The important thing when beginning a story is to start writing. There
are probably dozens of tools you can use to get those all-important
first words on paper, but none of them are worth as much as a first
draft. In other words, don't obsess. Find some words you can live with
for the moment and write the story. Then you can come back and search
for the perfect opening.
Instructions
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1
Keep a notebook with you at all times. It should be small enough to fit in your pocket.
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2
Whenever
a good beginning occurs to you, jot it down. You don't need to write
more than a sentence or two to get your idea across.
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3
When you sit down to write a story, look at all your ideas. See if any of them inspires you.
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4
Just
start writing. There will be an opportunity to change your story later
on. You can rewrite the beginning of your story if you decide it is not
up to par..
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5
Start
with a line of dialog. By putting your character in the middle of a
conversation, you can jump write into the story without a long, tedious
introduction.
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6
If
you are writing from the first person begin with your protagonist
making an irrelevant observation. Have him say something idiosyncratic
and particular to him. This will allow you to introduce the character
as a three-dimensional character and begin to explore his personality
from the first page.
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7
Jump
right in to the action. A beginning like "the alarms shrieked and an
awful plume of acrid smoke shot skyward" may not be the best line for
an introspective character piece, but it will get any plot driven story
rolling.
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8
One
way to start is with a line that the reader will not understand
immediately. This will get your reader asking questions and make her
read more. For example, if you begin with "the Lima Bean Boy was having
another null," the reader will want to know who the "Lima Bean Boy" is,
what a "null" is, and why he has such a peculiar name. This will get
her curious about the story and potentially suck her in.
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9
Begin
with vertigo. Bombard the reader with colorful, disjointed, jarring
images. This beginning works especially well if your narrator is
intoxicated, asleep, crazy, under attack, or in the middle of a
catastrophe.
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10
Begin
with an observation of your own which relates to the purpose of your
story. If there is something that you want to say, come out and say it.
It will get you started writing and, if it is too clumsy and obvious,
you can always come back and change it later.
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