How to Write Great Story Beginnings

Your opening is a promise to readers. It sets expectations, establishes tone, and convinces them to keep reading. Get it right, and readers are hooked. Get it wrong, and they never reach your brilliant middle.

What a Good Opening Does

In the first pages, you need to:

• Hook: Give readers a reason to continue
• Orient: Who, where, when (the basics)
• Promise: Signal what kind of story this will be
• Create curiosity: Raise questions readers want answered

Types of Hooks

The In Medias Res Opening

Start in the middle of action. Drop readers into a moment of conflict or tension. Orientation can come later—momentum comes first.

The Voice Opening

Hook readers with a distinctive narrative voice so compelling they'd follow it anywhere. The story question can wait—the voice itself is the attraction.

The Question Opening

Raise an intriguing question or present a mystery. Something doesn't add up. Readers continue because they need to know.

The Character Opening

Introduce a fascinating character whose situation or personality compels interest. We read on because we care about this person.

The Stakes Opening

Make clear from the start what's at risk. Something important is threatened. Readers continue because they're invested in the outcome.

The First Line

Your first line doesn't need to be brilliant—it needs to lead to the second line. Good first lines often:

• Establish voice and tone
• Create an immediate question
• Present something unexpected or intriguing
• Ground us in a specific moment
• Promise conflict or change

Don't obsess over perfecting your first line before writing the rest. Many writers write their opening last, once they know what the story is really about.

The First Chapter

By the end of your first chapter, readers should:

• Understand who the protagonist is (at least initially)
• Care about what happens to them
• Sense what the story is about
• Have questions they want answered
• Feel compelled to continue

Common Opening Mistakes

• Too much backstory: Start with present action. Weave in history later, when readers care enough to want it.
• Waking up: Characters waking up, looking in mirrors, or starting their day is rarely interesting.
• Weather descriptions: Unless the weather is crucial to the story, skip it.
• Dream sequences: If readers don't know what's real yet, a dream is confusing and feels like a cheat.
• Info dumping: World-building can wait. Story cannot.
• Slow starts: If your story really begins in chapter three, cut chapters one and two.

Writing Your Opening Last

Many writers draft their opening, then rewrite it entirely after finishing the book. Why?

• You now know what the story is really about
• You can foreshadow the ending
• You understand your characters better
• You know what readers need to know early
• Your voice has developed

Don't get stuck perfecting your opening before writing the rest. Write it well enough to continue, then come back later.

Related Resources

• Writing Satisfying Endings →
• First Draft Tips →
• Story Structure →