How to Start Your Book

BONUS SECTION BELOW!

Starting lines are one of the hardest parts of a story to write. Along my years of writing, I have discovered some things that helped me with it a lot. Let me walk you through them:

Shock factor

With this I don't mean that you should say something untrue or wrong or dramatic just to make the reader care. Think about what's more original about your story and write it down in the most curiosity-inspiring way possible.

Think: "It was a cloudy day..." vs. "It was the first time the clouds obscured the sun in over ten months."

Foreshadowing

Something that might be interesting and fun for your reader is to throw in some foreshadowing. For instance, The Secret History by Donna Tartt starts off with devastating news that other authors might want to keep as a plot twist. Instead, we know from page 1 who is going to die.

Joke

Another beginning you might want to look into is one that sets off the story on a lighter mood: a pun, a joke, or something that might make the reader think that your story will be very entertaining.

Absurdity

Nothing lures a reader in more than something they can't quite grasp, something that might be normal somewhere but not here. Think about 1984 by George Orwell, that starts off with "The clocks were striking thirteen." Quite unusual, right?

BONUS!

FOR YOU! Prompts

• "A dragon flew over out heads. I sighed. They should have smelled the roasting dinosaur."

• "There was no one in the desert, except for one man who was selling wood for the fire, as if it weren't hot enough already."

• "The moon got closer and closer until we could reflect ourselves in its surface."

• "I told the demon where my sister was. I'm not a bad person. I thought it was grandpa."

• "We entered a singing contest, but then they asked us where we had put our weapons."