Of course, I want to start with a narrative hook. You should, too. That particular literary device is indispensable, in my opinion. It's also damn hard. Best advice I can give? Start with something active. It doesn't have to be an action hero jumping out of an airplane; it can be something like making a cup of coffee, provided you throw in something unexpected. By all that's holy and literate, don't lead with "John Smith was a 37-year-old divorced man from Poughkeepsie." Even though there's something inherently funny about Poughkeepsie.

The struggle I'm having now is that I want a linear narrative, but I don't want the opening to be boring. And yet, the opening will be boring unless I throw in some stuff from later in the story.

I think I've resolved this. Maybe. I know I can, and should, always go back and edit, but if I'm arguing in my head about how to open the story when Tuesday rolls along, I'm not exactly going to be off on a running start. If, on the other hand, I know exactly how this thing's going to start, then I can just write. Which is the idea, isn't it?