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‘Start at the beginning’ sounds very easy and logical. In practice, this is

about the hardest place to start. The beginning of your story has to grab

your reader, glue them to the page and make them keep reading.

In a short story you must make the first line, at the most , the first

paragraph do this for you. Good beginnings aren’t handed out at Writing

Classes, they usually come out of the whole story. There are other things

your opening should do. It must introduce the setting for the story and hint

at tensions and problems to come. Intrigue your reader!

With a novel you might get your book picked up in the Bookstore because it

has an attractive cover, or you are a well-known writer. Then the reader

will flip it open and read the beginning. If not hooked immediately the book

is put back on the shelf.

The following are some recent ‘openings’ I have read which do grab

attention.

When we were thirteen, the coolest things to do were the things your parents

wouldn’t let you do. Things like have sex, smoke cigarettes, nick off from

school, go to the drive-in, take drugs and go to the beach. ‘Puberty Blues’

by Kathy Lette

‘There was once (said Reginald) a woman who told the truth. Not all at once,

of course, but habit grew upon her gradually, like lichen on an apparently

healthy tree.’ “Saki” in ‘Reginald on Besetting Sin’. An intriguing

opening.

It was the afternoon of the storm when A finally decided to fall in love

with Nola Pomeroy or try to shag her or do something special with her in

some out-of-the-way place. ’Gerald Murnane in ‘The Only Adam’ This opening

certainly would ensure further reading.

At a Writing class I attend a friend produced a short story with the first

line, ‘Today is the first anniversary of my rape’ That was a brilliant

opening to an excellent short story.

Keep in mind the following points for the beginning of your story.

Grab attention

Introduce protagonist

Introduce setting

Hint at tensions and where the story is going

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