FANTASTIC REALMS
HOOKING THEM IN
Engage the reader of your genre stories right from the start, by following advice from Alex Davis
Alex Davis
While the market for genre short stories might not be what it was in the peak of the golden age of SF and fantasy, there is still a wide range of magazines, ezines and anthologies constantly seeking genre fiction from new and established writers alike. A lot of writers in the field have built their name in this scene, advancing in many cases to their own collections of stories or indeed pushing into novellas and novels within both independent and mainstream publishing.
And like all short fiction, it’s important to get off to the perfect start and do something to draw the reader in within the first few sentences – or even the first few words. Readers of short story publications have plenty of options to pick from, and that’s even more the case with readers online, so the ‘hook’ can be truly make or break for your story getting read – or not read. So, in this month’s article, we’re going to explore how to develop a great opening section to your genre short story.
GENRE EXPECTATIONS
One of the most interesting questions concerning your opening is how much you want to set your genre expectations. Short story readers tend to be a bit more amenable to writers playing with genre and doing things a little differently – novels have a different readership and are prone to different market forces, and as such tend to hit genre expectations rather more centrally. But short stories are an accepted place for experimentation, and as such you can merrily blend genres or indeed move your tale from one genre to another within its word count.