I'm currently planning an entry for a competition which involves writing the first chapter of a book, accompanied by a synopsis of the rest of the plot. Obviously, the first chapter needs to be as interesting as possible to get the judges' attention, but I'm worried that if I open the book at the beginning of the action of my plot, the all-important 1500 words, which isn't much, won't be arresting. If, however, I start after the main action, it can make references that would hopefully make people want to read the rest.
My worry is this: would starting in this manner be too much of a cliché, and too similar to a prologue? I know that prologues aren't everybody's cup of tea. If I were planning on writing the entire novel before submitting it to an agent, I would probably do it in chronological order - but I need to make a good impression. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?
Thank you - and sorry for the lengthy and rather badly-put question!
Having never entered a writing competition before I don't know if what I'm about to say will help you. If I was entering a competition, I would look at some previous winners of competition writing to see how they have dealt with this problem. I am not advising copying someones style but drawing inspiration from their style. This could save you time and give you food for thought. I'm sorry Alice that I can't give you any sold constructive advice, but as I'm dyslexic and new to the writing game I would take my advice with a pinch of salt as the saying goes.
If you're trying to grab the judges attention, I would start with action and perhaps later in the novel go back to that; almost as if it is vital the audience remembers the start of your novel. By doing this you can always bring in the whys and whats about the action at the start. Hope this helps :)
Thank you, Adrian - that all sounds like very good advice. From what both you and Victoria say I think I'll do a compromise and start later on in the story I had planned, cutting out the events that would happen before it so that it makes a good beginning and keeps the book in chronological order.