Besides being an outstanding newspaper copy editor for 38 years, I have written many short stories and an unpublished novel. Writing fiction takes a compelling lead paragraph. It must act like a powerful electromagnet, gripping onto the reader's heart, mind, and imagination and not letting go. Here's an example of how I might do it, assuming the main character is a frightened drug abuser:
I loved my marvelous, misty cocaine dreams. Oh, how I loved them! I loved how they took the razor-blade edges off my stupid life and made candy cotton out of all my ice-pick memories. But when those dreams began to morph into something else -- blood-filled gutters, smeary mattresses, and shrieking nightmares full of raging rats and dead people -- I sensed in my gut that I would have to change.
Let's get together and turn your books into bestsellers! -- David L. Gaskill