Requested by: Chisom___

We went over cliche openings, now let's talk about some non-cliche ones that will hook your reader immediately.

1) Start out in the middle of the fight scene. Starting with action is an easy way to draw the reader in, and it's a chance to explain the main conflict right off the bat without having to worry about the reader getting bored.

2) Start out with someone dying. Morbid I know, but whether it's the MC or it's a supporting character it'll interest the reader. Death will always be a jarring thing, real or fictional. They'll want to know why, how, when, where, etc. And to learn that, they'll have to keep reading.

3) Start out with a breakup. No I don't mean the classic "I'm sad, my boyfriend of ten years cheated on me, but look, there's the new kid at school, he's hot" I mean, start in the middle of the argument, in the heat of the moment. Gets us angry at the person the MC is breaking up with, send us straight into their emotions.

4) Start out with the main romance getting together. If your book is more action or quest based, and you don't want to have to plan around mutual pining for thirty plus chapters, start it out with the main characters getting together. Whether this is a date, wedding, engagement, etc. 

5) Start out with the end. Make the book go backwards, use flashbacks and explanations. Use the reader's knowledge of the ending to your advantage. Add in irony and jokes the MC doesn't understand but the reader does.

6) While this is something I learned while writing essays for english, I think it can still be applied. Start off with an interesting quote or statistic. It's really easy to do and draws the reader in because they're learning while enjoying some lovely fanfiction.

7) Mysterious/Creepy. Starting out with something really creepy like a murder or blood or a dark sky is really mysterious, and because humans are naturally curious they'll be inclined to read more.