I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, but personally I hate flashbacks, whether in novels or in film. To me it feels like the entire momentum of the plot comes to a screeching halt while the reader is shown a historical news clip. If the story needs some background data, I prefer that it is worked into the current story some way. However, a lot of successful writers use it and have used it, so who am I to say it's wrong? Obviously I don't now your story, but the first three days need not be dull and can be compressed. It also gives you a chance to build up some sympathy for the main characters before things go to hell.
I, too, do not particularly enjoy flashbacks, but to answer your question, @Fronzizzle, it's all down to the preference and opinion of the writer. You mentioned that it would be more powerful to start on day four, and if that's your gut feeling, then most of the time, in writing, the gut feeling is correct. But Bryan also has a point. The writer can help the readers sympathise with the characters in a different way if you simply started at the beginning. There is no better way. It's all down to the story you want to write. Don't look at trends in this case. Look instead at your story. Which way do you think it should be told? Go with your gut instinct, and I'm sure that'll be your answer.
Starting as close to the action is usually a good idea. I can't imagine you need a flashback to reveal 4 days of backstory. I would think you might be able to reveal that much backstory within the current narrative. Or, make those first four days more exciting and less backstory, hard to say without seeing what you've written. I suggest you write the story and figure it out in the editing. So you write those four days but you might decide you can move some of the information into a different form and put it in day 5.
Just to piggyback on @GingerCoffee's advice, a lot depends on how critical the four days are to the story, and how much is involved in them. In the film, "Michael Clayton" (different medium, I know, but it happens to fit), we start out seeing the title character in a sequence that lets us know that he's a "fixer" for a law firm. A few hours are covered in a matter of minutes. Then, he steps out of his car to admire some horses (we have no idea why). Then his car blows up. Then we flash back a few days, which constitute 90% of the story by the time we get back to "real time" (when we know all about why he got out of the car and why it blew up). In your case, I suspect that those four days will not contain as much of the story as they did in "Michael Clayton". But only you know how important they might be.
Thanks for the advice. The way my story sets up is basically this: Day 1 - outbreak, but very minor way out west. Day 2 - outbreak worsens, spreads outside the quarantine zone, but still not too much worry. Day 3 - cases quadruple, new transfer methods were discovered, videos/photos going up online. Day 4 - main characters decide to stay and fight (so the book would start as they are making this decision). Days 5 - on: how they prepare, what they encounter, what is happening in the rest of the world. I think by following this, I would have to almost flashback/recap the first three days relatively quickly so that the readers know what's going on. Or, I could do it slowly, overtime, to add intrigue. The flip side is, I start out slowly at day 1 when the characters first hear about an outbreak. Then day 2 they start freaking out a bit, day 3 they watch some of the videos together and know they have to do "something", then day 4 they make their decision. Putting it down like this shows me that either would work as long as I did it right. I guess I just have to decide which way I want to go. SEPARATE QUESTION: When I first joined this forum, I was getting email notification when someone responded to a post of mine. Now, I don't but I don't recall changing anything. I just checked the settings I can find, can someone point me to where to set this? Thanks.
I'm fine with flashbacks, but that's not the reason I'd advise you to begin at Day 4. In my opinion, the beginning of a book is key, especially if you're a new reader and people are going to picking up your book off the shelves to see if it looks alright, rather than saying "oh it's a John Smith novel so it'll be a good read". I think an action packed, intriguing opening is a fantastic thing. For example: "There are very few occasions in which you can justify the killing of two hundred thousand defenseless civilians, but as Arthur stared at the control pad through his splayed fingers clasped around his face, he knew this one of those moments." A sentence like that draws the reader, or certainly a reader like me, into the action. It instantly sets the tension high and, more importantly, sparks off numerous questions in my head. Questions I may want to buy your book in order to find the answers to. Now, on the subject of flashbacks, you don't have to use them to fill in the reader on the past three days' events. Ok, if you have a specific event that happened to a specific character, then perhaps a flashback is the way forward (or should that be backwards?) but usually you can simply recount these events through narrative. As in many cases, "showing not telling" (or rather both, I suppose), is useful here (see the numerous articles and posts on this forum on the subject). For example, if the apocalypse was sparked by the arrival of the aliens, you could say something like: "Arthur gazed solemnly out of the window, looking blankly at the large, grey craters that had scarred the once beautiful landscape for the past three days. In truth, very few beautiful things remained at all. The aliens' arrival had seen to that." Hope this helps!
yes my name is jerry allen and I am a newcomer to this whole writing thing I was wanting to write a life story for either livejournal or tumblr and I don't know whether to use fake names and make the book fiction that way no one will know there in the book or should I use real names and if I use fake names do I have to get there permission before telling the facts or can I just switch the things that really happened into something different making some facts and most fiction
I believe if it's fiction and just based on real people, you don't have to get permission. That doesn't mean they won't get upset if they suspect it's about them, though.
