8 Crucial Mistakes to Make in Your Opening Paragraph

1. Never begin professional writing with dialogue.

Example: “You lose,” he said.

The reader is immediately off-balance. He or she has no idea where he or she is. Identify where you are in the first paragraph.

2. Identify the person(s), rather than just writing he, she, or they.

Example: “You lose,” he said.

Tell the reader their relationship to you. Otherwise, the person(s) are just a vague concept.

3. Use active language.

Example: “Laughingly, he poked me in the ribs and handed me the empty canteen.”

Better: “He laughed, poked me in the ribs and handed me the empty canteen.”

4. Be specific.

Example: “…something crashed throu the underbrush.”

What kind of “something” crashed through the underbrush? A big animal, etc?

5. Proofread your work at least three times before sending it out.

Example: “Throu”

If you aren’t sure about your proof-reading skills, use either the grammar/spell check on your word processing program or Grammarly.

6. Avoid comic book exclamations.

Example: “Pow!”

Even more, avoid exclamation points unless in dialogue – and, if that, use rarely.

7. Never address the reader directly.

Example: “You can imagine how I felt.”

Stay grounded in yourself.

8. Avoid Valley Girl slang.

Example: “OH my god.”

And avoid capitalizing letters for emphasis.

Bonus tip: “He doubled over and dropped to the ground.” As it is written, the reader doesn’t know if “he” is your friend or the mysterious something.