Write a Short Story Opening Paragraph

The blank page at the start of a story is one of the harder blanks to fill. You know the setting, the character, the rough shape of what happens. Getting the first paragraph right sets the register for everything after it. This gives you a properly structured opening: grounded, characterful, and ending on a pull.

Write the opening paragraph of a short story set in {SETTING} featuring a character who wants {GOAL} but faces {OBSTACLE}. The paragraph must: begin with a sensory detail that grounds the reader in the scene, introduce the character through action rather than description, and end with a line that makes the reader want to know what happens next. Length: 80-120 words. Tense: past. Do not begin with a character's name.