Sometimes it’s difficult to decide where to begin telling a story, and “begin at the beginning” isn’t always the best advice.
Click here to download this writing worksheet (PDF)
The beginning of your story need not take place in your opening scene! The opening scene can be used to…
- Capture the reader’s attention with an unusual event or setting,
- Pique their curiosity with a mystery,
- Or build rapport by providing interesting information or prefatory material.
As we know from our study of suspense, delay can be a useful tactic for building pleasurable anticipation.
But how to use this delay to best effect in your own story? This worksheet will help you figure out just that.
Click here to download this writing worksheet (PDF)
P.S. If you would like some more inspiration, here is a list of 30 Opening Scene Ideas. Or how about studying the opening scenes of your favourite novels?
