Just as a little advice: when pitching to the same set of judges, it is always best to be the last, not the first. That goes for virtually everything, from gymnasts to job interviews. The reasons are surprisingly simple. During the first pitches, judges don't know yet how to compare those pitches against the rest. Then the last pitches they hear are far more prominent in their memory than the first ones.

It's not only me saying that. Albert Laszlo Barabasi and his team investigated that phenomenon based on hard data.

I was contemplating hard whether to tell you all that, because I don't want to make you nervous. But I think it's important enough to keep that in mind for your future presentations, which I'm sure you will have throughout your writing career.

Now, the decision is made, and you can't change it. So, grab your audience by the neck with your opening. Invest your greatest effort into the opening line. Something that stays in their memory. Unfortunately, I'm a klutz when it comes to fiction writing, I don't even know your audience. Otherwise you could use me as a sparring partner for your opening lines.