Once Upon a Time

I hate beginnings.

Mostly because I suck at them.

You guys think ending something's difficult? How do you even start? Do you begin in the middle and backtrack, like I did in Oops? Do you start with a flashback, before the protagonist is even old enough to understand what is happening, like I wrote in The Lucky One? Or do you just jump in, like so in Death and Other Things I Fail At?

Admittedly, I've never really had an issue with something like how to kick off a story until I joined this contest that asked me for the first 100 words of my book. I seriously obsessed and edited and rewrote every sentence to make it all fit, and even then I wasn't satisfied. How do you make a good first impression in only the first 100 words of a novel? So sue me, but I hate word limits. It adds extra pressure, and I like to take my time with my hooks.

Speaking of, I love writing lead-ins and hooks when it comes to persuasive and expository essays (like in school), but it's a whole 'note ballpark with narrative writing. It's hard to be creative when there are catagories you can choose from to make the beginning more interesting. Start with a bang, or come in slow, mysterious? The possibilities are endless, really, so how do you know when to choose?

I don't have a preference. Depending on the genre I'm writing in, I'll go all over the place with my lead-ins. What about you guys? How do you usually kick off your novels?