Do you think your advice to me here is more helpful? I don't have time for mean people. I was clearly trying to help, and you were clearly trying to make me feel bad about it. I believe there is room at the top for everyone and I am a part of this community. Please don't try to make me or anyone else feel bad a stupid for posting something or like we shouldn't be here. That's really not how the majority of us want things to go around here.
I start by first considering what are the main obstacles in my story? I always have two: an external obstacle, and an internal one, and they need to overlap. I decide the external obstacle first, then determine what the best combination of relateable character traits can I give them to make the situation so much worse? If I want to trap someone with a dangerous wild animal, that character is probably going to be a small city boy with no country experience, and probably give him a bad experience with a large rat or something to give a little extra anxiety. If I plan on trapping a woman with a psychopath, I'll probably give that woman some serious daddy issues and a battered victim mentality that has to be overcome. Then to begin my story, I will introduce the character and the internal issues that they are dealing with, with a little foreshadowing to what will happen to them later. My first goal is to find some way to make the reader both empathize with and relate to the character. If nobody cares about the character, then nobody cares what happens to them.
I know this may seem like an odd question to ask,but as someone who writes a lot of well detailed back story. Cataloging entire lives of some of my MCs, some from birth, some even before they are born, I have the stories of their grandparents, or parents. which when writing for myself is fine. I enjoy it but when trying to write for others, it's a lot more difficult for me to determine. For instance, while working on my current story, Kristol of Ancea, I find myself wanting to get to the fighting already, but then I have characters with no reason to care for them, there is already going to be an issue with two Generals who turn against their king, a reason that was setup in back story which i'm already beyond by the starting point of the rough draft. So i'm I just being impatient (which I am) and I just need to write the setup material. or am I starting way to early for others to care. So basically i'm asking, when do I start a story in regards to others reading it.
Although it doesn't make very helpful advice, the answer is "Pretty much anywhere". What's nice is that the story is able to begin at pretty much any point you choose. If you know how the whole tale goes, your story could (with the right writing) start at the very end and still tell all the backstory and events that you want to happen. If you want to 'get to the fighting', perhaps you could begin earlier on with a battle(s) you have in mind, with exposition explaining the lead up to the fighting happening in dialogue during/after the battles. Though it'd help to know a little bit more about your specific story in regards to giving you more specific advice.
Ditto. In fact, I've started a lot of stories at a climax or surprise-reveal-reversal scene, then figured out who the characters are, how they got there, and where they went afterward.
I hate unnecessary backstories! I think you should start when the actual story starts. I they main plot starts with a earthquake then I don't care what happened twelve years before. I can get to know the character while they tries to hide/get away/save themselves. Sure - if you start in the middle of a fight then we probably won't have time to care for the characters life - but we could have a quick introduction on the way to the battlefield if nothing else!
As close to the end as possible. Figuring out where that is -- yeah, that can be a whole other thing. You want to get to the fighting, but you need to figure out what other people need to know so that they'll also be excited about the fighting when it happens. For me, it's about character development -- what do I need to show about the mc to make the climactic moments really land? What can you skip and still have that? What can you fill in non-chronologically as you go to save time? My wip started minutes before the two MCs met, because their relationship development was the main thrust of the story. All the backstory and most of the characterization comes after, because you need that inciting event to care about / understand why these characters would hang out with each other at all. What do you need your reader to care about or understand before absolutely anything else can happen? In character-driven work, I always look to who the main character is and what they want first.
My bad. I misunderstood the question. I misinterpreted the question be about whether a story should be composed from beginning to end, in the same order it would be read. OK, so the question is about where to insert the reader into the fictional world, of which this story is just a slice. I think that depends on the format and genre. For example, epic fantasy tolerates prologues just fine. Flash fiction absolutely does not. For genre fiction other than epic fantasy, I think the rule of thumb is: "In late; out early" - implementations of this will vary, but the trend is to expose background by sprinkling through a story that is in progress.
