Hello i'm currently working on a fiction story. The only problem is, i don't know how to start it.. xD In every writing i do, regardless if it's a story i'm making just for the fun of it or a high school assignment, i seem to keep having a weak introduction. What would be a good start to a story? Say if the plot is about a boy born in a different world, was suddenly transferred to another world and lived his life there then unconsciously found his way back to his home world where he doesn't have any memories of it. How will i be able to start the story that way? Also would it be better to start a story in a powerful kind of way? For fiction stories, most of the time there would be fighting scenes. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to start off with a fight as an intro..
I'm afraid you'll have to come up with your own beginning, just like all other writers do. It's part of being a writer. You might get it wrong, and notice that partway through the writing, but that's all right. As you write, you learn more about your story and what you're trying to do with it, and it's common for writers to go back and rewrite the beginnings of their stories because they got it wrong the first time. That said, you don't have to start with a fight. You do have to start with something interesting, so the reader will keep reading. If you bore the reader on page one, he's unlikely to keep reading. But fights aren't the only interesting scenes; in fact, they're often boring if it isn't made clear beforehand who the antagonists are and what the stakes are. There are plenty of powerful, interesting ways to begin that don't involve violence. Read some good books! You'll see how it's done.
I do what I call writing story seeds. I carry a commonplace journal (Moleskine, pocket sized) on me at all times and whenever an idea pops up, I jot it down. This has been invaluable to me because besides for dreaming, writing down random ideas has easily been the most rewarding of methods to conceive a plot. I fear that my ability to write falters to an inexcusably poor level when actual, sudden work is asked of me. I am not resourceful on pressure tests or strict scenario writing, so I cannot give advice there (E.G: For a creative writing class.) What I can say is that every story has a beginning. No matter how innocuous something may seem to you, it might be a treasure trove of beautiful prose to the next person over. So don't be afraid to write about mundane things just to get a feel for plot development. I wouldn't start a story off with a fighting scene, this would be called a "cold start" and action set pieces rarely ever work -- from my experience -- as the beginning of anything at all. Given your idea, I would start the story off with a monologue between two characters, a soliloquy near the end out of context, or perhaps a descriptive set piece to introduce the world and mythos you're building. I can't say for certain what works best for you as we all have our own styles.
In an alien-type setting, I'll sometimes open up with a "big to small" picture, describing bizarre landscapes, how the alien race moves about it, the houses they live in, down to the aliens themselves. If it's instead a setting that we all know and can associate with, I'll often start with dialogue, which can instantly introduce characters, events, or anything you want, and work my way from there, following the MC around and introducing the setting that way. In your example, I wouldn't necessarily broadcast to the world that he's different (unless he's obviously different).. I'd let that develop with your story. ...Just my two cents here though, take this all with a grain of salt; to each writer his own style.
Starting with a fight might NOT be a good idea - basically it's the opening and your readers have not yet got to know your character, and so the readers, at this point, do not care about your character. Nor do the readers understand why this fight is so very important. It's sometimes better to start with a smaller conflict to establish these things first, and then lead on to the bigger conflict. People often advice - start as close to the end of your story as possible. Or sometimes to start in the middle of something. Not every book has done that though, but those kind of intros would take very skilled writers to pull off. But there's no one size fits all in this case. I've found the opening to be the absolute hardest, esp for my fantasy stuff. I've had about 5-7 openings (I have long lost count) before finally I've settled on one that I think is actually good. The one I've chosen does happen to be in the middle of a fight - but it's not focused on the fight, it's focused on this couple who lost their little girl while they were fleeing. And everyone can relate to the fear of losing someone they love in the midst of chaos, so it works the best for me so far.
It seems that your story contains two surprising transfers from one world to another. Why not start with one of these? The character suddenly finding himself in a place he doesn't know, trying to make sense of it. The reader will be in the same position, not knowing the place, so there's a good chance they'll understand his situation.
Did you check out Cogito's post on Plot Creation and Development, conveniently pinned to the top of this forum page? Great pleace to start.
My two cents is that everything has to have a point to it. I think the plot has to stem from what you are trying to say. The opening should then be whatever helps show your point the best. If the point of the story is about how confused your character is then write about the confusing transition. If the point is about the breakdown in memory then maybe have the character discuss in first person about some memories he does have. Te opening should be a technique for you to show what thestory is about.
Personally I tend to, whenever I am writing sci-fi or fantasy, to create the world and then the characters and plot. The characters just.. flow. If you are writing literary fiction, you could just either decide on the character or the problem. Each tends to flow from the other, actually. Also, I tend to consider characters part of the setting, to be honest, and I just narrate what happens. You know, logic and causality.
