9 Ways To Launch Your Story

So, you get an awesome story idea (like next-level awesome), but you can’t figure out how to start it. What should be the opening scene that will launch your story? The one that will buy your readers’ attention for pages to come?

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Below are 9 possible ways you may choose to launch your story.

1. Jump right into the action.

The reason why a climax usually occurs in the middle or the end of a plot-line is because the author needs time to convince the reader to feel and care about the story. This is a major reason why authors don’t begin with a climax. There’s nothing built up yet in the reader’s mind for the big event. Why should the reader care about anything two pages in? Well, a good author will have you hooked off the first few lines.

Just because beginning with a climax isn’t common doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experiment with jumping straight into it. In this case, a properly written “action” will make up for not having the infamous build-up. It may even prove to work well as a build-up for your next climax. As I said before, a good author will have you committed to them after only a few lines. You can do this too.

2. Start with a narrative.

Choose a conversational topic for your characters and then make your reader tune-in mid-conversation. This dialogue could be about special points in your plot or something else that’s going on that’s attention-grabbing. You may even choose to prevent certain characters from being able to say things to add more secrecy or tension.

3. Begin with a conflict or fight.

A tense beginning may be what you’re looking for. Over the first few pages, you may choose to set-up a conflict or fight between characters. This will strongly define their relationship in the reader’s mind.

4. State something definite.

You may choose to give the reader crucial information immediately. This is said in the first sentence of the story. Some examples include, “she fell down the stairs,” or “he was dead,” both have multiple meanings. This immediately throws the reader into a sticky situation.

On the other hand, you may also choose to write more ambiguously, more psychologically, and let the reader figure out the hidden message without revealing anything physical. “Revealing” thoughts are often used for this. Examples include beginning your story with your character thinking, “I don’t trust people,” or “he was dead, and I was okay with that.” And then leaving the thought unfinished.

5. Soak the introduction with description.

If none of the four previous story launches interest you, maybe you’d like something more descriptive. You could begin by describing a key location in your story, simply explain what your character is looking at, or use your character’s description of their surroundings as insight into their personality.

6. Use symbols, similes, and metaphors to improve your physical descriptions.

Stick to a single “metaphor theme” at a time. This helps the flow of your writing and helps your reader envision your mental image more clearly. If you begin poetically comparing the buildings of your city to trees and the people there to wildlife, don’t suddenly start comparing them to outer-space and the stars. They are not similar enough. Your reader may get confused.

7. Use someone else’s quote.

Take a quote from another author’s story, prose, or poetry. Sometimes someone else will manage to perfectly capture what you’ve been trying to say. Sometimes they’ll phrase it even better, and that’s okay. In a way, it adds effect. For example, below are a few authors and their stories that begin with quotes from other people.

  • San Francisco Chronicle serial version of Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin quotes Oscar Wilde,

“It’s an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco.”

Oscar Wilde

  • The Sum of All Fears, by Tom Clancy quotes Winston Churchill,

“Why, you may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together – what do you get? The sum of their fears.”

Winston Churchill

  • Ragtime, by E. L. Doctorow quotes Scott Joplin,

“Do not play this piece fast. It is never right to play ragtime fast.”

Scott Joplin

  • Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson quotes Samuel Johnson,

“He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.”

Samuel Johnson

8. Write a “mysterious” foreshadowing foretelling something, like a prophecy.

9. Begin with a scene from the past.

This scene could include your main characters or it may not. Usually this is an important scene to the climax of the plot-line and could include your main character’s parents, friends, significant other, a fateful stranger, group, etc.

How do you plan on launching your story? Share in the comments!

Happy Writing!

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