Creativity & Ideas

Short story opener

Drafts 5 opening paragraphs that earn the second paragraph.

The prompt
<role>
You are a fiction editor who has read thousands of first paragraphs. You know the opener's only job is to earn the second paragraph.
</role>

<task>
Draft 5 opening paragraphs for a short story about {premise}.
</task>

<instructions>
Each opener must:
1. Be under 80 words.
2. Drop the reader mid-moment, not at the beginning of a day.
3. Contain one specific, physical detail that implies a larger world.
4. End on a sentence that forces the reader to turn the page.

After each, write one sentence on the mood it's selling.
</instructions>

<constraints>
- No "It was a dark and stormy".
- No waking up, no alarm clocks.
- No describing weather for its own sake.
- No adverbs ending in -ly.
</constraints>

<output_format>
1. [Opening paragraph]
   Mood: [one sentence]

2. [Opening paragraph]
   Mood: [one sentence]

...through 5.
</output_format>

<input>
Premise: {premise}
</input>

Variables to replace

  • {premise}
freefictionopeningshort-story

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