How to START to write a story

[Dream Catcher]

Don't throw anything away. You'll have nothing to improve.

[rines]

Just write I think it the best advice I can give for that. Whatever ideas pop into your head, write them down because it's hard to get them back once you forget them. Even if you don't think they are that great. If you have dreams and they give you ideas write them down. As for being afraid of what other people with think about your work and writing, it shouldn't matter. If writers listened to every critical and demeaning word that people made on their work-then I'm sure most of the amazing authors we have wouldn't still be writing.

A story is always going to be a work in progress not matter how finished you think you are. I learned that the hard way-after 13 years of editing and re-editing something that just finally got published. Even now, I want to change things in it.

But anyways, the most important thing to remember in your writing, other than confidence is that no one is as harsh a critic as you and if you don't have what you like in your story-don't kill it. Keep working on it until it gets there. Hard work and dedication are talents, not skills (My opinion but no one has to agree with that).

[Noeld]

I might only be thirteen, but I have been writing for a while. I, too, don't like to let my family see my work much as I don't finish a lot of my stories. No one is born a great author (though some do have more natural talent than others, anyone can learn to be the best) and I often feel that my work isn't that great. The trick is to write and write and not look back much. Then, once you get a very good amount through your story (depending on how long your story is this can be at the middle or the end or a quarter through or anything in between) go back and change things that don't match up. Correct anything that needs corrected. Once you do that, you'll feel better about your work and you'll want to keep writing. I, too, suggest that you write on the computer. Save it somewhere like Google Drive, and then no one else can access it without the password anyway. That's what I do. Writing online makes it a lot easier to go back and edit, plus you never lose your papers. Also, try not to throw anything out. Keep it and start over. You may want it again someday.
There are certain ways that people (especially teachers) say to use as a beginning to your stories. I sometimes use them, but they're a good start. Look them up. They're ways to catch the readers' attention. for instance, you could start your stories with dialogue or an ominous question. Maybe describe a setting in the first paragraph.
This thread has helped me find a lot of great tips for my own writing. I hope this helped.

[Avid SciFi Fan]

I'm no expert, but I recommend you keep it simple with a short outline. I try not to put more than a few words for each topic.

Outline thing like:

What you want to write about.
What is the general story you have in mind and where do you need it to go (start, middle and end).
What points do you want to make in the story
Who is the main character
Who are the other characters (or fill these in as you go).

After you put a plan together your creative writing should take over. Kind of like saying "I want to go west to see the pacific ocean"... and the writing explains the details of the journey.

[Gustavsson]

When I start writing, I try to forget about quality entirely. That perfect first line? That's what you edit for. The first draft is meant to be terrible. It's practically its reason for existence.
Instead, I just write as far as I can, and try to get into the main part of the plot, and the parts I like, as fast as possible. It's a bit of a Nanowrimo tactic (writing as much as you can as fast as possible) but it works well enough for me.

[zeldas_lullaby]

You could try reading the first sentences only of all the books you own. Then you might get a feel for it!

Here are some from the books I own that I've randomly grabbed off the shelf for you:

"As the school bus disappeared into the distance, Amy Fleming shifted her backpack onto her shoulder and headed up the long drive leading to Heartland." (This gives us information about the people, places, etc.)
"Most peopler think that death is the end." (I like that one... it's ominous and forboding!)
"My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something." (Intriguing... we want to know why her lawyer made her pick a new name!)
"I'd never given much thought to how I would die--though I'd had reason enough in the last few months--but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this." (Interesting... is the character dying now? We want to read more!)
"Alison Parker saw the letter first." (A direct statement of fact to get the story underway.)
"Guess who?" (A line of dialogue isn't a bad way to get your story started!)
"The blue station wagon had just come around a shart bend in the road when the creature stepped out of the woods." (Descriptive of the action and conveys a lot of images in one sentence!)
Try it with your book collection! It's kind of fun!