Jack Cavanaugh's WORD FORGE

Suddenly, The Earth Began to Shake

Legendary film producer Samuel Goldwyn said, “Open with an earthquake and build from there.”

Good advice given our culture’s insatiable appetite for action. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” might have resonated with Charles Dickens’ readers, but it wouldn’t work today.

So, being a student of storytelling, I’ve collected novel openings from more modern bestsellers. Here are some of my favorites—

The Best Writing Advice I Ever Received

The hour was late.

 It had been a long day of keynote addresses and workshops. For the diehard conferees, an editor from a publishing company that had recently produced a runaway bestseller, agreed to hold an informal question and answer session around a campfire in the lobby.

I was ready for him. I had questions. Lots of them.

There were eight of us. The editor looked us over, sizing us up. He asked for the first question. My hand shot up.