Our video-oriented environment makes us want to be a part of the action, not be told about it. This is why you may often hear instructors encourage writers to “show, don’t tell.”
Bestselling authors still sell books that begin with landscape and weather, but that’s because of their celebrity, not because it’s what readers want. Fewer and fewer people are willing to keep their eyes open through boring information to get to the heart-gripping part of a story.
Beginning with the first paragraph, readers want to be the character in a desperate situation, facing obstacles that will keep them awake until they find out what happens.
You will capture your audience best by telling your story through the eyes of the one caught in the battle, facing an impossible challenge. This has been true throughout history, but never more than now, when people can so easily turn us off and go to something that interests them more.