I don't use either. Tumblr seems more open to strangers. So, I guess it depends on how you want it found.
what would be the best place or place online to post this story to get it read and also if I am not so good with grammar and stuff like that where is a good place that can edit it and stuff for me for free when im done to make sure it is one hundred percent sure grammatically corredt so it doesn't look that horen dous
This has by far been my greatest struggle as a writer and an issue that deeply impacted me as I was penning down my latest novel. A part of me loves to plan out a novel to the last detail possible. I like to storyboard my chapters and then for each chapter I pen down key plot events in the right sequence. On top of this overall storyboard I superimpose character arches - the entry, development and in some cases exit of a character. When I actually sit down to write, the part of me doing the writing loves to rebel and disregard the storyboard and character arches I just created. To be honest, this disregard of a structure makes the writing more enjoyable because I find myself taking my story into brave new directions without a clue what's coming next. I'm as entertained as my reader would be because like her / him I am being taken on a ride to places I have never seen nor heard of! This works great for say 25% of the novel and then I start getting into trouble. Now the parallel story lines are not tying up. The character arches are all over the place and I have no clue how I'm going to end. Please help and share experiences!
When i outline i start with a general idea of what i want the novel to be about. after that i timeline the entire thing and begin adding details. Each character gets a color code so when i break out the three ring binder with all the chapters spaced out i can label each character that is in that chapter and at what point in their character arch they are in. i then go through i make mini time lines for each chapter as if it were its own short story. after all the details and landmarks are made i connect the dots with storytelling a get to writing.
Thanks, nippy818. I like the idea of looking at chapters as self contained short stories. And also that of creating mini storyboards for chapters.
i have to say after i outline i can knock out a chapter in a few hours. its a trick i learned writing comic books
I have trouble with outlining too. I find that even if I do manage to write an outline I go completely off course. So now I have stopped outlining I just give myself a basic idea of where the novel needs to end and the rest of the story leading to that is spontaneous, sometimes I don't even know the ending. Like I am now over 50,000 words into the second novel of my trilogy and I only just worked out how I want it to end, now its my job to start leading it into the ending. I like being spontaneous about it because it makes it feel like this is somebody else's novel that I am reading. I can be as surprised by the storyline as any reader would be, and that's what makes writing fun for me. So for you I say that it is really a personal thing. Nobody can tell you that you have to write an outline, some of the greatest authors plan everything before they write even a single word, but there are also plenty of authors that do no planning at all. You just need to find what works for you. Amanda
@Amanda_Geisler i wish i was able to be more spontaneous. i have lived with deadlines for to long lol perhaps ill try writing a short story without planning it out.
I don't even really mean to be. I just gave up on outlining because it never worked. But like I was saying, everybody works in different ways. You've found yours, it works don't stray from it or you could get blocked (trust me it happened to me). Just do things your way and as long as you get the results you want you shouldn't try to do what other people are doing.
Which writing do you prefer? Is it trying to force the spontaneous story into the planned story that causes problems? Then why try? Go with the one you're enjoying most, because that's probably the one that's going to be the better written of the two. Go ahead and use elements from the other if you want to, if it fits, but don't try to force the two to work together.
Figuring out your process is a difficult but critical part of writing. Until you find out what way gets words down on the page and pushes you to The End, you'll be floundering. I know I certainly was. But everybody has a way that works for him or her, and a lot of it comes down to what inspires you and what keeps you focused. Some prefer to outline, because without it they'd be lost and unable to get anywhere. Some find outlines restricting and need the freedom of improvisation to feel inspired. Some need a few guideposts here and there. There's a whole range. You just need to figure out where you fall on that range. Once you've got a rhythm down, it really does get easier because you feel comfortable with what you're doing and confident that you're actually getting somewhere. Personally, I usually have the main actors in mind and a sense of conflict. I usually have a few key scenes in mind, as well. I figure out how I want to start, and then I go for it. As I'm writing I try to figure out which of the scenes in my head will be coming up next, and then I'll write my way to it. Sometimes those scenes need to change or adapt, which I'm usually very willing to do. But that's just me.
Amanda_Geisler It is great to know that there are others out there who do not want to be shackled by the bounds imposed by an outline! What you're saying about the joy of reading your novel as you are writing it is exactly my motivation to write. I think I'll build a process around spontaneity and not worry too much about planning.
xanadu Really appreciate you sharing these insights with me. I think I am struggling to find the right rhythm like you said. It's good to know that there are others who struggle with this problem. Also, I love what you said about 'having the main actors in mind and a sense of conflict'. That's very powerful to me and something I have not been successful to create so far in my writing. I am focusing on character development these days with the ultimate objective of creating living, breathing beings in my mind that take a life of their own and a story flows naturally out of their interactions with each other.
It's something that everybody struggles with for the first few years, now I am not an expert I have just done a lot of research over the last few years. It will take time for you find your style, it took me several years to find mine and now I've written more in this year then I have in the last six years. I've written over 130,000 words this year. My first novel is finished, ready and waiting to be sent off to agents, I just want to wait until I have the rest of the series completed, and with any luck that be by the end of this year and I will look to get published next year. So don't rush to find your rhythm, you already know that outlines don't work. You might find that complete spontaneity doesn't work either, you might a blend of something in between. Actually that is where most authors sit, you just need to find out how much structure you need.
