Opening Sentence question

A neat newspaper mystery for teens!

Question: How can  I find just the right opening sentence so I can write my book. When I worked for the newspaper, they told me, "Once you find your lead, the whole piece will write itself." And it did. But fiction doesn't work that way. How can I find just the right opening hook. Help!

Answer:  You are so right! The difference is because you have already experienced the whole news event before you begin to report it in the article. You know everything that happened, can pick the most important information, and write something clever about it for your lead. That is not always the case with fiction.

Since you write mysteries, I'll remind you that it's good advice to, "Drop the body on the first page." But just start right in on the book, write in scenes and show what happens. Let the story flow. Don't go back. Don't quit! Don't rewrite!  KEEP ON, keeping on, until the whole book is finished. THEN you can revise if needed, shuffle the scenes around so they  do come in the right order, and that's when you go back and write that all-important first sentence!

Hope this helps.