Show the protagonist in focus. The protagonist is on screen and in focus. Scenery is nice but     dull. Don't get bent out of shape... We know you can write beautiful, eloquent descriptions of     your lovely world. Do yourself a favor -- show us later. At the beginning, simple is good.
Your focus should be on the character's emotional and physical details and getting us into that     person's head. If you stop the story to give the reader a guided tour, you may lose them.

Establish the protagonist in context. The focus is on the protagonist. Now, provide         opportunities to establish the characters in their primary social context. Are they outsiders? Insiders? Outcasts? Are they at odds with the world or in sync with it? This ties closely to the scene conflict (rule 3 below). It also bears on item 6 (the rules of the world). Context is just like that sentence: It shows how things relate and mesh with one another. Simply put, show whether your protagonist is a round, square, or hexagonal peg -- and the hole into which life is trying to fit him or her.

Offer a scene that reflects the overall book or story conflict. The scene should mirror the overall conflict of the novel in some way. For instance, if the book is about the protagonist getting back a kidnapped child, then a good way to start might be with the character seeing a child being taken from their parents, or two parents battling over custody of the child. There is even the blunt and obvious approach: the scene where the child gets kidnapped. Your first scene sets the tone for the rest of the book.

Portray an evocative situation. Show the protagonist in a vivid uncluttered scene, preferably doing something that is signature to that character. If he or she is awesome with a sword, but hates swordplay for some reason, that 'tag' is important to reveal.

Establish that the protagonist has something significant at stake. Conflict must be present in your start. It doesn't matter if it's a combative card game, or a family spat over what's for dinner. Make sure something that the protagonist feels an attachment to and cares for is on the line. Blood does not have to fly. People do not have to die. Heads don't need to roll. In fact, in trying to start with a bang, some people get lost in elaborate action scenes that fail miserably! Why? The characters are unfamiliar. We don't care about them yet. Action does nothing for the reader with no time invested in your protagonists.

How the main characters are motivated to deal with the conflict and the establishment of a personal stake is essential to driving your story forward. These details will provide important characterization. If the character is a nature type, and the theme is man against nature, then make the conflict deal with that issue in some way. If the protagonist has a screaming peeve about the animal abuse -- work it in. It needn't be as obvious as the character witnessing the abuse. Use indirection such as depicting an incident where the character hears about it, throws back his or her chair, demands to know where the atrocity is taking place, then storms off to confront the evildoers.

In choosing a scene of conflict, we single out that person's passion and show them grappling with it. Our demons reveal telling contrasts in our values and character. When gripped by powerful emotions, we sublimate our learned social behavior and act as our basic nature dictates. During these moments, potential is uncovered, hidden beauty can be revealed, or ugliness unmasked. Unveiling these aspects of the protagonist exposes flaws that make them more believable people, it also provides depth and shows that person's potential for change.

Show the rules of the world at work. Simply because your novel will be sitting on the fantasy rack doesn't mean you can break rules on a whim. Yes, fantasy readers will suspend disbelief to an extent. However, a wise writer will start with the most plausible fantastic elements first.

Your best tools for getting a reader to buy into your fantasy are symmetries: something sacrificed for something gained, action versus reaction, cause and effect. If fantastic elements play a key role in the plot, whether derived from magic, fanciful creatures, or simply some skewed aspect of the world, then some hint or demonstration of the governing rules should play a role in the opening.

If the protagonist is in some way more confined by or less bound to those rules (or even an extension of them), you need to show or give evidence of this special relationship to the reader. Take special note of the word show. Do not explain. Later, we can find out what it meant. If the reader wonders what it was all about, that's fine as long as you hinted at the answer.

Introduce of the story question (needs and desires). Every protagonist worth his or her salt will have a question. This question may have nothing to do with the plot, but it does reflect their personal needs and motivations. Example questions: "Why me?", "Will I ever be happy?", "Why am I alone?", "Why did she have to die?", "Why go on living?", etc., etc. The story creator should know this question, and by the end of the story, answer it. Make sure this is on your list of things to accomplish by the story's denouement.

In every plot, there is a need line and a desire line. Characters follow their aspirations, but cannot be at peace until they've fulfilled their crucial life's necessity. Sometimes these two lines coincide -- sometimes not. Your opening question should be an introduction to the desire thread. As they struggle to get what they want, it should cross, or be at odds with, the thread of their need.

Good story structure dictates that the protagonist will at some point stand at the juncture between their needs and their desires. That decision is often a turning point in the story. A classic example is when the reluctant hero who has wanted to 'just be a farmer' his whole life decides to accept his fate as savior of the world (thus embracing what he really needs).

Establish tone and pace. Your opening scene sets the overall mood of your material, be it dark and gloomy, humorous, violent or whatever. This is where you play fair with the reader. If your piece on a whole is bloody and violent, then initial scene should resonate with that feeling. This is key. Imagine how you would feel if you bought a music CD whose cover advertised one kind of music, but after a few tracks inexplicably changed to some other variety. Not only would it jar you, but you'd probably be upset for being played the bait-and-switch trick. Rules broken for creative purposes can be effective, but this particular constant is touchy ground.