You’re familiar with the quiz show Jeopardy!, right? What American hasn’t come across it? As writers, maybe looking at how the show opens reveals clues on how to create our first pages.
The show starts with scene-setting—the host and the three contestants behind their desks, the big board of categories. The camera shows us this quickly and efficiently, and you could probably do the same with one quick paragraph.
What happens then? Do we learn about the contestants? Their backgrounds? Their occupations? Their fears and concerns? The latter we can imagine, but what about the backstory?
The only backstory we get is that one of the contestants is the champion from the previous round. The other two? We get their names.
And then the game begins, the categories are revealed, and the contestants compete to claim a clue and then to answer correctly. They sometimes wager all of their money on a clue, risking to lose it all. Jeopardy! Stakes!
And we’re involved with the game, both as audience and participants. We try to come up with the answers, too. As the players compete and we get to see them in action, their personalities start to emerge, and we may come to root for one more than the others.
And then, only after competition, after struggles to meet their goals, are we given backstory on the contestants. It rounds them out somewhat, our rooting factors may be solidified or changed, and they go back into the game.
Did we need their backstories at the opening to become involved with the story of the competition? Not a bit. Because we understand the nature of competition and striving to achieve goals, they are sympathetic characters right from the start. Their goals are clear, the challenges are clear, and there are risks ahead with their wagers. All the elements of a good story are quickly in play without exposition, without backstory.
So next time you work to engage a reader with the opening to your story, think of how Jeopardy! does it—a quick setting of the scene and then plunging into action that includes conflict and jeopardy. We get to know the characters as they deal with their challenges, and we come to support them, and we want to know what will happen next.
For what it’s worth.
Ray
© 2017 Ray Rhamey
My books. You can read sample chapters and learn more about the books here.
Writing Craft Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling
Fantasy (satire) The Vampire Kitty-cat Chronicles
Mystery (coming of age) The Summer Boy
Science Fiction Hiding Magic
Science Fiction Gundown Free ebooks.