The Writer's Guide to Beginnings

1. Your Beginning is Everything: The Gateway to Publication and Readers

Because if the beginning doesn’t work, the rest of the story doesn’t really matter.

First impressions count. The opening of your story is the critical door to the publishing world and your readers. Agents, editors, and readers make rapid judgments, often within seconds or the first page, determining whether to invest their time. A compelling beginning is essential for getting your manuscript read and sold.

High stakes. Nailing your opening can launch your career, while failing to do so can mean your story is quickly discarded. In a crowded market, your beginning must stand out to capture attention and imagination. It's the hook that makes someone turn the page.

Beyond the hook. A strong beginning doesn't just grab attention; it hints at the journey to come, introduces key elements, and sets the stage for the entire narrative. It's the foundation upon which the rest of your story is built.

2. Start in the Middle of the Action: Dramatize Your Opening Scene

Dramatization is the key.

Avoid static openings. Too many stories begin with passive elements like backstory, lengthy description, or inner monologue where nothing is happening. This lack of action bores readers and causes them to disengage quickly. Your opening must be dynamic.

Scene is paramount. The most effective way to ensure something happens is to start with a scene, ideally in medias res (in the middle of things). Scenes are the fundamental units of storytelling, driving action and building narrative thrust. A well-crafted opening scene provides the necessary momentum.

Compelling action. Action doesn't always mean explosions or car chases; it means characters doing things. Whether subtle or dramatic, the opening action should be compelling enough to make the reader ask "what happens next?" and keep reading.

3. Orient Your Reader Immediately: Answer the Core Story Questions

Answer these questions, and your readers will relax and enjoy the ride of your story.

Provide necessary context. Just as a driver needs to understand a new car before a long trip, readers need basic information about your story upfront. Failing to answer fundamental questions leaves readers disoriented and less likely to invest in the narrative journey.

Key questions to address:

• What kind of story is this (genre)?
• What is the story really about (premise)?
• Who is telling the story (POV)?
• Which character should they care about most (protagonist)?
• Where and when does the story take place (setting)?
• How should they feel about what's happening (emotion)?
• Why should they care what happens next (hook)?

Clarity is crucial. Your opening words must reinforce your genre and clearly establish the story's core premise. A confused reader is a lost reader, and marketplace confusion can derail a story's potential.

4. Ideas Are the Currency: Generate and Differentiate Your Story Concept

The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.

Ideas drive publication. In the competitive publishing landscape, a strong, unique idea is essential for attracting agents, editors, and readers. Your idea must stand out and be compelling enough to sustain a book-length narrative. Many manuscripts fail because the core idea is too weak or derivative.

Brainstorming techniques: Cultivate creativity through observation, keeping a notebook, exploring your writer's self, mixing disparate concepts, playing, getting silly, keeping an idea box, researching for fun, collaborating with others, walking, exercising, relaxing, doing other tasks, and even sleeping. These practices help generate a high volume of potential ideas.

Find your differentiator. Take an idea that's been seen before and make it your own by twisting conventions, combining unlikely elements, or infusing it with your unique perspective or personal history. Your differentiator is what sets your story apart and makes it marketable.

5. Master the Subtle Elements: Voice, Point of View, Character, and Setting

Point of view is one of the most complicated aspects of writing fiction and one of the easiest to screw up.

Voice is your instrument. A strong, original voice is a significant asset, but don't let it overshadow other elements. Use your voice to enhance action and reveal character, not just for navel-gazing or telling instead of showing. Ensure your voice serves the story.

POV rules matter. Getting point of view wrong immediately signals amateurism. Stick to first-person or third-person limited, choose your POV characters carefully (usually the protagonist), avoid multiple first-person POVs, limit third-person limited POVs (ideally one per scene, max six per book), and absolutely avoid third-person omniscient in today's market unless you are a master rule-breaker like George R.R. Martin.

Characters must compel. Readers need protagonists they can care about and antagonists they love to hate. Introduce your protagonist doing something interesting, ensure they are likable or competent, and make them proactive drivers of the action. Your antagonist should be complex and a worthy adversary.

Setting grounds the story. Don't neglect setting; it's crucial for grounding your narrative and can function as a character itself. Be specific with your descriptions, using evocative nouns and details that are unique to your story's time and place.

6. Master the Dramatic Elements: Action, Conflict, Dialogue, and Theme

Conflict is the currency of drama and the driving force behind action...

Action reveals character. Even in character-driven stories, characters must act. Action propels the plot and shows us who your characters are. Visualize your story cinematically and focus on what your characters are doing. Research and even acting out scenes can help generate compelling action.

Conflict drives drama. Action is most powerful when fueled by conflict. Incorporate multiple types of conflict (man vs. man, society, nature, self, fate/God, paranormal, technology) in your opening to heighten drama. Inner conflict (man vs. self) is essential in all good stories.

Dialogue engages readers. Readers love dialogue because it moves quickly and reveals character and plot efficiently. Listen to how people talk and use word choice and sentence structure to indicate speech patterns, avoiding phonetic dialect. Make dialogue do double duty: reveal character and propel plot. Use subtext to add layers of meaning.

Theme provides meaning. Theme is what your story is truly about – the underlying human emotions and ideas. Introduce your themes early, often through your protagonist's desires and actions. Knowing your themes helps you weave them into the narrative from the beginning, providing depth and resonance.

7. Structure for Revelation: Plot Points, Act One, and Organizing Principles

All writing is that structure of revelation.

Build a strong framework. Stories need structure to hold together. The three-act structure (setup, main action, resolution) provides a fundamental framework. Within this, identify key plot points: Beginning, Inciting Incident, Plot Point #1, Midpoint, Plot Point #2, Climax, and Denouement. These points challenge and thwart your protagonist's yearnings.

Plot Act One scene by scene. Connect your Beginning, Inciting Incident, and Plot Point #1 with specific scenes. This typically involves 10-15 scenes that build momentum and introduce core conflicts and characters. Aim for a word count appropriate for Act One (roughly 25% of your total target word count).

Enhance with organizing principles. An organizing principle is a creative way to structure or layer your story beyond the basic plot (e.g., numbered days, diary entries, recipes, journeys). A well-chosen principle can differentiate your story, add layers of meaning, and engage readers from the start. Ensure it runs throughout the narrative.

8. Fuel Narrative Thrust: Pepper Your Story with Questions

lack of narrative thrust is the most common reason I pass on manuscripts.

Keep readers reading. Narrative thrust is the engine that drives your story forward, compelling readers to turn pages. The most effective way to create and sustain narrative thrust is by posing story questions.

Three levels of questions:

• Macro: The big question driving the entire plot (e.g., Will the hero save the world?).
• Meso: Questions driving individual scenes (e.g., Will they escape the trap?).
• Micro: Small questions embedded throughout the prose (e.g., What was that noise?).

Test your manuscript. Go through your opening pages and identify the questions readers will ask. The more compelling questions you pose, the greater your narrative thrust. This is a crucial step in bulletproofing your beginning before submitting your work.

Last updated: May 19, 2025