Beginnings tend to be the most difficult part of a story to get right, at least for many writers. There is so much Act I needs to accomplish–the hook, the introductions, the turns.

And if your opening doesn’t interest readers, they won’t stick around for the “good stuff.”

Well, recently I was looking for an Act I checklist . . . and I didn’t really find what I wanted, so . . . I decided to make my own (and share it with you, of course).

For most stories, the beginning–or rather, specifically, Act I–makes up the first quarter of the narrative arc. Let’s go through what it should contain.

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