In The Beginning: Begin, and then Begin Again.

by Laura Anne Gilman

Every story opens in its own way, with the slow lead-in or the sudden drop into action, the burst of dialogue or a detailed description of the setting. But when I write that first line, the very first time I open a file, and type “chapter one?” I always (okay, 98% of the time) start with dialogue.

“Hi. Bet you didn’t expect to see me here, did you?”

My POV character takes the stage, holds forth on it, owns it as much as they can, forcing the other characters, the action, to...