Save the Cat Breakdown Series - Part 2
Opening Image
To read the last article in this series — Part 1 Introduction — click here.
The last article in this series gave a general introduction to the Save the Cat story structure, what it is, how it’s useful, and a run down of each of the fifteen story beats it requires. This is the first of those story beats, the Opening Image should cover the first 1% of your story (about 800 words in an average 80,000 word novel).
The Opening Image is the hook that draws the reader in. It’s what makes them pick up the book or start watching the movie in the first place. It grips them with a powerful question or curiosity. The reader needs to know why or what happens next. Without a great hook, most readers won’t even pick up your book in the first place, or they’ll stop reading after a page or two, so it’s important to get it right.
Writing the opening scene is difficult, and most writers struggle with it, editing it repeatedly before they are happy with it.
The opening image needs to present character, setting, and conflict. These are the basic building blocks of your story, without which, the house of cards will tumble down.