The beginning of a story is arguably the most important part. It's how the reader decides whether they want to keep reading to the end or set it down and find another book. The introduction to a story needs to have a strong hook, just like your English teachers have probably told you to have a strong hook to open your papers. However, unlike with academic writing, fiction openings should not summarize what's to come. They should set up the story and transition the reader to a brand new world—the world you create with your writing.

This is not an easy thing to do. An introduction should grab the readers and strike their intrigue, but one type of opening may interest one person but turn off another. I know you're all looking for me to tell you what the perfect opening would be, but that's impossible. What I will do is describe the most common ways to open a book and discuss their pros and cons.

You should choose a style of opening based on the story you want to tell. No one can dictate to you how that should be. If you're stuck on finding that perfect opening, something you can do is start writing the story from the middle, from just some random scene that you can vividly picture in your head, and work backwards. I did that with several of my books. Just keep backtracking until you get to a comfortable place in the story. That may be a few paragraphs or several chapters. If you don't get a satisfying opening on the first try, don't worry. Keep rewriting. Try opening the story from several different scenes in several different manners. Don't be afraid to try out different or heinous ideas. Sometimes, those end up being the best ones.

Now, onto the technical stuff. The first page of your story should ALWAYS do three things:

1. Introduce the protagonist (or another main character if you must)

2. Reveal their personality

3. Introduce a problem

I cannot stress enough how vital these three elements are to the opening of your story. All three MUST be introduced within the first page (though the problem can come a bit later, but absolutely somewhere in the first chapter. The sooner the better), if you want to hook your reader.

We're going to spend most if not the entire story with the main character. If they're vital to the plot, we probably should be meeting them right at the get-go. We should learn something about their personality. You cannot dryly describe their actions. Give us some thoughts, some flaws and strengths. You don't have to lay out your character's entire personality in just a few lines, but give the readers something to work with. Have you ever wondered why there are no stories about the weather or about pianos or that tree growing in your front yard? We need people (or animals if you're going for an animal/anthropomorphic type story). Someone with a consciousness, someone who can make decisions, who can love and hate. Give them emotions, feelings. We read stories because we're rooting for the protagonist and want them to achieve their goals. It's only logical to start out the story with a character and their development.

Now, I mentioned goals. A character should have goals, a problem to overcome, otherwise they're not very interesting. A goal or problem (this could either be a short-term goal or the major long-term goal. Remember, I said that goals can change throughout the story, but there need to be goals at all times) needs to be introduced somewhere within the first chapter, and as I stated before, sooner rather than later. The sooner you can introduce a problem, the faster your reader can jump into the story, but don't start TOO soon, either. (More on this later.)

Okay, you have the three main elements to an opening, but what are the different ways to open a story?

1. The weather.

ABSOLUTELY NOT. Do NOT NOT NOT open your story with a description about the “gray storm clouds filtered out the moonbeams as the breeze blew across the countryside. A stray dog howled as the pitter-patter of water droplets descended from the sky onto the gloomy city.” Did you even make it through those two sentences without falling asleep? Weather is not interesting. Even if you're starting with a hurricane or tornado or landslide, character(s) need to be present and interact with said weather. When we are chatting with someone and are struggling to find a new topic to talk about, we usually go for the weather. A story should not be idle small-talk. If you want to hook your reader, you have to pull out the interesting conversation.

2. In the middle of action

I'm sure many of you have been advised to start a story with the action. But that doesn't mean starting out in the middle of an epic battle with your protagonist slicing off an enemy soldier's head. This is not advisable because your readers will be lost. They won't know what's happening, nor have they connected with your protagonist enough to CARE what happens during this bloody and gruesome battle. It's like sitting for a quiet evening curled up in front of the fireplace with a book, and suddenly a bomb drops out of the sky and blows up half a city. It gives the readers whiplash, and they'd be struggling to figure out what's going on. While the action may be exciting, starting with it from the first sentence may cause the opposite effect.

Starting with action means having the character DO something. This is the goal thing again. Give them a goal and make them do something about it.

3. Intriguing and novel ideas

This is probably my favorite way to open (but remember, everyone has different tastes, so you may not like this, but rather, you may find a different opening more agreeable even though I'd advised against it). This is hard to pull out of thin air. These usually require time to think about, which is good. This is a few lines of introspection from the narrator, twisting ideas into something we've never seen before. There isn't really a way to explain what this means or how to do it, so I'll quote my absolute favorite opening from the book Anthem by Ayn Rand:

“It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone. We have broken the laws. The laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocations bid them so. May we be forgiven!"

