The waking up rule.
It is considered a cardinal sin to start a story with the main character waking up. Whether in bed, or in a cell, or tied upside down in the centre of a cannibal village, the message is always the same. Don't start with the character waking up.
I watched the third episode of 'Resident Evil' last night, subtitled 'Apocalypse'. The first in the series started with the main character, Alice, waking up in the shower. The second, with her waking up on a hospital bed and the third, with her once more waking up in the shower. That third one was confusing at the start but it became clear soon enough.
It worked. In each case, it worked. In the first and third, Alice had no idea where she was or who she was. In the second, she knew who she was and had a pretty good idea of where. Each film started with her waking up. One major rule broken, and it worked.
This was a film, not a book. In the film it works because we can see the scene at a glance. In a book, you need lots of words to describe it. Imagine writing that opening for a book. The main character has woken up, has no idea where or who she is and has to find everything from scratch. Every detail of the room is new to her. Every little detail would go through her head while this character--who you can't even name because she doesn't know it--feels her way around this strange place.
Imagine trying to get that opening scene past an editor. It would be dull to the point of pain. Filled with description, no action, just an amnesiac probing a strange place. Well, strange to her but not to the reader. Most readers have bathrooms these days. Some even have them indoors, despite the hygeine risk. They'll recognise it straight away but you'd need to keep to the character's POV so you're stuck with all that tedious detail.
In a film, it works. In a book, it wouldn't.
Remember, when you send the book out to an agent or editor, it's not the only one they'll see that day. They might read yours first. Maybe fifth. Maybe fiftieth. Well, to be accurate, it's more likely an assistant will read most of the manuscripts and tag them 'no' or 'maybe' before they reach the agent or editor. Only the 'maybe' ones will get through.
Agents and editors do this day in and day out. If they pick up a manuscript that starts with someone getting out of bed, brushing their teeth, having breakfast... how far do you think they'll get? Remember, there are a lot of other manuscripts in the pile and at least some of them open with a bang.
You need to get the attention of a jaded, tired and possibly bored assistant in that first paragraph. Preferably in the first line but certainly in the first half-page. Waking up isn't a good place to start if you want to do that because waking up involves far too much description, no matter where you place it.
Action first. Sleep later.
