The opening of your novel or short story is crucial. It must be well written, catchy, and evocative. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, your opening doesn't move the story forward in the proper manner. This may not be a shortcoming in your writing ability, but a reflection of an improperly framed narrative.

Many people think of their stories as written in stone. In their minds, the narrative doesn't exist outside of the bounds they've chosen for the beginning and end. This can blind the writer to structural possibilities that might be helpful during a rewrite. Sometimes the story is simply lacking context that might be provided by a scene that comes BEFORE the writer's current story beginning.

Writers are not drones. We invest ego in what we create. However, if you want to write for a living, you must disassociate yourself from the material. Treat it like a house you are painting. Sometimes you miss a spot, or need another coat of paint, or—heaven forbid —you find the color is not what you really wanted.

You must be prepared to roll up your sleeves and do what's necessary to get the job done. They're only words in a word processor. Don't be afraid of trying again for fear of it getting worse. A beautiful thing about writing is it CANNOT get worse—only better. (Be certain to make backup copies before revising, that way the original is not at risk.)

Once you are ready to start anew, these are suggestions for getting your material off to a good start.

All right, we're ready to begin the story. First, look around and find your reader. Do you see that reader in your mind? No? Take a moment and DO THAT. Who are your readers? Men? Women? Both? What age category are they in? Are their interests in a narrow spectrum or broad? Okay—got it? From now on, those readers will be looking over your shoulder while you write. What you create should appeal to their tastes. In fact, you are entering into an iron-clad contract with them. They will HELP you write the story, and you will ENTERTAIN them.

The concept of the reader helping you write the story is important for all of us who have problems with info dumps and other authorial intrusion problems. Readers often see themselves as a character in your story, usually the protagonist. Give them elbow room to bring their imagination into play. Let the reader contribute some of the finer details. For every two or three details you put in, make allowances for the reader's collaboration.

With the reader on your left shoulder, and your muse on the right, it’s time to pick a place in the narrative to begin. The following are criteria you should use for when and where in your universe you should start the story.

The protagonist is on screen and IN FOCUS. Scenery is nice but DULL. Don't get bent out of shape... We KNOW you can write beautiful, eloquent descriptions of your lovely world. Do yourself a favor—show us later. At the beginning, simple is good... simple is GOD. Your focus should be on the character's emotional and physical details and getting us into that person's head. If you stop the story to give the reader a guided tour, you may lose them.

The focus is on the protagonist. Now, provide opportunities to establish the characters in their primary social context. Are they outsiders? Insiders? Outcasts? Are they at odds with the world or in sync with it? This ties closely to the scene conflict (rule 3 below). It also bears on item 6 (the rules of the world). Context is just like that sentence: It shows how things relate and mesh with one another. Simply put, show whether your protagonist is a round, square, or hexagonal peg—and the hole into which life is trying to fit him or her.

The scene should mirror the overall conflict of the novel in some way. For instance, if the book is about the protagonist getting back a kidnapped child, then a good way to start might be with the character seeing a child being taken from their parents, or two parents battling over custody of the child. There is even the blunt and OBVIOUS approach: the scene where the child gets kidnapped. Your first scene sets the tone for the rest of the book.

Show the protagonist in a vivid uncluttered scene, preferably doing something that is signature to that character. If he or she is awesome with a sword, but HATES swordplay for some reason, that 'tag' is important to reveal.

Conflict must be present in your start. It doesn't matter if it's a combative card game, or a family spat over what's for dinner. Make sure something that the protagonist feels an ATTACHMENT to and cares for is on the line. Blood does not have to fly. People do not have to die. Heads DON'T need to roll. In fact, in trying to start with a bang, some people get lost in elaborate action scenes that fail miserably! Why? The characters are unfamiliar. We don't care about them yet. Action does nothing for the reader with no time invested in your protagonists.

How the main characters are motivated to deal with the conflict and the establishment of a personal stake is ESSENTIAL to driving your story forward. These details will provide important characterization. If the character is a nature type, and the theme is man against nature, then make the conflict deal with that issue in some way. If the protagonist has a screaming peeve about the animal abuse—work it in. It needn't be as obvious as the character witnessing the abuse. Use indirection such as depicting an incident where the character HEARS about it, throws back his or her chair, demands to know where the atrocity is taking place, then storms off to confront the evildoers.

In choosing a scene of conflict, we single out that person's passion and show them grappling with it. Our demons reveal telling contrasts in our values and character. When gripped by powerful emotions, we sublimate our learned social behavior and act as our basic nature dictates. During these moments, potential is uncovered, hidden beauty can be revealed, or ugliness unmasked. Unveiling these aspects of the protagonist exposes flaws that make them more believable people, it also provides depth and shows that person’s potential for change.