Great Expectations, or… Great Beginnings

I saw an announcement for ACFW’s Genesis contest the other day on one of the email lists I’m a part of.

The Genesis is a contest for members of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) who are unpublished in book-length fiction. You submit the first fifteen pages of your manuscript and it gets judged/critiqued by published authors and/or experienced writers. If you score in the top five in your category, you go to the final round. Here’s the cool part:

The final round judges are editors and agents.

So… if you have an amazing beginning to your book, you might get a request for the whole thing. WOW!

The winners in each category get to accept their prize at the ACFW National Conference. This year it is in Minneapolis.

I entered the Genesis last year with a manuscript I have since scrapped (it was missing some very important pieces!), and plan to get at least one manuscript polished to enter this year.

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Thinking about the Genesis contest started me on a rabbit trail about the best beginnings. So of course I thought I’d share my musings.

Beginnings are really important, don’t you think? If the first chapter is well-written, you can learn a lot about the hero or heroine. Even within the first few pages, you can get a sense of their personality, what is important to them, how they react to situations, maybe a hint of the BIG PROBLEM they are going to face later in the book.

Good beginnings can throw you right into the middle of the action. Or danger. Or interpersonal conflict, if that’s what you like.

Here’s a short list of books I’ve read within the last year that have the best beginnings:

Off the RecordBy Elizabeth White / Zondervan When Judge Laurel Kincade announces her candidacy for the Alabama Supreme Court, the last person she expects to see in the crows is reporter and ex-boyfriend, Cole McGaughan. He’s there to advance his own career, but there’s on problem: digging up dirt on the lovely lawyer may destroy him, too. Can the truth set them both free?

Bygones, Sommerfeld Trilogy Series #1By Kim Vogel Sawyer / Barbour Publishing Widow Marie Koeppler and her grown daughter, Beth, reluctantly return to the Mennonite community Marie abandoned 23 years ago—to meet the conditions of their Aunt Lisbeth’s will. When a series of thefts raises suspicions against the “outsiders,” can Marie prove their innocence? Has she stolen more than Henry Braun’s heart?

Beloved Castaway, Fairweather Keys Series #1 by Kathleen Y’Barbo

Buried Secrets by Margaret Daley

The Restorer, Swords of Lyric Series #1By Sharon Hinck / Nav Press Susan Mitchell is wondering what happened to God’s plan for her. Her life can’t just be about cleaning, organizing her family, and being involved in damage control for her four rambunctious children, can it? When Susan opens a box in labeled “Dress Up” in her attic, her question is answered.Upon opening the box, Susan finds herself thrust into a parallel universe where she must help bring heathens and warring territories “back to the Verses.” Susan is a Restorer, a prophet like the Biblical Deborah. Together with an unfamiliar sword, it is Susan’s job to show the inhabitants of this new world how Jesus can save people. This universe will forever change how Susan looks at life, love, and family.if she can get out alive. Sharon Hinck, softcover, 464 pages.

The Restitution, Legacy of the King’s Pirates Series #3By Mary Lou Tyndall / Barbour Publishing Lady Isabel Ashton, scorned by society after the birth of her illegitimate child, longs to regain wealth and position, despite Christ’s call on her heart. But when her son is kidnapped, she’s forced to seek the aid of the man who pirated her purity. How far will Isabella go to save her child and redeem her honor?

You can read the first chapters of any of those books by clicking on the link.

Your turn. What are some of your favorite beginnings?

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