Or you were so excited you just had to tell me some crucial information in the first few lines. Or your brain found some other way of warming up. Your first paragraph is probably about the weather, anyway. It’s amazing how many stories are instantly improved by simply covering up the first paragraph. But even if you think your story is about the weather, it’s really about the people, isn’t it? People in conflict with their environment. (The only possible reason to start with the weather is if your story is ABOUT the weather – perhaps it’s a disaster story about a big storm, or a survival story where extreme conditions threaten an expedition. People and conflict will drive your story forward, will be the essence of everything you write.

That’s all the reader (your judge) cares about. Those two things are the essence of any story. Start with one of two things, and preferably both: People and conflict. I don’t even pay attention to weather reports in my real life, let alone take an interest in what’s happening in the sky above fictional characters I haven’t met yet. It was a bright, sunny day… It was a dark and stormy night… It was rather chilly with a brisk easterly and a 50% chance of precipitation… It’s an easy way to start, isn’t it? A lovely warm-up for the mind and typing fingers to ease yourself into the story, like spewing out “once upon a time” yet again. (Oh, and the most important one is number 6…) 1. But if you follow these tips, you’ll give yourself the best chance of finding a spark of something special. Standing out will still be hard, because it takes a little extra time and extra thought to create something original. Each one is an understandable mistake, and most of them don’t come up in English lessons at school. Here are the tips I find myself screaming into my hands as I read those entries.

Assassin? by Joe Craig