Recent post about Foreshadowing talks how every paragraph, sentence, word in the Beginning (1/4) introduces or foreshadows the character emotional development, dramatic action, thematic significance.
The opposite is also true.
Anything you introduce in the Beginning (1/4), the savvy reader knows on some level is important to the overall story.
Therefore, be careful about every word you use. If you use dark and ominous words in the Beginning, the reader expects the story overall will be dark and ominous. If you introduce a gun, the reader knows violence is coming, likely even death by gunshot. If you introduce sweetness and light, the reader expects the story to reflect the same.
Of course, you can switch things up later and turn the tables, so to speak.
Just make sure you know what you're doing and why.
Make your words count, every single one of them...
For more on Foreshadowing and the importance of the Beginning (1/4):
excellent, excellent thoughts. It's so true. The reader better assume we know what we're doing and every word is there for a reason.
Martha - I remember one of my favorite instructors in my MFA program saying early on that if you mention a gun in the beginning of the story, you better damn well have that gun go off before the end of the story or you NEED TO GET RID OF THE GUN! The thing I like BEST about both writing and reading good fiction is the mystery of it all.
You know I write in fragments and the fragments
then build one upon the other, like beautiful stones in a fountain that lead you across the water. This involves a lot of living inside my head, thinking about my characters - even when I think I'm not - and writing stuff DOWN so it actually gets into the story. I guess what I'm saying is my stories and my novel tend t be character driven so I do have to think a lot about what makes them tick.
This makes my 'plotting' somewhat different from yours but we get to the same successful end. The thing you can never teach is commitment, drive and passion something that doesn't get talked about much in writing. I belong to a 500 word a day online group which helps keep me accountable. You have to share with the group each day how much you did and didn't do.
Congrats on being named one of the 100 Best Websites. I like how you set a goal then achieve it. You continue to be my inspiration...Mary Kennedy Eastham, Author, The Shadow of a Dog I Can't Forget and the upcoming novel Night Surfing