The art of the first sentence

Readers decide in seconds. The first sentence is a promise — of tone, of tension, of a reason to keep going.

Start in motion

Drop us into a moment already happening. Momentum beats throat-clearing every time.

Make one clear promise

Tell the reader, implicitly, what they’ll get by staying. Curiosity is a contract.

Trust the small detail

A single specific image outperforms a paragraph of summary. Specificity is intimacy.

Write ten first sentences. Keep the one that scares you a little. Then build the rest of the story to earn it.