Poe packs a punch in the first sentence... the art of Edgar Allan Poe’s immediate immersion and what I learned about storytelling …
There’s something electric about a story that grips you from the very first sentence. Edgar Allan Poe knew this instinctively. Poe once wrote, “A short story must have a single mood, and every sentence must build toward it.” For him, that mood began not on the first or second page, but in the very first sentence. American writer Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) advocated for a “memorable” opener which today is called “the hook.” Poe’s first sentences are effective and memorable because they begin with “certainty in tone, but uncertainty in truth.” Consider this hook from Poe’s 1843 short story The Tell-Tale Heart: “True!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” Here Poe rapidly establishes the narrator’s voice, mental state, tone, and tension, hinting at the mind of someone unstable and defensive. He is building the mood of unease. Curiosity spikes instantly. Who is accusing him? What has he done? What will he reveal or conceal? In another 1843 short story The Black Cat, Poe’s hook is: “For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief.” That first sentence builds the mood of something dark and unbelievable, yet intimate. The narrator confides in the reader immediately. Even his poem The Raven starts with that uncanny immediacy: “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary…” Rhythm and imagery emerge in a single line to build the mood of mystery. For Poe, the first sentence is not just an entry point; it is the beat of the story’s heart. In his 1846 essay The Philosophy of Composition, he explains that he wrote “with the precision and rigid consequence of a mathematical problem.” Every story begins intentionally with emotional precision and his advice to writers is clear and timeless:- Start where the emotion is already alive. Instead of explaining the situation, begin inside it. Let voice reveal the world. Readers will follow a compelling voice before they follow a plot. Write the first sentence last. Draft the story and then return to craft the first sentence that captures its essence. Trust tension. Build tension from ordinary to tight, enabling readers to lean into the story. Poe’s storytelling of the macabre and mysterious is legendary. His triple threat is to build curiosity, discomfort, or contradiction. If Poe teaches writers anything, it’s this: the story begins the moment the storyteller utters the first line. Can’t see the whole article? Want to view the original article? Want to view more articles? Go to Martina’s Substack: The Stories in You and Me More Paris articles are in my Paris website The Paris Residences of James Joyce Rainy Day Healing - gaining ground in life You're currently a free subscriber to The Stories in You and Me . For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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