This is how I go about it. Maybe it's because I just don't see the appeal of worldbuilding for its own sake, but honestly I don't care about backstory. I'd amend that to say "I don't care about backstory at the beginning," but I'm starting to think I may not care about backstory most of the time, period. Little tidbits, sure. But I don't need an origin story for a character. I don't need to know the genesis of the world. I don't need the entire history of a town. Unless it's relevant, and I use that word fairly rigidly. As a reader, I trust the author. I believe what the author tells me. I have faith that the author knows what they're doing with the story, and that everything they're doing is on purpose and for a reason. If the author doesn't tell me something, I assume I either need to figure it out myself or I'm not supposed to know it. I assume that's on purpose, and that it'll make sense when it's supposed to. When a story begins, I need to know two things--who is the story about, and what are they trying to do. The story doesn't have to open on an epic battle scene to be interesting. But it does need to have conflict, and that satisfies what I need from the start of a story--a main character trying to do something. Show the character trying to do the thing, and make there be friction. The character reacts to the friction in a way that's relatable to the audience. Boom, we now have a character we care about. I don't need any backstory on the character to make that connection, just the actions they take in the current situation. Who is the story about? What's one thing this person wants and doesn't have, or does have and is trying not to lose? How can these things be shown to the reader as soon as possible, whether directly or indirectly? What information is needed to convey this information, and only this information? How long will we have to wait for something important to happen after this introduction? Note that in the last question I say "important," but that doesn't need to mean "epic," or "high-stakes," or "earth-shattering." It just needs to be important to the character. I connect with the character, not the world or the town or the history.
For a short story, I agree. I don't believe novels are limited in this manner--the author has a lot more freedom to start in media res, or to take time to establish the status quo, to establish the normal world, if you will, before events of the narrative turn things upside down.
Thanks for replies guys, tuns out I was just being impatient. . I finally got where I wanted to be, thanks to a brief moment of Gamer Fatigue, i'm still in it but fear it won't last much longer.
You should not start it by a background telling, it is, before the story in itself (unless in rare cases: there is no rules, all depends). That is a narrative technique known even by the ancient Greeks, and it is called, in latin, In Media Res, -- translated, something like In the Middle... So, the background fits more realistic and professional by a stylistic point of view in being told in the course or the story itself; the contrary, the reader would be tired of explanations... Take as an example Hamlet, that begins after the King's death and has it told in the course of the story through dialogues between the characters. Or, if you are less cult and erudite (hahaha), take Lord of The Rings, which has A HUGE In Media Res, considering that there is a lot of events occurred before even of The Hobbit, like the creation of the world, and the falling of Melkor, and his pupil Sauron, and etc..., events which we do not even know just by reading the book (we are supposed to read The Silmarilion to get this information). And one thing more: The reader does not have to know everything; and you do not have to tell everything.
Hello! I'm new so hopefully this is not the wrong place to post this. I don't know how active this site still is or if anyone would be willing to help, but I'd really like to get started on actually trying to write and complete a book. The first sentence is usually the hardest, so I'd appreciate critique or help on two beginning ideas I have? 1. There was a little green basket slung over the right of his arm. It carried small boxed foods and some fallen cans; basics and nothing more. But his left hung loosely at his side, numbed by dozens of tiny needles. 2. “I’m not insane,“ was a repeated mantra in his head, paired with the overpowering voice that cracked his skull. His body was being impaled with knives as he stumbled down the late-night city streets, his bags forgotten Which do you prefer? And if their both just awful is there any way to improve? Sorry, and thanks
I think this is the right subforum. If this contained more text, it would be the workshop. I'm no expert, but I'll lend you my thoughts as an enthusiast. I am myself trying my hand at actually writing a book. Ok, what are fallen cans? You say 'his left', I presume you mean his left arm. You should specify. It's hard to judge this one. There's clearly more where just about to hear that affects how this intro does. I'd like to see more. This is a more immediately interesting start. But it is less subtle, and perhaps that's not for the best as an introduction. Again, hard to say without a little more to go on. It would be more constructive if we understood the basics of the story as well. That would allow us to judge the introduction based not just on how it reads the first time, but how it sets up the rest of the text.
