Writing Effective Beginnings

I got this useful list on how to write an effective beginning at one of my writing classes. I find I have trouble starting a story so I found this to be a big help.

1. You don't have to write your opening scene first. Feel free to write later scenes-even your climax-first. Then, once you've immersed yourself in your tale, go back and write your opening.

2. Your story begins just before the central problem begins to emerge-no earlier. Provide only what background the reader needs to understand the problem and its significance; then start building the tension.

3. Remember that you've only got a few paragraphs to hook your reader. Give them something intriguing-an event, a setting, an image, an insight, a character, or an unusual style of writing-almost immediately.

4. Also remember that you don't have to start with a shock or surprise. Don't throw a gratuitous dead body at your reader, especially when an unexpected guest or a lucid observation might work just as well, or better.

5. A good opening should fit naturally with the rest of the piece. It should give your reader a sense (either overt or subliminal) of what is to come in the way of tone, mood, and events. It should not mislead your readers, intentionally or unintentionally.

6. Avoid using tricks or gimmicks in your opening, unless your whole piece is based on one.

7. Avoid expository lumps (long stretches of narration that explain what has happened in the past). Show your characters in action; don't bore your reader with explanations.

8. Even more strenuously avoid explanatory dialogue, where characters explain (ostensibly to each other, but in fact to the reader) what's been going on. ("Remember when we had breakfast this morning, Ted, and the waitress named Betty slapped you")

9. After you've written your next-to-final draft, look closely at your story to see if you really need all of your opening scene.

How have you handled the beginning of your story?


Photo credit: thomasthorspecken