Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemurion
Sadly, you're right. Four pages establishing character and context is too much for modern readers. To succeed with modern audiences it's much better to start with a character in conflict and use that conflict to illuminate both character and setting.
Please note I'm not saying you need violence on page one - I'm suggesting that you introduce a dramatic conflict and start ratcheting up the tension as early as possible.
In modern fiction it's best to give us a reason to care about the character before you've finished introducing them. It gives readers with short attention spans a reason to turn the page.
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I'd agree with this, but I think it's for different reasons than you do. I don't want to be completely "introduced" to a character and THEN have the conflict introduced. The entire book should be an introduction to the character! Don't tell me in the first few pages "he was an honest man, and he was nice to puppies and little old ladies"... instead, just toss me into the story and let me learn about the world and characters through their interaction with one another. How the character responds to other characters and situations will tell me more about him than any "introduction" ever could. In short: Show, don't tell.