Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44749
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44749
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Either can work really well! The thing to pay attention to is that each option builds a different sequence and experience for the reader -- so you want to consider which of the two choices works better for your story.

A good general guideline is that **at the beginning of the book, the reader is looking for "what is this book about."** They'll latch on to, essentially, the first promise of trouble, conflict, or theme.

So, if you start off with a murder, the reader will probably understand the story as being _about_ the murder. They'll expect the story's resolution to be "the killer has been found and brought to justice," or something similar.

Whereas if you start off with a character, the reader will probably understand the story as being _about_ the character. "Does the character find the bad guy" is one resolution, but so is "Does the character compromise his beliefs," "Does he protect his loved ones," "Can he outsmart his nemesis," etc., etc. In a murder mystery, any major question will probably _still_ be resolved by solving the murder -- but these issues, for the detective, give the mystery's solution **significance**. The mystery feels more _personal_ to the reader, because it affects the protagonist they care about.

A thought that might help: In a thriller or adventure story, a lot of the tension is often _how important_ the threat is; how dangerous; how _thrilling_. In that kind of a story, this kind of "prologue" can establish what dangerous territory the story will be sailing towards, and can help set up threatening or intriguing elements that the protagonist themselves won't reach for some time. This kind of opening **establishes danger** ; sets up the situation.

Whereas in a story that's more mystery- or character-focused, you probably want the weight on us connecting with the detective. Setting up _who_ the character is, _why_ this mystery carries personal significance, helping us see the world through the character's particular point-of-view, and what the stakes are in their eyes. This kind of opening **establishes character,** and often theme.

Obviously, most murder-based stories will have _both_ -- characters _and_ suspense! But, usually, one will be "more important," the thing the story is "about", and the other will feel more secondary, subordinate. So the important thing is understanding **what kind of story you're telling,** and then you can look at how to create that particular focus.

Those are your basic considerations; that's how you can make a decision that's right for the particular story you're writing.

Hope this helps :D

Original score: 5