This is the first of a series of articles in which we split the short story form into 3 parts: the beginning, the middle and the end. Each is important to get right in order to grab your reader’s attention, keep them entertained and make the whole thing worth their while. No pressure then!

We’re starting in a logical place with arguably the most important sentence of your whole short story: the very first one. Crafting the perfect beginning to a story is an art form in itself and should not be taken lightly...