Writing a long story at the drop of a hat is near impossible. And if I’m staring at a white page, then it feels like a tall mountain to scale. But writing an intriguing first sentence or even a paragraph might be less intimidating.
Surprise yourself and find a new story by writing at least five “story starters”. Write a first sentence (or paragraph) with a hook. Introduce intrigue. Perhaps start with a dialogue that draws the reader in. When only one sentence is at stake, there is no room for descriptions that don’t hook the reader, or staring at a mirror or reflecting on the weather.
Show us who the character is and what is the extraordinary circumstance they are put in. There is no need for scene setting or introducing the character.Jump right into it.
Here are some of my early first lines, which I still read, to get inspired into a new story.
Example 1: Once I reached the yellow house, there was no turning back
In the first example, the intent is to intrigue the reader to find out more. What’s in the yellow house? Who is the protagonist and why is there no turning back.
Example 2: I’m happy to announce that you Mr. WobbleBottom is the giant’s dinner, this Sunday
In the second example, we want to save Mr WobbleBottom hopefully and our collective reading history lets us imagine him and the giant and how the escapade would look like.
Example 3: My wings were the smallest in the entire flying school.
In this example, we can see we have an underdog as the protagonist. We don’t know yet what problems the wings are going to cause. But we know that it’s not a regular flying school.
None of these first sentences were planned. They were written as a warm-up exercise to trigger subconscious thought and perhaps force me into writing a shocking or a suspense-filled first sentence. The hope is that then one of these sentences grow into a story because as a writer, it has spurred me into finding out more about the character that I’ve created in that single sentence.
Go on! Try it. Perhaps you’ll surprise yourself too. Write 5 first sentences a day, at different points in time or in one sitting, in a journal or on your phone. Every week sit down to read through each and identify the ones you think intrigues you most and creates a story in your mind.