Instead of opening with a beginning, you will begin your story at the end, then backtrack as you tell the story. In other words, tell the story in reverse.
Newspaper stories often begin with the facts that occur at the end of the event. For instance, an estranged husband is arrested for the execution style murder of his wife and two daughters. Then the news story fills in the other information. Here's another example:
A woman is killed in her car after someone chucks an ice ball from an overpass. The background information is she was traveling home from a ski trip with her husband and two teenagers. The ski trip was a Christmas present from the husband, celebrating a big year-end bonus. Now we have a basic end and a basic beginning situation. The ski trip is the "why" of the story.
Now jot down your end. Outline a basic situation. It doesn't have to be tragic, like the ones I outlined above. Scan a newspaper for more ideas. Or write the end of your day yesterday. Once you have outlined your "end" write the scene using dialogue and sensory details. Storyboard it if it helps or freewrite. When you have a basic idea of the scene, outline each consecutive scene of your story by going backwards. For instance, if I outline the story about the woman being killed in her car, my opening scene might be at the point where the ambulance takes her body away while the family looks on.
The next scene could be the husband trying to resuscitate his wife and one of the kids calling 911 on the cell phone. Next scene would be the chunk of ice shattering the windshield, interrupting the family's sing-along. Go backwards as far as seems relevant. In this story I could go all the way back to Christmas Eve. The angry woman is pacing. As usual, the husband is working late. The kids are dressed up for church. The wife has had it. She wants to ask for a divorce. This scene should have a final image or line or dialogue which pulls everything together. In this case the final statement is the irony of the wife giving up on her marriage and the tragic death that eventually follows.
As always, have fun with it!
