1. Nicolle Evans

    Nicolle Evans Member

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    Beginning torture

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Nicolle Evans, Dec 9, 2018.

    I can't write my beginning. I literally have hundreds and hundreds of "beginnings" in their own special folder now. However, because I can't write my beginning I can't even carry on with the rest of the story :cry:
    I've written a 1st draft of my book and decided it needed a lot of work and I absolutely hated the beginning beyond words. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I am in my own personal beginning hell.
    Help?!
     
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  2. JLT

    JLT Contributor Contributor

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    Look for any flaws in the rest of your story that thwart your attempts at beginning it.

    Or just discard the beginning and start over, from a different point of view. Or, as an exercise, just discard the beginning altogether; if there's anything that the reader need to know in order to make sense of the plot, perhaps it can be inserted at a later time, once the story is rolling.

    For me, the only purpose of a story's beginning is to persuade the reader to keep reading. If it doesn't do that, the whole book is wasted effort, even if it's golden. The San Francisco Chronicle runs a short feature in every Sunday paper called "Grabbers" which consist solely of the first sentences of a book or story. Many times, my reaction to that sentence is "Well, what happens next?" or "Where did that come from?" Either way, it's done its job.
     
  3. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    Are you saying that you, personally, can't bring yourself to write anything past the beginning?

    Or are you assuming that there's some rule that says that you always have to start at the beginning and write the story in order?

    There is no such rule. I would recommend that you pick a moment in the story, or a moment that might be in the story, or a moment that you know darn well will never be in the story but involves at least one character from the story, and write it.
     
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  4. Nicolle Evans

    Nicolle Evans Member

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    Nope can't seem to write anything meaningful because I don't have a beginning. I also can't bring myself to write outside of this world because I feel like I'm cheating on it...
     
  5. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    Why can't you write past the beginning? Can you describe the feeling, or the effort and why it fails? Or do you feel too guilty to even make the effort?

    What would happen if you chose a character and just wrote a scene with him, her, or it eating dinner?
     
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  6. Kalisto

    Kalisto Senior Member

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    Do with it what you do with any part of your own book that you hate: rewrite it. I would just try different beginnings and see how they work within the narrative.
     
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  7. LadyErica

    LadyErica Active Member

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    Phew. At first I thought you meant how to begin writing a torture scene. :oops: But my advice? Just write. Really, just sit down and write. Write, write, write. It doesn't matter if you are happy with the intro or not. Just write the story. You can always come back and change the intro later.

    That said, have you tried simply skipping the intro? I know that might sound a bit odd, but there are stories that jumps into the action from page one. Some follow it up with a flashback back to the real beginning, while others don't. But again, I think the best thing to do is just write. You can simply edit it later, as I said.
     
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  8. Nicolle Evans

    Nicolle Evans Member

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    I am a perfectionist and I know it's not perfect and I can't get over that. My only thoughts while trying to write it, or reading over it afterwards, is - what if it could be better?

    In terms of writing scenes that's not a problem but I feel that without knowing the beginning that I might be missing an element required in it. I don't want to "waste" too much time on scenes that might not work when I finally decide on a beginning.
     
  9. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    But you’re wasting a ton of time not writing. And writing really isn’t wasted. It’s practice. A pianist doesn’t call his practice hours “wasted.”

    IMO, this is not about the beginning. It’s about perfectionism. If you got the perfect beginning, some other imperfect thing would stall you.

    So I would fight the perfectionism in general, instead of focusing on this one manifestation of it.
     
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  10. Some Guy

    Some Guy Manguage Langler Supporter Contributor

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    You sound like it's a homework exercise. Most novels out there throw out half their stuff before it hits the bookstore shelves. Write what happened before the beginning. Thank god for cut n paste. Have a conversation with your characters, on paper. Interview them, have them look back at what they remember?
    You're going to have to write more than you use, some of it isn't meant to be perfect.
     
  11. Aled James Taylor

    Aled James Taylor Contributor Contributor

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    The beginning of a novel usually includes; setting the scene and introducing the characters. Where and when does your story play? Who is the main character? What role does he/she play in this world before the story begins? You don't have to include all the details you'll need later, you can always add those as you go along. Keep it simple and easy to understand and try to avoid info-dumps.
     
