opening forces us to pay attention. It’s the wreck you discover as you turn into your driveway and find the whole front of the house smashed. You can’t but feel an over-whelming emotion. That emotion could be fear, hope, jealousy, love, sadness, any strong emotion. In Kim Addonizio’s poem below we are shocked—and it’s titillating to read further. It’s the honest emotion that sweeps us over the threshold and into her poem. We want to enter and find out what happens. And note: this poem provides a double whammy. The poet asks a provocative question with the title. Questions are good hooks.
WHAT DO WOMEN WANT?
by Kim Addonizio
I want a red dress.
I want it flimsy and cheap,
I want it too tight, I want to wear it
until someone tears it off me.
I want it sleeveless and backless,
this dress, so no one has to guess
what’s underneath…
- An interesting fact: Like many folks, an interesting fact can make us stop and consider. What’s that? Not heard of that before. Hmm . . . Curiosity takes root and pulls us in. The kinds of questions often raised in a reader’s mind from this type of opening is how? Or why is that important? Because a question that needs answering has been raised in the reader’s mind he/she/they are willing to continue reading and find out more. Such is the case in Crews’ poem.
THE BODY ELECTRIC
by James Crews
Every cell in our bodies contains a pore
like a door, which says when to let in
the flood of salt-ions bearing their charge,
but the power in us moves much slower…
To sum up
The main thread that runs through these four openings, and the four from last month, is that a question gets raised in the mind of the reader. When a question arises we like knowing either why, how, when, or what next. Why did you command me to do something? What’s going to happen with that beautiful image? That’s an interesting fact, but why is it important?
It is then the job of the writer to meet that need for an answer with a good middle and a great exit.
Niki Kantzios
Thanks for reminding us that poetry has to grab just as strongly as a novel. Love the examples.