I Regret Not Knowing These 16 Story Beginnings

Discover the art of captivating story beginnings with 16 unique techniques that will transform your writing. Each technique is designed to add depth, intrigue, and urgency to your narrative, ensuring your story stands out from the start and hooks readers from the very first line.
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00:00 Story Beginnings
00:31 1. Compelling Questions
01:34 2. Dramatic Statements
02:41 3. Unreliable Narrators
03:55 4. Surprising Facts
04:35 5. Dialogue
05:53 6. Mysteries & Puzzles
07:06 7. Action & Inner Monologue
08:14 8. Time Plays
09:21 9. Unusual Settings
10:19 10. Philosophical Statements
11:01 11. Twisting the Mundane
11:55 12. Urgent Deadlines
12:30 13. Unseen Threats
13:23 14. Well-Known Events
14:09 15. Irony or Paradox
14:53 16. Character Obsessions

[@TheTaleTinkerer]

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[@StarlasAiko]

"It is a sad fact that history is written by the victor. How else would a monster like me now be celebrated as hero."

[@TheTaleTinkerer]

Is that from Destiny? :)

[@StarlasAiko]

@@TheTaleTinkerer Nope, I wrote it. Possible that Destiny has something similar? Don't know, never read it.

[@TheTaleTinkerer]

@@StarlasAiko Pretty sure Destiny (the video game) had something similar, yeah, but overall - it is a great one for sure yes, no matter the variation :)

[@nafg115]

THIS IS TRUE GOLD! finally I can start my story.

[@elementeight8]

Excellent content. Thank you so much

[@Dragonmoon8526]

I appreciate the variety. General enough to invoke creativity with each option. But, not restricting to a specific genre.
Could you also do a list of options that turn readers away? For example the dream or vision opening. Obviously this can be done effectively, but for most people it takez away from the climax of the story because key pivotal moment may be given away to early.

[@TheTaleTinkerer]

You mean something like a "Worst Story Openings" video? :)

[@Dragonmoon8526]

@TimeTinkerer Yes, while I see "mistake" videos on your channel. They allude to other things. That may be parallel to this, but not directly about it.😁
Unless I missed something.

[@robertthomas6363]

For those who outline fully, every key detail, they might choose an opening hook before starting to draft. Those who write by seat of the pants probably need to draft heavily in order to discover enough of their story and characters and plot to have the tools necessary to choose the right opening hook. They may even want to complete an entire first draft, and only then write the opening line/paragraph/page as the final task, to be certain it mates with the story's climax. Those who outline the story skeleton first, then pants from one key point to the next, probably need to lean more to drafting before choosing an opening, unless inspiration centers them on it in the early going.
On the technical side (of the video), the "Don't Be Me" visual hook feels off. You can't do that for every video or they look confusing in a list together, when someone is scanning the channel offerings on your channel page. Hosts will also not want to make a viewer think they've seen a video before when they have not. The pithy line is necessary, but this one says nothing about the video topic, and again, picking up interested viewers along the way, many (or I, at least) will scan the past offerings for hosts with impactful videos, rather than wait for the algorithm to feed it to me. (Maybe check the offering list of videos on some of your favorite channels, and see what an effective way to set that up could look like.)
One channel that I follow, Bellular Gaming, had a history of clickbait headlines and visuals to lure in viewers. He apologized for it, but noted that viewership dropped when he did not do it, because there are a high number of impulsive viewers who must be grabbed (even with hyperbole) or they skip to something else. It just doesn't pay to be principled about it, because you have to play the game the platform has set up, or you lose. I think at this point that many veterans of video platforms (TH-cam and alternatives) understand the game. We may all be as stuck with it this way as we are with the QWERTY keyboard, which was intentionally designed to slow down typing to reduce jamming of keys on manual typewriters in the 1800s. So play the game, and win, but maybe toy around with it and realize there is a down side, there is a level that is too much. Study success, ferret out your best option, then cement it into place and stay consistent.
Hope this helps you avoid having to make a second version of this video: "I regret not knowing these visual hooks for producing videos."

[@TheTaleTinkerer]

I appreciate the feedback and did check my latest videos (the last 12 for example) and the majority did not follow a similar pattern as this one when it comes to the packaging, so I don't feel their is an overuse on my end.
I certainly agree that clickbaiting is a rather annoying practic but from my POV, the title of this video clearly states it is about 16 different story openings I wish I'd known sooner. Nontheless, even one instance of someone interpreting things like you is obviously important to be aware of, so - again - I appreciate the feedback and will certainly keep it in mind for future packaging :)