Start the same story twice and find out what an opening does

An opening line really doesn’t have to be brilliant, but it does have to set something in motion. A lot of stories start with information writers think the reader needs: how old the main character is, where they live, and why today will be different from yesterday. By the time something happens, the reader has been waiting for ages.

The usual advice then is: start in the middle of the action (in medias res). But that can create a new problem. If your reader has no idea who wants what, people running and doors slamming are mostly just noise. Curiosity doesn’t come from hiding everything; it comes when the reader understands enough to want to know what happens next.

Example: A woman stands in front of a closed door holding a wet envelope. That image could be the opening of a story. But if the text doesn’t make the reader feel why that door matters, the reader has no reason to keep reading. A striking image and an opening that works are not the same thing.

In the writing exercise below, you write two openings for the same story idea. You keep the main character and the central event the same, but choose a different moment to start the story. That way you explore how that starting point determines what information the reader gets and how quickly the story gets going.

Read the assignment first. Then paste your two versions together into the widget at the bottom of this page. ViaScripta looks at the four criteria. You don’t need an account.

Intermediate exercise: Two ways into the same story

Start from this situation: someone goes to meet another person to return something, but discovers that the other person isn’t alone. Now write two different openings of about 150 words each. In Version A, you start just before the moment of discovery; in Version B, you start right after it. Both versions follow the same main character and stay with the same event. In both openings, show what’s at stake without telling the full backstory. Avoid opening lines that directly promise the reader a mystery, such as “Only later would it become clear how important that day was.” Put the labels “Version A” and “Version B” above your texts.

• Length: 2 × about 150 words
• Time: 1 hour

Learning Objective

Practice choosing an effective entry point, so that the reader quickly understands what’s happening and at the same time becomes curious about the consequences.

Criteria

• Entry Point: both openings put the reader straight into an event that means something to the main character.
• Grounding: the reader can follow who is there, what’s happening, and why it matters.
• Measured Release: the text gives enough of the essential information without explaining the backstory.
• Difference: the two entry points create noticeably different reading experiences, even though it’s still the same story.

Write out both openings, put the labels above them, and paste them one after the other into the widget. About one hundred fifty words per version; the same story, two entry points.

ViaScripta assesses whether the reader has something to hold on to and wants to keep reading, without rewriting either of your versions for you. You don’t need an account.

Also check out the other writing exercises on ViaScripta.