A Character’S Thoughts
Another good way to grab your readers’ attention is by opening up a character’s thoughts, especially those that seem strange or out of the ordinary.
Anna Sewell’s Black Beautyuses this approach in starting the story:
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Action
Another way of luring readers into the thick of things is by opening your story with action.
This strategy is particularly common in fantasy and science fiction stories.
Here is an example from the opening scene of the dystopian fantasy Fahrenheit 451by Ray Bradbury:
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Character Description
An expositionthat describes your characters can be another effective way to draw your readers in.
Take this example from L.M.
Montgomery’s “The Hurrying of Ludovic” in The Chronicles of Avonlea”:
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Dialogue
Nothing draws readers in like introducing them to your characters in the middle of an ongoing conversation.
If you want to use dialogue to open up your story, you can choose to start with a heated conversation that leads to action, or even casual talk that introduces to the characters and their relationships.
The following example is the opening sc.
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How do you start a story?
Understand that you don’t always have to start at the beginning—you can actually start by writing any part of your story.
Some writers even start by writing the ending! But if you already know what you want your story to be and just need a little push getting started, these options for starting a story might help trigger the right words:
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Prologue
When you start a story with a prologue, it’s usually to share some important information or backstory about your character(s).
This can help your reader understand something important about the characters or the story before jumping right in.
Bodie Thone’s Warsaw Requiem, Book 6 of The Zion Covenant, starts with the following excerpt:
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Should you start writing a short story or a novel?
Whether you are writing a short story or a novel, getting started is half the battle, so don’t let fear stop you in your tracks! Instead, use some proven techniques to jumpstart your writing.
Understand that you don’t always have to start at the beginning—you can actually start by writing any part of your story.
