The 7 Best Tips for Writing Your Opening Scene

• Create a riveting opener for your story 
A vital part of your story is the opening lines, also known as the inciting incident. In this section of your story, we learn who the main character is, the central problem facing him and a little about the setting.

• Write a great narrative hook 
One sign of a good opener is that it makes the reader want to continue with the story. Using a fishing metaphor, a good opener “hooks” the reader.

• Draw readers into story with great opening lines
Among the most important words in your story are the ones that begin it. Those words should get the reader to ask, “What’s going on here?” so he keeps reading. In a short story, the author usually only has a couple of sentences to make this happen; in a novel, a couple of paragraphs typically is the limit.

• Start story with event that upsets status quo
Often the opening of a story involves some incident that upsets the status quo. In doing so, the main character faces the challenge of restoring order in the world.

• How to get readers engaged in your story
To be a truly successful fiction writer that people return to over and over again, you’ll want to pen a story that “engages” the reader. When a reader is engaged, she closely follows your tale, focusing on every word as if a wine connoisseur appreciating every sip of the best vintage.

• Base story on overcoming emotional disturbance
Often a story is not about defending the world from some outside menace (out-of-whack event) or about obtaining some item (Macguffin) but is about overcoming some internal, man vs. himself struggle. In science fiction writing workshops, this type of storyline is called an emotional disturbance.

• Use broad conflict to set your story in motion
Almost all stories force the main character to solve several problems. One core problem, though, sets into motion the need to address these other issues. This core problem is known as the broad conflict.