: Re: Is starting a story with dialogue bad? (Apologies if this question has already been asked. I've looked around but can't find this specific question, only related ones.) The general advice seems

@Sims2267584

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It's fine to start a story with dialogue; a lot of books do this. Using dialogue at the start could help you build a sense of mystery, or suspense, as you have been thrown straight into an ongoing scene. Starting a story with dialogue isn't bad, but some might say its overused.

Be sure not to throw the reader into a maelstrom of dialogue right away though. Sometimes, if you throw it all at them too fast, with lines upon lines of dialogue, they will feel like they've been put into a fast whirlwind which they can't escape from (when people say 'don't start with dialogue' they probably mean this). Make it clear what the setting is, and who the protagonist is, and what is going on before spamming dialogue.

Personally, I enjoyed your description and thought it was fine. If your story benefits from starting with dialogue, just start it that way. Weaving it into the opening scene is something you should definitely do, as it helps avoid the dialogue maelstrom.

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