Should Your Story Start With An Action Scene? Pros and Cons!

A great debate in all storytelling is where should your story start? 

There is no “right” way because every story is different and has different needs.

But one of the most popular solutions is to start your story with an action scene! 

So let’s discuss the different types of action, the pros, and the cons.

When I say action, the first thing that probably comes to your mind is a fight scene. Whether that be sword fighting, an epic gun battle, or a war. And you’d be right!

But when talking about “action” in writing craft terms, this isn’t the only option.

Action can be more broadly looked at as anything outside of narrative prose (like description, internal voice, etc…). So your action could also be individual action—so maybe the main character is sneaking through the city—or interaction, so conversations and dialogue—maybe two characters are having a conversation. Or maybe they’re having a conversation while sneaking through the city!

There’s so many different ways to mix and match.

So what are the benefits to starting your story this way? Why do so many choose to do so?

First and foremost, it is eye-catching. So many authors worry about grabbing the readers’ attention and getting them into the story. Starting your story with someone getting stabbed, running from a bad guy, or blackmailing someone? Definitely going to get that attention and bring up questions to keep the reader invested.

Second, it sets you up for a fast-paced chapter. A big issue with many beginnings, especially if you are writing science fiction or fantasy, is that they can feel very slow. You have a lot to show the reader, to introduce them to, since you are not only describing new characters, but also explaining whole new worlds, politics, and magic systems. It can be a lot, especially first thing, so starting off with action can help the reader dive in before getting to the nitty-gritty details.

Third, it can be a great way to show things about your character, versus telling them. You can see their thoughts, feelings, and interactions first-hand to learn how they feel about their situation, other characters, or just hear their voice, versus telling the reader about them. Especially though dialogue, this is a great way to show descriptions and add in world building, even amidst an action scene.

So many great reasons to start with action – why would you do anything else?! Well, there are some cons as well. 

Throwing a reader in mid-action can be eye-catching, but it can also be overwhelming. The reader is not only trying to learn the who/what/where of the story, but then also trying to track all of the action, interaction, and possibly underlying insinuation or tone of the scene. Depending on the complexity of the story, this can cause more issues than it solves if it gets too complicated for readers to follow.

Tying to that, it can also be confusing. Readers need a solid, and relatively quick, understanding of who the main character is, where we are (so the setting), and a general idea of the feel of the story(urban, paranormal, romance, etc…). If you are too focused on the action or the action doesn’t naturally lend itself to showing these details, especially if the story is told in first person point of view, it can be hard to show this without just telling, while still balancing the action. Which can then make the scene feel clunky, even during a great fight scene.

And finally, starting with an action scene can make it tempting to skip the introduction of the story all together. Plotting-wise, you have the introduction part of your story which then leads to the inciting incident—the beat or point that starts off the main plot. So for a romance, the inciting incident could be the two lovers meeting, or arguing for the first time. For a fantasy or sci fi story, it could be heading off on a journey, or being discovered as the chosen one. When authors start with action, many times, the temptation is to jump in with the inciting incident. Which makes sense at first—it is probably a powerful action scene that immediately dives into the great hook of your story. But in doing so, you miss a lot of the basic building blocks of the story that the reader needs to really be able to dive in and relate to the characters and learn the world before heading out on the journey.

So should you start your story with action? It is up to you! There are some great reasons for and against it, and it really just depends on the needs of your story and your preferences as the author (as well as the expectations of the market if you choose to consider that).

How did you start your most recent story? What ended up being the first scene in your final draft? Let me know in the comments!

If you have publishing or writing questions, I’d love to hear from you, and until next time, keep writing!