━━━━ i see the question get asked a lot: how do you start a warrior cats book? there's lots of ways in which you can start:

━━ a battle scene ,
━━ world introduction ,
━━ character speech ,
━━ character introduction ,
━━ training sessions ,
━━ a patrol ,
━━ a dream ,
━━ a question ,
━━ a prophecy ,
━━ an omen ,

the first lines of any story must grab the attention of whoever is trying to read your book. you must entice them to continue and pass the first page. the start allows you to introduce your characters, as well as showcase your style of writing. it should assure that something is going to happen, and your character will be an interesting one to follow.

what to consider while writing the opening part:

━━ who is telling the story?
━━ who's the main character?
━━ who's actions are readers following?
━━ who or what is the antagonist?
━━ where is the book set?
━━ when is the book set?
━━ what's the problem?

a checklist of ways to hook readers:

━━ a question ,
━━ an ominous beginning ,
━━ mysterious opening ,
━━ interesting character(s) ,
━━ what the character wants / needs ,
━━ a strong setting ,
━━ clear tone and mood ,
━━ problems ,
                                                                                                    

━━━━ starting a chapter can cause a few hiccups along the way. over—exposing a reader to the world of character(s) can be a major downfall. when you know the world and characters so well, it's tempting to spew everything out about them, let everyone in on what there is to know about them — but it's not needed.

common pitfalls of stories:

━ introducing too many characters and plot points at the beginning: it will cause reads to struggle to take in everything. this can make the story confusing and very difficult to follow, leading to disengagement.

━ lack of suspenses: when you reveal too much too soon, you remove the mystery and suspense that make stories compelling. a good story often teases information gradually, allowing readers to piece together the plot as they go. this slow reveal keeps them hooked and eager to learn more.

   ━ diminished character development: characters need room to grow and evolve. if you introduce them all at once, there's no space for a reader to form any connections with them. readers need time to get to know each character, understand their motivations, and becoming invested in them.

━ weak plot progression: a plot that is fully laid out from start to finish can feel stagnant. the story should build momentum as it progresses, with some twists and turns to keep readers on their toes. if everything is presented upfront, there's little room for the story to then develop.

pacing is critical in storytelling. it involves controlling the speed at which your story unfolds, and balancing moments of tension with periods of calm. in a warrior cats story, this might mean starting with a small event that is intriguing — such as am omen or a border skirmish — before gradually expanding into larger clan conflicts or personal character arcs.

begin your story with a focus on a few key characters or a single event. this allows you to:

━ build relationships: you can focus on how all of the characters interact. early scenes can help step it all in stone, from friendships, to rivalries. these will all pay off later in the story.

━ set the tone: use the beginning to set the mood of your story. is it going to be a dark tragedy? or a some exciting adventure? or a character—driven drama? the ton will guide how readers perceive events.

━ foreshadowing: hint at larger things to come. for example, a character may notice something unusual in their territory, or there could be a strange prophecy that is delivered by a medicine cat. these small hints will build anticipation.