A short story is like a chess game: The opening is a huge part of whether you win or lose. The first sentence of a short story doesn't just "hook" readers, it also sets the tone and launches the plot.
1. Scene-setting
This is possibly the most common type of short story opening. The action doesn't really begin in the opening paragraph, instead we join the characters in a pause before the action, and this allows us to get to know the characters and the setting first.
Example: "Very early morning. The sun was not yet risen, and the whole of Crescent Bay was hidden under a white sea-mist. The big bush-covered hills at the back were smothered." —Katherine Mansfield "At the Bay"
2. The conflict establisher
There's absolutely nothing wrong with an opening sentence that shows the exact moment when your characters knew they were in trouble.
Examples: "I slammed the door in the child's face, a horrific scream trapped in my throat." — Nnedi Okorafor, "On the Road"
"When Denis died, he found himself in another place. Dead people came at him with party hats and presents." — Rachel Swirsky, "Fields of Gold"
3. The mystifier
At first, it doesn't entirely make sense, because it refers to stuff we don't know about yet. Or it throws us into a situation without giving us all the pieces right away.
Example: "Before she became the Girl from Nowhere – the One Who Walked IN, the First and Last and Only, who lived a thousand years – she was a little girl in Iowa, named Amy. Amy Harper Bellafonte. – Justin Cronin, The Passage.
4. The Third Person Narrator Speaks to You
If your story has an especially chatty third-person narrator, you can start off by having the narrator explain something directly to the reader, often in the second person.
Example: "Being assigned to The Head for eight hours was the worst security shift you could pull at the museum." — Elizabeth Hand, "The Maiden Flight of McCauley's Bellerophon"
5. The First Person Narrator Speaks
This is sort of similar to the previous one, except that instead of the third person narrator explaining, it's the first-person narrator saying something reflective. The first-person narrator muses about some ideas, or about his/her feelings.
Example: "I remember the future. The future was glorious once. It was filled with sleek silver spaceships, lunar colonies, and galactic empires. The horizon seemed within reach; we could almost grasp the stars if we would but try." — Michael A. Burstein, "I Remember the Future"
6. A dialogue
1. Scene-setting
This is possibly the most common type of short story opening. The action doesn't really begin in the opening paragraph, instead we join the characters in a pause before the action, and this allows us to get to know the characters and the setting first.
Example: "Very early morning. The sun was not yet risen, and the whole of Crescent Bay was hidden under a white sea-mist. The big bush-covered hills at the back were smothered." —Katherine Mansfield "At the Bay"
2. The conflict establisher
There's absolutely nothing wrong with an opening sentence that shows the exact moment when your characters knew they were in trouble.
Examples: "I slammed the door in the child's face, a horrific scream trapped in my throat." — Nnedi Okorafor, "On the Road"
"When Denis died, he found himself in another place. Dead people came at him with party hats and presents." — Rachel Swirsky, "Fields of Gold"
3. The mystifier
At first, it doesn't entirely make sense, because it refers to stuff we don't know about yet. Or it throws us into a situation without giving us all the pieces right away.
Example: "Before she became the Girl from Nowhere – the One Who Walked IN, the First and Last and Only, who lived a thousand years – she was a little girl in Iowa, named Amy. Amy Harper Bellafonte. – Justin Cronin, The Passage.
4. The Third Person Narrator Speaks to You
If your story has an especially chatty third-person narrator, you can start off by having the narrator explain something directly to the reader, often in the second person.
Example: "Being assigned to The Head for eight hours was the worst security shift you could pull at the museum." — Elizabeth Hand, "The Maiden Flight of McCauley's Bellerophon"
5. The First Person Narrator Speaks
This is sort of similar to the previous one, except that instead of the third person narrator explaining, it's the first-person narrator saying something reflective. The first-person narrator muses about some ideas, or about his/her feelings.
Example: "I remember the future. The future was glorious once. It was filled with sleek silver spaceships, lunar colonies, and galactic empires. The horizon seemed within reach; we could almost grasp the stars if we would but try." — Michael A. Burstein, "I Remember the Future"
6. A dialogue
This makes your story very lively.
Example: ‘You will not find your father greatly changed,’ remarked Lady Moping, as the car turned into the gates of the County Asylum.
‘Will he be wearing a uniform?’ asked Angela.
‘No, dear, of course not. He is receiving the very best attention.’ Evelyne Wought, "My Loveday’s Little Outing"
7. A description of one character You might want to focus on one of the characters if your story is centred around him or her.
Example: "In her blue dress, whith her cheeks lightly flushed, her blue, blue eyes, and her gold curls pinnued up as though for the first time (…) Mrs Raddicks’s daughter might have just dropped from this radiant heaven." – Katherine Mansfield, "the Young Girl".
8. The diary
One popular format for a story is a diary or journal format, in which the story is told through the point of view of one character writing his thoughts and describing events in his diary. A diary story should be told in first person and requires careful planning, as diaries can be too descriptive and lacking in action, which does not make for an effective story.
Example: Friday January 2nd
I felt rotten today. It’s my mother’s fault for singing ‘My Way’ at two o’clock in the morning at the top of the stairs. Just my luck to have a mother like her. There is a chance my parents could be alcoholics. Next year I could be in a children’s home.
‘Will he be wearing a uniform?’ asked Angela.
‘No, dear, of course not. He is receiving the very best attention.’ Evelyne Wought, "My Loveday’s Little Outing"
7. A description of one character You might want to focus on one of the characters if your story is centred around him or her.
Example: "In her blue dress, whith her cheeks lightly flushed, her blue, blue eyes, and her gold curls pinnued up as though for the first time (…) Mrs Raddicks’s daughter might have just dropped from this radiant heaven." – Katherine Mansfield, "the Young Girl".
8. The diary
One popular format for a story is a diary or journal format, in which the story is told through the point of view of one character writing his thoughts and describing events in his diary. A diary story should be told in first person and requires careful planning, as diaries can be too descriptive and lacking in action, which does not make for an effective story.
Example: Friday January 2nd
I felt rotten today. It’s my mother’s fault for singing ‘My Way’ at two o’clock in the morning at the top of the stairs. Just my luck to have a mother like her. There is a chance my parents could be alcoholics. Next year I could be in a children’s home.
–– Sue Townsend, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13 ¾
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