Question: I realized I start sentences with *the*, *he*, *she*, *it*, *after* and *then* all the time. So I'm starting to use verbs instead. Here is an example of something I wrote:

> 
> Erin left out a sigh. "Why am I thinking so much about this?"
> 
> 
> She decided to forget about the thing, and go lie on bed instead. Talking to herself had really made her tired; a little bit more
> and she would go crazy. She reached to her desk and grabbed her phone.
> Hearing Benjamin's voice would probably snap her back to reality.
> 
> 
> 

I remember having read about this long ago (but I don't remember if the author considered it good or bad writing).

Answer: 
None of your sentences start with verbs, though two of them start with *gerunds*, which is not quite the same thing. In any case, I think that you are fretting about nothing. If your sentences sound fine to you as an English speaker and they avoid the monotony that you were noticing before, then by all means write them however you want. I can't think of many things less useful for a writer than worrying about imaginary rules like "don't start with a verb".
I have pondered on this question for some time. My conclusion is this: providing the sentence makes sense to the writer and the reader, using the verb or the subject to open a sentence is fine. I don't agree with those who say that the subject should always come first. Writers are creative people. Rules are there for a reason, of course. It's redundant prepositions that writers need to be more aware of, in my opinion.