What are some good events/scenarios that can help me introduce my MC. I've heard early conflict is good, but what are some other ideas?
I'm looking for some specific examples. I know the jist of what I have to do, I'm just looking for some creative input.
Well, it depends on the setting... For books with characters that are at middle or high school age there's: introducing them getting a failing grade, conflicting with a bully, falling down a staircase, standing in a locker room, going to school, going home from school, standing outside a dreaded teacher's classroom door, flying down the halls because of lateness, etc. That's about as specific as I can get. I would really have to know the setting you're writing about in order to specify other possibilities, but here's some general ones: - an MC witnessing a murder - an MC killing a person then reflecting - an MC bored to death at work - getting the mail - getting in an accident (of any nature) - finding out they're pregnant (or maybe I'm the only one who thinks that's an interesting way to introduce someone...) - conflicting with a neighbor - setting up lawn ornaments to compete with said or another neighbor - getting a computer virus - finding a heart-throb-inducing significant other - an MC having mental dialouge about conflicting emotions (maybe even for another person) That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but I know there's almost a million other ways to introduce a character...
It really depends on what your story is about and who you're MC is. Without more information it will be hard to say. I could tell you to have your MC fixing her AI dun buggy who has a quirky personality and keeps telling the MC that she doesn't need to be fixed. But how useful is that if you're not writing a sci-fi? My first YA novel starts off with the MC pounding on the bathroom door, trying to get her little brother to hurry because she's going to be late for work. My fantasy novel starts out with the MC struggling with making lightning capacitors when her best friend tries to convince her to work on that crap later. She's a lightning elf and sucks at using her powers. What I do is think of a scene with tension that introduces the reader to my MC's daily life.