Interested yet? Take a moment to analyze why or why not, then continue on to this next bit:

"But this is not the only sin upon us. We have committed a greater crime, and for this crime there is no name. What punishment awaits us if it be discovered we know not, for no such crime has come in the memory of men and there are no laws to provide for it.

It is dark here. The flame of the candle stands still in the air. Nothing moves in this tunnel save our hand on the paper. We are alone here under the earth. It is a fearful word, alone. The laws say that none among men may be alone, ever and at any time, for this is the great transgression and the root of all evil. But we have broken many laws. And now there is nothing here save our one body, and it is strange to see only two legs stretched on the ground, and on the wall before us the shadow of our one head.”

I think this is brilliant. Did you see how it introduced the protagonist “We” (which is actually a single person, but in this world, the use of “I” is forbidden.). It gives a hint of their personality—a bit fearful and guilty. Then the main problem was stated: they committed a sin by writing this. So all three elements are there. (If you'd like to read more, the full text is online, and I've linked to it in the External Link. I didn't really enjoy the book, but I loved the way Rand started it.)

4. A quote.

Quoting another author can be interesting, but it gives the idea that you are unable to frame that idea effectively in your own words. It's like a low blow to your skills as a writer. Sometimes it can work well, but use your discretion. A way to assimilate the quote into the story more naturally would be to have a character reading the quote somewhere or hearing someone say it. That brings in the opportunity to introduce your character and their personality by how they react to the quote.

5. Dialogue

Most people seem to be against this. It's the same idea as starting out in the middle of a battle. Before the characters are even mentioned, they're already speaking. Many consider opening with dialogue to be cliché, so I tend to avoid it in my writing. Again, use your discretion.

So where in the story is a good starting point? I suggest starting right before the action (what's known as the "inciting incident", the even that gets your character involved in a conflict) escalates. Maybe have your character waiting for something to happen, discussing what's to come with another character. Have your character doing something, but make sure it's easy to follow. Before you pull out the big guns, and start shooting, make sure your readers have a solid footing in the story, a bit of a quiet lead-in to transition them into the world of your words. If you do want to start in the middle of the action, though, you can do the lead-in with a few lines of introspection. Always aim to make the journey from the real world into the world of your book as easy as possible for your readers.

I'm afraid I can't get any more specific than that. Each story is different, and there are an infinite number of possibilities of where you can start the story. Sometimes, authors start in the middle and use flashbacks to tell the beginning. Some start at the climax and go backwards. Figuring out the timeline and chronology of your story before starting to write it may be very helpful.

What you can do is go to the public library or a bookstore and read the first page of every novel you can get your hands on. Study all the different ways the books open. Some will hook you immediately, some may bore you. Pay attention to both. Analyze why something hooked you or why something turned you off, and come up with your own strategy to tackle your story.

Prologues: To prologue or not to prologue?

Nearly every writing blog I've looked at has said the same thing: prologues should be avoided as much as possible. Just seeing the word “prologue” will make many readers completely skip it and start at chapter one. Usually, prologues CAN be skipped. They offer no information that can't be told during the main bulk of the novel, and they're usually very shady and confusing anyway. Eragon is very near and dear to my heart, but it didn't need that prologue of Arya getting attacked. We learn about this in detail later on, and it just confused me as to what the heck was going on. I had no idea because none of the characters had been established yet, no problem, no nothing. Prologues generally lose readers, so if you can cut out your prologue and the story still makes perfect sense, cut it. I know you're probably attached to it, but unless it serves a vital purpose in the story, you should ax it.

If you're adamant on keeping your prologue, you can trick your readers with a sneaky chapter title like Chapter: 00 or Before Story or something like that. Play around with it. If you really love your prologue and feel the story loses something without it, by all means keep it. Just keep in mind that most prologues either confuse the reader or contain information that is or can be stated in the main story. Bottom line: if you can, get rid of it, but no worries if you must have a prologue.

Remember, if you can't get your opening right the first time, don't fret. Keep playing around with it. Start in different places under different circumstances. I had to rewrite the opening for The Guardian Legend about five or six times before I was satisfied with it. SuperHero started at what's currently page 17, and then I backtracked. Sometimes you get lucky and get it the first try, but more often than not, your first attempt will be rubbish. Don't settle. Keep trying new things, and you'll eventually find an opening that will bring all the readers racing to read your book.