Simple, huh . . . the template? Yeah . . . not so much.
To capture the reader in the first page or two you've got to have a lot of imagination. You've got to set up a scene which invites the reader into the spider's web that both soothes the reader's natural hesitation, and at the same time, introduces him to a potential problem which requires his presence to solve. Not as easy as you think.
So with these parameters in mind, here's the first working chapter of a novel called, Discreet Inquiries.
One
He
sat back in his chair and folded the paper back to reveal the Want Ads. Folding the paper in half again, he laid it
down on the small kitchen table beside his eggs and bacon and reached for his
cup of hot black coffee. Sunlight was
pouring through the small kitchen window of his apartment and splashing across
the kitchen table with a warm, clear light. Outside, the sky was that light Cerulean blue.
Not a cloud to be seen to mar the image.
He smiled. It looked like it was
going to be another beautiful day.
It
was another Monday morning. Sitting at the table dressed in a blue shirt, top
button undone, dark slacks and still wearing his slippers, he glanced at watch
and noted he had another hour before needing to be at the office. Good.
A good breakfast, then up to wash his teeth and slip into his shoes
before slipping on his tie and knotting it, and he’d be ready for another day
at the office.
But
lifting the coffee cup he paused and frowned.
There
it was again. That strange ad. Taking up the right bottom corner of the want
ads. Nothing special. Other than the
size of the ad. An eighth of a page of
the want ads had to be expensive. But
there it was. With such an odd, odd lead
line that instantly caught one’s attention.
Everyone, at one time or another, must face a Serious
Security Crisis in their Lives.
Life
is neither Fair nor Cruel. But People
can be.
When that situation arises, and you need that Someone
in your corner,
Call
Me for a Free Consultation.
He
lowered the cup onto the table, not taking his eyes off the bold black words in
the process and read the ad three or four more times. Odd.
So very odd. It was like
something out of a TV show. Yes. That was it.
He remembered the old show from out of the 60’s. What was it called? Ah! The Equalizer. That was it.
An ex-CIA spy, retired, working the streets of New York City and helping
those who needed protection and who could not do it themselves.
Silly. Really silly nonsense, if you asked him. Someone pulling a joke on the reading
public. That’s all. Simple tomfoolery!
But,
twisting his face into a thoughtful mask . . .
I wonder. Could it be for real?
He
read the ad another half a dozen times. Ending, each time, by staring at the
phone number. Finally, sitting back in
his chair, he grabbed for his coffee and hurriedly slurped some of the hot
fluid down before turning in his chair and reaching across the narrow confines
of the kitchenette for his cellphone lying on the counter top beside the
sink. Lifting the phone up close he
thumbed the phone icon and then paused.
Was
he really going to do this? Was he
really going to make a fool of himself?
Yes. He could use someone like this in his life
now. Questions needed answered. So many questions. Questions he had been looking to find the
answers to ever since coming to the city.
He had promised. Made a promise
to someone back home he would find out.
Do everything possible to find out.
Surprised, he felt sweat beginning to bud up like unwanted little
dandelions across his forehead as he paused holding the phone in his hand,
ready to dial. Yet his natural tendency to be cautions, to be circumspect, kept
him from dialing.
Really? Really?
Was he going to do this?
Yes. He was.
Setting his face into a mask of stone he glanced at the number in the ad
and dialed.
