Okay, so, picture this.

You've got this story in your head. For the purposes of this chapter, the story is about a milk carton that gets stranded on the island of Madagascar after being a menace to the zoo. However, as Milk Carton befriends a bunch of animals on the island, it accidentally kills a mother centipede. Now, it is Milk Carton's responsibility to raise the baby centipedes.

Cool.

So, you've got your idea. You've got your writing equipment. Your house is at the perfect temperature, you've eaten some rose petals, performed a demonic ritual, and you've just licked a volcano. Then, it's time. It's time to write your story.

But how the hell do you start?

I'm going to say that there is no correct way to start a story. Can you imagine if everyone started their story the same way? It could get a bit boring! And while some methods are frowned upon, such as the dream sequence and the 'I woke up' or the ever-so-classic Wattpad 'My alarm clock rang', there really is no incorrect way to start your story.

After all, it is your story. You have your vision.

But... some openings are certainly more gripping than others? Consider:

My alarm clock rang and I got out of bed.

And now consider:

Today is the day I commit arson.

And so, in other words, if you're looking for a way to start your story, this chapter is here to (hopefully) give you some ideas.

In other words, cliché opening lines! However, some clichés are classics, and for some scenarios, this could be what you need. If you're doing a retelling of a Disney folktale, for example, then it's not too weird to do something like "once upon a time". Just make sure the context is right for this.

I'll aim to include an example of each opening! So:

Once upon a time, there was a milk carton named Milk Carton.

The anecdote is, quite simply, a story.

That's probably confusing.

Basically, an anecdote is like telling a short, quick little story. For example, your friend asks you how you're doing, and you tell her that you're super embarrassed. When she says why, you retell the story about how you just kicked a baby tiger. There! You've just told an anecdote! As a story opening, it could look like this:

When Milk Carton had been a young milk carton, she had wanted to fly. Every day, she would practise flapping her little flaps, hovering higher and higher by the day. Then, on one fateful day, she had climbed an ancient and towering tree, and leapt into the skies.

Except, she didn't fly.

She plummeted. Down, down, and down.

From that day and on, crying as she clutched onto a broken arm, she had sworn never to go near a tree again.

Little did she know she was about to be surrounded by them.

Another idea is to start in the brink of the action! It can be a thrilling and gripping way to start your story.

Milk Carton plunged their sword into the goose's diaper.

Sometimes, authors start with a rhetorical question? I don't know why I'm asking questions? Help?

Dear God: did you seriously think it was a good idea to create an insect with over one thousand legs? Seriously?

This one just hits you in the face with the protagonist. Like, it's like when you go on a date, and instead of slowly introducing themselves with a cringey pick-up line, your date is like:

When I was twelve years old, my family abandoned me, and I had no choice but to become a slave to the zoo. Now, I'm on a mission. A mission to raise this baby centipede into a mature, independent centipede.

In other words, my name is Milk Carton. And this is my story.

This is where you instantly set up a mystery. You don't even lead us into it. Just... bang! Here is the issue!

Milk Carton knew Mama Centipede was dead. She had accidentally run her over with her own tractor. She had seen the way the centipede's intestines had poured out onto the streets.

But then how come Mama Centipede was right in front of her, frowning, demanding that Milk Carton gives back her child?

This is when you start your story with some lush, vibrant setting!

The jungle was a place out of time. The warmth swept through the leaves, breathing along the creatures -- red ants marching up the trees, echidnas blanketed in mud, and carps waltzing through the streams of silver.

In the centre of it all was Milk Carton.

This is when you use your setting to put fear in the readers' hearts. Instead of describing just a house, you purposefully find things that are just... not right! For example!

The jungle was a place out of time. The warmth swept through the leaves, breathing along the creatures -- red ants marching up decaying skeletons, echidnas blanketed in fleshy intestines, and carps waltzing through the streams of blood.

In the centre of it all was Milk Carton.

Dialogue! Pretty straight forward!

"Okay, there is nothing weird about a milk carton being the mother of a centipede."

This is when you start with a really quirky statement that is just so random or so bizarre that your reader is drawn in.

There is nothing more beautiful and soul-touching than pulling your pants down in public.

And if you want your quirky thing to be scary:

There is nothing was more beautiful and soul-touching than blood sacrifices.

A fun fact about your protagonist. Like, I don't know, Harry Styles could shoot candles from his eyeballs.

Milk Carton believed that nothing was more beautiful and soul-touching than shooting candles from her eyes.

This one is usually quite frowned upon, because often, it can be done a bit weirdly. It can be used to foreshadow events, or like give us backstory to help us feel invested in the character's backstory. Just do be careful with this -- it can be someone's pet peeve every now and then.

Milk Carton saw birds. So many of them -- flying above the ocean, hissing and honking at one another. Then, as she turned to her side, she saw a golden bear.

"Winnie the Pooh?" she called out.

Winnie smiled solemnly. "You are the chosen one..."

Then, she woke up.

This is where you use the one word sentence to instantly slap the reader in the face!

Serendipity.

Or:

Centipedes.

Which would lead to:

Centipedes.

Centipedes everywhere.

So, basically, instead of starting with someone waking up, going to school, learning about their project for science where they're assigned a smokin' hot burrito babe for their lab partner, you start in the midst of action. You start with him pouring the burning chemicals onto her earlobe and her screaming and the police coming and all that jazz.

A bit hard to execute with Milk Carton, but I will make an attempt.

Scene: Milk Carton wakes up on the island.

How I could start the scene: with Milk Carton waking up on the island.

How I choose to start the scene instead:

She ran like a tempest as the turtles chased behind her.

She hadn't really meant to use their shells as an ice cream cone. They just looked so... clean, and edible, and perfect! How was she supposed to know that they actually belonged to turtles?

"Get back here, scoundrel!" one of them called out.

Just great.

It had only been five minutes since she had woken up on this god forsaken island and already everything had gone to shits.

Avoid the 'too much/many'. For example:

- Too much exposition.

- Too much dialogue.

- Too many perspective switches.

- Too much cliché [unless parody].

- Too much worldbuilding.

While they are all fantastic things to have in your story, your first chapter needs to be well balanced so it never feels like you're being bombarded with too much information Instead, the things you should always have include:

- A clear voice.

- An engaging voice.

- Cohesive sentences.

- Dynamics.

- Originality.

- A strong hook that makes us want to read more.

Some readers will have different things they like, but if you have these above things, you're more likely to capture the attention of many!

That's all from me! Stick around, because next time, we're going to talk about the types of comments across Wattpad. This will be fun! Let me know what types you have in mind!