It is good to be blog-writing again, readers. March is upon us, bringing with it spring and revival from winter. Some cultures (like the Romans) had their calendar begin in March for this reason, and the vernal equinox is also New Year’s Day in the world of my recently published novel, The Cases of Inspector Marshall, Vol. I.

The month symbolizes rebirth; with my book finally available and my getting back to blog-writing, plenty of beginnings have happened. So, the theme I am using for March’s posts revolve around beginnings in literature.

This week will focus on starting short stories.

There are general rules for an effective opening that apply to all sizes of literature – scene, chapter, story, novel – and methods that adapt to each of these categories. In most cases, the start should answer the journalistic questions of what, who, where, when, how, and why – but not all of them.

The reason is to catch the attention of the readers, and give them a reason to keep going. If a story begins with a murder, that answers the ‘what’; giving a victim answers some of the ‘who’ (pauses – “Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball…”); and details like ‘where’ and ‘when’ paint a picture that grounds the audience. A murder immediately establishes the stakes as well, and creates investment in what has occurred.

Meanwhile, delaying the answer on ‘why’ it was done and ‘who’ did it makes the reader want to learn these facts. With the conflict demonstrated, people want to see it play out and for the characters to resolve it.

A short story benefits having this initial spark earlier than other mediums, due to its length. A five-act play like Shakespeare’s Macbeth can wait some time before the conflict-driving murder happens, though a short story has less wiggle room. Not to say that every story should dive right into the problem either, as it oftentimes is better to introduce some of the characters and what they are doing. This makes them more relatable to the audience, so that when you do drop the main conflict, people are more invested in it.

Like introducing a kindly old woodcarver, selling his handmade wares on the curb; learning about how he has almost made enough money to take his grandkids to Disneyland; he snorts when he laughs; he keeps a photo of his wife in his pocket-watch, and as he starts telling you about how great her cookies are…

…a truck speeds by, and a masked man in the back clubs the woodcarver in the head with a baseball bat.

Smaller-stakes narratives benefit from the same principle. For instance, if a story is about a wedding gone wrong, it helps to establish who is getting hitched and some details about the big day – just to find out that the rings have been lost, or that the bride or groom used to sleep with one of the bridesmaids.

For my own stories, I have found that an effective way to start is to describe the setting, then introduce characters with the conflict afterwards. The order of this changes to add variety and to adapt to the particular story.

And that boils down the idea to its core: a skilled writer does not memorize one formula and haphazardly apply it to every story, rather understands what the narrative needs, and has the insight on bringing it out with the proper timing.

If you are writing a short story, here are some questions to ask yourself if you are stuck on the opening:

What is the goal of the story, and what has happened before its events? Where does it start, and which features of the location can lead into the conflict? Who does the story focus on, and how do they tie into what occurs? Are there any themes or central premises that the story is meant to explore, and how should the beginning demonstrate them? Why is the story happening, and what are some ways to keep the audience interested and guessing? What impression do you want the reader to have in the first few pages?

Starting something is often the part that requires the most willpower. I struggled for a week to write the opening for “The Drowned Tomb,” and once that was done, I wrote twenty-plus pages in three days. I deleted the first seven pages of “Inspector Marshall Versus the Headless Horseman” because I did not like how it went, and knew that I needed to start over.

Understand your story and what you want it to accomplish, to give an idea on how you want it to begin; then proofread it to bits to make sure you are satisfied with it. That is one way to write well in general, and is especially applicable to kicking off what you want your short story to be.

What are some of your favorite opening scenes? What is it about certain works that immediately grip your attention?

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