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  12. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Location:
    Where cushions are comfy, and straps hold firm.
    MC: In the begin-
    A/N: Wait, wait, stop the bloody train right there. In what beginning?
    MC: Well you know...
    A/N: What? Time? The instant you ripped from your mother's nethers like in Alien?!
    MC: Oh bother...It all began last Tuesday. About 9:45, bit drizzly, and my
    hair began to frizz. So I popped into the local cafe for a coffee whe-
    A/N: C'mon for fucks sake, when are we getting to the interesting bits?!
    MC: Fine, impatient twat.
    A/N: What was that?
    MC: Nothing nothing!...I was running frantically about the upper floor of the
    office building, and my skin crawled in the cool damp air. The roar of the killers
    chainsaw revved menacingly in the distance.
    After a bit of fumbling with the doorknob to the room at the end of the hall, I managed
    to coax it open. I stumbled over my feet backward, and fell on my ass. Damn it, I had
    just ruined my new jeans on this dingy moldy wooden floor. Much more pressing matter
    than my designer jeans, as my lip quivered with fear at the sight of the hulking frame in
    the door sill. Unable to move, I sat there with my eyes impossibly wide, and my nose filled
    with exhaust from the saw and the acrid smell of the unwashed killer.
    Lumbering toward me, the he brought the bar to bare between my parted legs, whe-
    A/N:Ah damn it! Now you can't do that either.
    MC: Why?! Because the chainsaw is a representation of the killers limp noodle?
    A/N: No, I am environmentalist, and chainsaw murdered my Christmas Tree.
    MC: I see...and you didn't have a fake one?
    A/N: I was late in getting to the market to pick one up, and they ran out of stock.
    MC: While you sort your shit, me and mister smelly here are going do to the fire house.
    Hopefully they can hose the stink off him, and then we'll connect all the dots on their
    dalmatians. Think you can get it together by then?

    In all seriousness though it can be a bit of a challenge to know where to have a story start.
    Some say in a bit action, others establish the world and such. There isn't a defined way
    to start a story, though it most often takes place a bit ahead of where the action is about
    to start. Or something interesting is about to happen to put the ball in motion for the story.
    Good luck, and I hope you find your beginning. :superidea:



     
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  13. Some Guy

    Some Guy Manguage Langler Supporter Contributor

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    CT, I like to see the rest of that story, please? :D

    A story about a guy writing a story about a guy writing a DeathNote...
     
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  14. Maggie May

    Maggie May Active Member

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    I don't really understand how you don't have a place to start, the idea is there and as you write it works out. Yes, you may have to rewrite or rethink the first lines but don't let that stop you from starting from somewhere.
     
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  15. LoaDyron

    LoaDyron Contributor Contributor

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    Just keep writing your story. Maybe your story needs a different direction? A different POV? Or only just a reconstruction of your recent story? Write whatever comes to your mind, don't bother if it is good or not; because the most important thing is you are trying to expose ideas. Tell us about your story a little bit. Don't despair. I am sure you will find out a solution. :superidea:
     
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  16. Carriage Return

    Carriage Return Member

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    Last edited: Dec 31, 2018
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  17. Infel

    Infel Contributor Contributor

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    Am I the only one who came into this thread excited to help someone write the beginnings of a torture scene?

    ...just me? ._.
     
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  18. Hammer

    Hammer Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I confess that every time I see the title, it makes me think of a curious evening course at the local adult education college...
     
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  19. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    It can always be better - that's why you rewrite and edit afterwards. If you're hoping to bypass editing, then you're writing for leisure (nothing wrong with that) and not with the aim to publish. If you hope to be published, then you'll have to edit. There's really no point thinking "What if it could be better?" To put it another way, do you think you write better now than you did 5 years ago? 10 years ago? Likely. Hopefully, at least. Can you write like you will write in 10 years time now? No. So yes, it can always be better - so what? It's a pointless question.

    Again if you don't want to "waste" time on scenes that might not work when you finally decide on a beginning, then you're saying you don't want to rewrite or do any editing. Again, it's a pointless thought. What you're really saying is you don't wanna put in the hard work. You wanna write everything and let it all magically work together with not a word or scene deleted. That won't happen. You want to write the perfect draft without ever practising either actual writing or the art of structuring a novel. Again, not gonna happen.

    Do you actually want to write, or do you just enjoy the idea of writing or the idea of having a book to your name?

    If you actually want to write, what makes you think anything is ever "wasted"? Writing, in and of itself, is the goal. The novel is kinda a bonus, in some ways.
     
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  20. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    Time spent writing is never wasted whether or not what you've written makes it to the final draft. At the very least it gives you the practice you need to better your craft. Who knows, maybe an 'unnecessary' scene may turn into a major part of the story. You never know until you try and you can't fix mistakes you never make. They just stay potential mistakes, sitting in the shadows like ninjas, hunting your every move and paralyzing you at every corner by electrocuting you with indecision like electric eels in the shallows so they can devour the entrails of your creative freedom. And no one wants to have their entrails devoured by electric ninja eels. Long story short, that's where babies novels come from.
     
  21. Nicolle Evans

    Nicolle Evans Member

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    So it's still not perfect but I wrote and I don't hate it... yet ;)
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2018
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  22. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    @Nicolle Evans I'm glad you got some writing done. However, please refrain from posting your work outside the Workshop area. The Workshop is there for members to critique each other's work (and you'll need to fulfill some requirements before posting in the Workshop). Any request to critique outside the Workshop is deleted. In your case, I think you were just trying to show us that you've made progress - congratulations! :cheerleader: However if I see people start to critique your work, I may have to come back and delete it.
     
  23. Nicolle Evans

    Nicolle Evans Member

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    Happy to delete but I have no idea how. Sorry, didn't realise
     
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  24. Malisky

    Malisky Malkatorean Contributor

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    Why don't you try outlining your novel first?
    If not the whole thing, at least the beginning. It will help you save some time if you are one to edit and re-edit before getting a chapter done.
     

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