The Write Stuff
by Ashley Lister

Opening Passages

An advertising executive once told me: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. By that point I’d already decided he was a wanker, but that detail is immaterial. His observation (actually, it’s a truism that’s fast becoming a cliché) is worth bearing in mind at the beginning of any story: you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

The opening passage of a story is the author’s win or lose gambit for grabbing reader interest. It doesn’t matter how the story is going to develop. It doesn’t matter what technical skills the author possesses. If the author fails to gain the interest of the reader in those vital opening lines, the book will most likely remain unread, unwanted and undiscovered.

Admittedly, authors need other skills besides being able to snatch reader interest. A command of the language and its grammar structure are helpful. The ability to tell a compelling tale is important. The imagination to create absorbing stories is a given. But all these talents will become immaterial if the author fails to capture the reader with the opening page.

However, the good news is: it’s not that difficult. All of us are easily intrigued and exploiting that facet of our personalities is not such a demanding chore. Curiosity may kill cats but it also captures readers. And, whether you try to lure your reader into the story through character, plot or description, the techniques are the same and easily mastered.

Character is one of the easiest ways to ensnare reader interest. We’re all fascinated by heroes and villains and meeting those characters at the beginning of the story gives the reader an opportunity to decide whether or not they want to read more. Suggesting something about how the story will develop for that character is a vital hook that will guarantee the reader reads on.

Albert had never thought of staring in a porn movie before.

The above example (made up on the spur of the moment) is simple and efficient. The old-fashioned name for the character (Albert) juxtaposes against the idea of something that is usually the domain of the perennially young (porn movies). The fact that Albert is thinking of staring in a porn movie suggests that something has stimulated his thoughts into an erotic vein. And the reader should want to know why he is thinking about staring in a porn movie and how the endeavour is going to transpire. As the story develops these points can be addressed as other questions are also raised and then resolved.

“I won’t do it,” Tina snapped. “Oral. Anal. Bondage and BDSM. All those variations have been fine by me. But I won’t do that!”

This opening line (again, another spur of the moment creation) introduces Tina’s defiant character. It also introduces the theme of erotic content in the second sentence. The third sentence shows that this story is about something Tina perceives as being more deviant than oral, anal, bondage or BDSM. A story that starts with this sentence, or something similar, will have readers continuing through the story, anxious to know what Tina’s boundaries might be, why they are being challenged, and whether or not the resolution involves her boundaries being stretched.

No woman had ever spent a night in the castle without being disturbed by his presence.

With this opening line I’ve tried to suggest that some otherworldly presence inhabits a castle central to the story and that it has a supernatural effect on women who spend the night there. The idea is to suggest the ensuing narrative might be the story of one woman who spends the night in the castle. Hopefully, the line would spark sufficient reader interest so that they get drawn into an intriguing erotic ghost story.

Ashley Lister
May/June 2008

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"The Write Stuff" © 2008 Ashley Lister. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Ashley Lister is a UK author responsible for more than two-dozen erotic novels written under a variety of pseudonyms.His most recent work, Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Modern Swinging Scene (Virgin Books), a non-fiction book recounting the exploits of UK swingers, is his first title published under his own name.
Ashley’s non-fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines, including Forum, Chapter & Verse and The International Journal of Erotica. Nexus, Chimera and Silver Moon have published his full-length fiction, with shorter stories appearing in anthologies edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Mitzi Szereto. He is very proud to be a regular contributor to ERWA.
Email: Ashley Lister
Website: www.ashleylister.co.uk

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