Story Beginnings

     I just finished reading A Temporary Matter and though I am not a huge fan of the story a can appreciate the irony of the title and the opening paragraph. My interpretation of the title does not only apply to that the "temporary matter" of the electricity being out for an hour each day, but to the confessions they share during this time, the happiness of Shoba's pregnancy, their happiness as a couple and their marriage as a whole. I thought that the ending was a bit ambiguous as it is not entirely clear what the implications of their crying at the table means. Perhaps now they will try to rebuild their relationship based on the knowledge they now know? If so I suppose that would indicate yet another "temporary matter". Anyway, with this being said, let's talk about story beginnings.
     After Googling "different types of story beginnings" the first result that comes up is The 7 Types of Short Story Opening, and How to Decide Which is Right for Your Story. This seems to come from a Sci-Fi website, but I think it can be applicable to any type of fiction writing (plus the pictures of old Sci-Fi magazines are awesome). Going by the different types on this page I would say that I like using "The Quotation" a lot, and you will see that in my first story. I am a fan of opening the story in the middle of something, throwing the reader right into the action. However, writing this way can be difficult because you have to make sure that you can keep it interesting until you can illustrate exactly what is going on. I am not one to start out with a setting. That is not to say that I think that it is the wrong way to start a story, just that it can get boring and lose the reader's attention and I haven't found the right way to pull it off yet.
     Coincidentally, in my Sci-Fi and Fantasy Literature class, we are reading a book that has a really great opening. Old Man's War by John Scalzi opens like this,
"I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the army."
As a class we all agreed that this was a pretty sweet opening. It's a real "What the *@$#!" moment where you want to know what the hell is going on, and what the book is about. Anyhoo, I think that's all I have to say for story beginnings.