Do you show the hero and heroine together, or do you begin with just one of them? Do you start with the heroine at work or at home, or the hero with his family or at his job? Do you show the character talking, acting, or thinking? Should you begin with the characters in normal life or absorbed in the threat or problem that will change the rest of their life?You have limited time and space — a few pages, at most — to seize your readers' interest. If you start too slowly and include too much of the characters' history, the readers may get tired of waiting for the interesting stuff to start. If you start too fast, with too much action, they may get confused. Either miscalculation may make the readers put the book down and never pick it up again.STARTING TOO EARLYReaders will put down your book if you fail to catch their interest right at the beginning. If they lose interest — or never develop any interest — chances are you started telling your story too early.Starting too early usually means beginning with the background — the roots of the story — rather than with the story itself.
What do You think about On Writing Romance (2007)?
