How to Start a Story

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How do you write the first few paragraphs of a story so the reader doesn’t stop reading immediately? Any way you like, but I’ll tell you my way.

I’m going to to assume you already know what happens in your first scene, and it’s a matter of opening it to best effect.

You need two things:

  1. Workmanlike construction.
  2. Something, anything, that makes them want to keep reading (a hook).

Today I’ll talk about workmanlike construction. All I’m going to say about hooking the reader is that, for many readers, it’s like speed dating. They won’t give you the benefit of the doubt for a whole chapter; not even close.

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Silver Buckshot: Magic, Mystery, and a Most Aggravating Boyfriend

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My banter-packed novel, Silver Buckshot: Magic, Mystery, and a Most Aggravating Boyfriend, is available for your reading pleasure. Read the first chapter here. Description Thirteen-year-old Princess Flavia has endured a lot recently. Polio crippled her legs and killed her mother, her father is sunk in grief, and her servants veer between negligence and cruelty. She … Read more

Silver Buckshot, Chapter 1

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Chapter 1. First Handshake

I met Frank just minutes before the first attempt upon my life.

It was a beautiful June day in 1972. I was sitting at my favorite table in the palace library, reading. As usual, I had the library to myself. My servants were supposed to be with me, but they knew I never tattled and took full advantage.

The hush was shattered when a boy walked in, whistling. He caught sight of me and approached, revealing that he could whistle and smirk at the same time. When he reached my table, he fell silent and stood smiling at me. It was a good smile, much better than the smirk. It invited me to smile back, which I didn’t, of course.

He was a handsome boy of about fourteen, a year older than myself. He was tall for his age, with a haircut from the California side of the gateway. This being the palace, he wore a good suit, a fashionable brown one, also from the California side. He had loosened his tie and undone the top button of his shirt, which would earn him a scolding from any adults who noticed.

I liked him at once, which annoyed me. I don’t get along with my fellow children. His likability made me self-conscious in spite of my beautiful blue dress, for I was pale and thin where he was tan and fit. I envied his dark blond hair and light green eyes. Mine are dark brown and dark brown, respectively.

I gave him a cold stare. “This is a library, you know.”

He looked around in pretended astonishment, so I added, “You can tell by the books? At least, I hope you can.”

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Write Stories as if They’re True: Truth is Stronger than Fiction

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A huckster selling Genuine Snake Oil
Art by rtro.

Writers new to the fiction racket are often confused about first principles. And why hot? First principles are rarely stated fair and square. Or at all.

Here’s one: You can write fiction as if it’s a true story. You can write it as if it’s a fake story. It makes a difference.

Some stories are obviously made up. You can tell from the first few words: “A guy walks into a bar.” “Once upon a time.” Others are more subtle. Some stories are obviously true. And some that aren’t true look and feel as if they are.

This appearance of truth buys you things worth having.

How People Tell Real Stories

The world is awash in published true stories: things that actually happened and are told truthfully, more or less. And you know what? If written halfway competently, truth has the ring of truth about it! Not because of what it says, but the way it says it. In this sense, truth is stronger than fiction. We can use that.

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