Beginning with the Beginning: A Workshop in Getting Your Story Started with Dale Bailey

Beginning with the Beginning: A Workshop in Getting Your Story Started with author and Lenoir-Rhyne University professor Dale Bailey.

What does the beginning of a story look like—whether you’re writing fiction or creative nonfiction? There are many answers to this question, of course, and they're never the same answers. But this workshop will start with the basic premise that the first sentence, paragraph, page, and scene of your story is the most important sentence, paragraph, page, and scene of your story--because unless all those things work, your reader will never get to the second scene of your piece, much less the last scene, page, paragraph, sentence, and word. We’ll look at several strategies for beginning a story, try them out for ourselves, and discuss the openings we produce.

This free event is part of Hickory Literary Festival. Individuals are encouraged to RSVP in advance to reserve your seat. Registration will be available March 25, 2026.

Dale Bailey is the critically-acclaimed author of seven books, including The End of the End of Everything and The Subterranean Season.  His story “Death and Suffrage” was adapted for Showtime’s Masters of Horror television series. His short fiction has won the Shirley Jackson Award and the International Horror Guild Award, has been nominated for the Nebula and Bram Stoker awards, and has been frequently reprinted in best-of-the-year anthologies, including Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy.