In the beginning

In the beginning, there was nothing.

And then there was literature.

And then God came in at some point, I don't know.

I'm talking about the beginning of your story. The hook of your line and sinker. The first gunshot of your war. The first chord in your symphony.

There are different types of beginnings. There's the "story hook", where something happens that sets the story in motion. Such as, the princess being captured, or someone being murdered. As someone rolls the snowball down the hill, it sets the stage to grow and grow.

Then there's a the character introduction opener. It features one of your main characters showing off his personality, so the reader gets acquainted as soon as possible.

I'll use some examples here. In Indiana Jones, it starts with Indy going on an iconic dungeon crawl. It sets the scene for the rest of the movie, with Indy swinging with his whip and sneaking through traps.

In Lord of the Rings, it starts with some juicy backstory. It tells the story of how the One Ring came into existence, and who we're fighting here, Sauron. A type of opening is something set in the past, explaining something.

Also, who's your audience? Some will want a exciting hook, something to quickly get them interested. Some would like a slow opening that expands the story. You're the caterer, and you need to know whether to serve tiny olives with sticks in them or B-B-Q.

Well, enough with the metaphors. I'm like a semi-automatic machine gun that can't stop rattling off.