where to begin?

[ctc]

So you've got a head full of the greatest story EVER; but how do you start it? How do you decide what's a good place to begin, and how much info the audience needs to know right away? And how do you finally decide, after a zillion different versions, which beginning to go with?

And from the OTHER side of things, as an audience member; what sort of stuff grabs you right away and makes you want to continue?

Don C.

[Marvelmania]

Once upon a time ....

[Sideshow Spock]

It was a dark and stormy night...

[megocrazy]

Grab a hold of your nads and hang on for the ride of your life!!!

[Mego Milk]

action!

[4NDR01D]

I tend to like storys that begin with, "Your not ****ing going to believe this".
honestly, if somebody begins a sentence with that, they've got my full undivided attention.

[Meule]

Grab a hold of your nads and hang on for the ride of your life!!!

You've got my attention

[bgrimm77]

To me it depends on the subject matter. Would you care to share ? If not that's fine , but for me it depends on the genre.Each one has a different set of guidelines more or less. Whatever it is you have brewing in your melon I wish you the best on putting it down.

[Hulk]

Consider where the action picks up, and perhaps leave some of the lead in that might not be as interesting as filler you can intersperse throughout the story to give additional context. Just a thought.

[Donkey Hoatie]

Depends on how you want to tell the story. Written word? Movie? TV? Radio? Internet? If it's going to be printed, the first sentence has to be killer. It doesn't have to be in the middle of the story. It doesn't have to be background. It doesn't have to be the very beginning. But, it does have to be essential to the story.

If it's a movie, it has to set the tone for the whole story visually. You can set a scene and not say a word for a long time. Or, if it's action, you can jump right into the action.

Think about the pace of the story. Does your story lend itself to a slow delivery that builds and builds upon itself? Or, is it action-packed, jumping from one scene to another? How many characters do you have?

Man, there are so many variables, I think you need to share more about the story to get the right beginning. Nobody can tell you how to frame it until they know what the picture looks like.

Best advice? Think about what you want the audience to walk away with when it's all done and work backwards from there.

[Manspider]

"This is the truth I'm about to say..."

[megoscott]

Start with a close up of an eyeball, track back to reveal the jungle.

[Adam West]

I think you need to plot out a basic outline from beginning to end of the story and fill in from there. J.K. Rowling was known to create elaborate background stories to every single minor character in her books.

I usually enjoy stories that grab your attention right away with a pretty major event (not the climax of the story but something that plays an important part to the rest of the story). You can work backwards or forward from there.

[neogelion]

"The night was moist.."

[Gorn Captain]

As I sat there, sipping my beer and smoking my cigarette, she walked in.
Her breasts moved like a gentle breeze over a summer ocean. Her legs went on forever, long slender muscles moving underneath a bronzed skin.
Her eyes locked onto mine, like diamond-bright ice cubes swirling in a glass of the finest amber brandy.
Her lips parted slightly, and the tip of her tongue darted out, moistening them just enough to make them glisten.
Her look said it all: take me here and now, like a tsunami hitting the coast, waves crashing into it, time and time again.

I finished my beer, crushed the cigarette butt, and walked over.
Her eyes widened in anticipation, her cleavage rising faster and faster.

I simply walked by her, heading towards the exit.
No way was I going to miss the next episode of Lost...