My advice is to pick the one you like, and write on. Your first sentence is the hardest to write, and you have done that twice, but few first sentences survive into the second draft after you finish. The first sentence, and the first chapter, are for you the writer to focus your mind on the story and some or all of the characters. Don't fret whether it is the perfect sentence. After the story is finished, a better opening for the reader, and not for you, will suggest itself, based on the story you have told. So get to the second hardest sentence, the last one!
In your first sentence, you should try to tease the reader without revealing too much. It needs to make an immediate impact. Your second sentence seems more fitting for a novel opening even if it's a bit too elaborate.
1. Don't sweat too much over the first sentence. There are always revisions you can do later. If you spend too much time on the first sentence all you get is a headache. And the sentence would most probably need revising (and changing later) anyway. Just keep going, get the story out. By the time you finish the book, you'll be a much more experienced writer, too. And you'll have a much better idea about how the story should be written. That would be a much better timing for fixing the first sentence 2. It's not advisable to scare or gross out your reader at the very beginning. Your No.2 is doing exactly that. Which makes the first one better by default. It's not a great sentence but its serviceable, I get what you mean with it. It obviously needs editing but ... see above.
Turn off your critical side completely while doing the first draft. One too many times have I found myself blocked and unable to write a word because I found myself thinking what I was writing was far too embarassing to ever show anyone and that maybe I should just give up and go do something else. Don't let it sabotage you.
Seriously, don't worry about it right now. Getting the story together and giving yourself a framework to build on is the most important part of a first draft. Doing line edits at the start is like putting the icing on the cake before it's even come out of the mixer.
If you're going to start with a green basket (for example) there should be something interesting or odd about the basket. It should raise a question in the reader's mind and entice him/her/it to read on. I think if you worry about the first sentence at this point, you'll never write the book. Almost anyone's first novel is going to suck. Write it, rewrite it, edit it, send it off to a publisher, get the rejection notice, and write another one. A tried and true method.
My straight advice on starting has always been to just sit down and start churning out prose. All sorts of talking and explaining only goes so far. Eventually, you just have to do it. As for the two choices in your opening line, I'd go with the first one with some revisions as the second one sounds more like what happens when the author starts getting in the way of the writing. The first example is stating things as th ey are, while the second one is slowing down the prose.
I've just ordered a book on beginnings. They're obviously key to grabbing a reader's attention. Let's say the average manuscript has (approx.) 300 words to the page: How do you make those first 300 words really count? Is it something you spend extra time considering? Where do you like to begin in a story? Just throwing it open for general discussion. Note: I'd invite people to share examples of their own work, but I don't think the site rules allow that sort of thing outside of the workshop.
I don't think the first page is as important as writers often think. It does have to be engaging, but so many of us seem to think engaging means action packed or exciting. Actually, I think all you need is a question to put into the reader's mind. It doesn't have to be a huge question; it can be something like 'Why is this character nervous?' or 'Why is this character in a doctor's waiting room?' There just needs to be some sort of mystery that makes you want to read on to solve it. This is why it's generally a good idea to start with conflict, because we immediately want to see how the characters will deal with the predicament they're in. Sometimes, you don't even need that. Maybe there can just be something funny or a really quirky writing style. Another thing we forget is that readers will generally have read the blurb before they read your first page, so there's already the promise of something interesting to come. Readers do not have the attention spans of goldfish, despite what some writers think, and they will give the author some time to get into the main plot. In short, I think your opening has to be interesting, and it's surprisingly easy to be interesting.
I spend too long on the first page. I stay up until 3am crafting and drafting toward an incredible elegance. I mutter the words in my darkness, the pace dictated by a critical dash - and ellipses...to brackets. Quickly I find any shitty magazine and post it at 3.10 am. Only then can I sleep. A month later, kind of casually, I go check on that document. What was once lucid became somehow a series of re-arranged def - &...indef {articles}. The quadruple repetition of 'starlight' is not poetic, whilst the prose lacks a verb in the first sentence and in the second sentence also that ends in an italicised exclamation mark followed by the word 'then' in capitals. A smiley possibly was inserted for the 'reader.' I pull up a chair and go again.
