Hello, amazing fellow creatives! Here’s to more fun perusing the library’s new releases to see what strikes our fancy. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve retitled Story Cuppings to better fit the premise of the podcast.
As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.
Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.
JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST 50 PAGES
Well then, let’s study those first few pages in other people’s stories, shall we?
Today I snagged from the New Release shelf:
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
I admit that I was wary of this book at first, for while I dug its cover design, I saw it took place in 2020 just before lockdown. Nope! I thought. I want something to escape reality with, not be further enmeshed in it. When I continued to read the blurb and realized interdimensional animals are involved, I decided to risk the covid context to find out more.
If you do not see the audio player above, you can access the podcast here.
Okay, I laughed multiple times while reading aloud the opening pages of The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, and I’m not sorry! No, we’ve not met any Kaiju in the first chapter, but we have met our protagonist Jamie, who sees his confidence and place in life shattered when his boss sacks him. The scene is masterfully done, with touches in setting and word choice speaking a lot to the character Jamie as well as his boss. By utilizing a relatable situation for the opening scene, Scalzi has more freedom to mess around with characterization, so we get a lot about Jaime’s character in a brief amount of time. By the end of those five pages, we can understand why such a person has nothing to lose and would therefore take a risk with an old friend…and meet creatures from another dimension in the process.
As always, I love hearing what’s on the shelves of your own libraries. Libraries Rock!
Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!
