Where to begin....

You've got a story bouncing around in your head, and you just have to put the pen to paper to get it out. But once you sit down to do so, it can be hard to get started. After all, many readers judge a book by its first few lines. The three main ways to start things off are:

• Dialogue
• Action
• Statement

When crafting those first few lines you want to have a goal in mind. Some good goals to choose from are:

• Pique curiosity
• Create an emotional connection
• Entertain with humor
• Shock the reader

Ways to meet this goal may include:

• Setting the mood
• Introducing a character, thoughts/feelings, an action, or setting.

Some DON'Ts to keep in mind:

• do not start with onomatopoeia.
• do not start with a character's physical description
• do not start with something shocking that has no purpose to the story

The most important thing to remember when starting those crucial first lines is that you can always re-write them! Get something down, make some progress on the story, then go back and review these tips to see if improvements can be made.