Okay, I know this is similar to another post, but this one is about my story. Okay. So I got an idea for this story, and decided it was worth giving a shot. Well, I started wrting, and at first I was thinking, "Yeah, this is great!" And then I read over it and realized that it wasn't good at all. Where should I start? It's a sci-fi/fantasy plot, and it's supposed to be very exciting. But I'm not sure where to start. Please write back.
Thank you, I'll consdier that. I think I need to be more specific, though. When I write this, what kind of emotion should I start with? Should it start sad and dramatic, simple, heart-pounding? Remember, it's sci-fi/fantasy, and it's supposed to be rather exciting (at least at the end, it is.)
Why don't you try starting with some action? It could be a battle, or a conversation between characters. Or why don't you try writing it all up and later fix up everything that you think doesn't work? That way you could get a better idea on how it should start, now that you have the ending.
Where you should start will vary on the content of the story, in my opinion. You definetly want to start with something that will pull the reader in. In the novel I am working on, the Prologue is full of action, and then the first chapter sets up the world a little bit, to give the reader a grasp of where they are the major points of the setting. I know that when I read a book, I hate having tons of names thrown at me from the beginning, I like to ease in with one character and get a feel for the world before moving onto the larger scope of things.
Start where you feel the reader will (a) be captivated (b) is left in awe and suspense, without filling him with a lot of details (a tense prologue with an informative chapter 1 is a good way to do that) (c) pick up a topic in the middle (e.g. war scene, or two people conversing abotu a bad thing, in the middle of a crisis, or maybe a scene where a particular character will start off explaining his feelings) so that the reader is caught in a tense situation. (d) Let your friends read the first few paras or only first para, and ask them if they think it indulges them or not. So keep practicing. Hope I helped.
You're getting some good tips here. I'll back up Neidermeyer's statment and then throw in my own personal experience: I'm writing a novel (Sci-fi/Horror) and I've started it off with the dialogue of a news story that has an extremely interesting topic, in my opinion. I think it really draws the reader in. As long as you're not boring the reader with extensive details or throwing out too many names then you should be fine. I'd also strongly recommend you don't go back and read what you've written because it will dishearten you. It's always best to push on and worry about editing the rubbish once you've done a first draft.
