Hi Everyone, so for a number of months I have been trying to find a way to start a high fantasy novel I have been trying to write for some time. I have the backstory and the characters worked out, but for the life of me I can't think of a way to start the story. I know where it opens, the time, the place, the characters, but the words aren't coming. Well I don't mind writing out of order, I do want to have the opening seen drafted before I go on to write anything else. I am looking for advice on how I might start the opening seen. For a bit of backstory the opening seen takes place at the castle the it the home of 3 of the main characters. My idea is that they are sitting down to breakfast when there father informs the that the king is dead, and that he and two of the main characters must go to the capital for the new kings coronation. All of this happens only a few weeks after the main characters found out about the death of their elder half-brother, and are still upset over his death. I guess what I am looking for is some ideas about how I might open the seen without making in overload with information.
I assume you mean 'scene,' not 'seen.' Autocorrect fail! I don't want to impact on your story by making suggestions as to what your opener should contain. That's up to you. In fact, openers are hard for me to decide upon in my own writing, never mind somebody else's! I know I've revised, rejected and replaced my opening couple of scenes and chapters more than any other in my novel. Just start with what you want to start with now. Or, if you haven't quite decided where the story should begin, go ahead and write what you do know about now. Try forgetting the opening scene, and write what happens next instead. The further you get, the more you'll figure out how the story should start. I did a prologue for mine. It's not only the very last chapter I wrote, but I wrote it AFTER giving what I thought was my completed first draft to a bunch of betas. They gave me feedback that indicated more was needed at the start, so I furnished the prologue for my second draft. I think it's a strong chapter, and my subsequent betas seem to agree on that. I didn't know where I needed to start until I'd actually finished. I'd say don't overthink or stress out about your beginning at this point. Just start writing. Somewhere. You can work backwards as well as forwards. Good luck and have fun.
Write past the opening scene, wait until the story is more developed before coming back to the beginning, Openings are hardest to write and endings might be the second hardest. Any chapter you are having trouble with write past it and come back to it. You'd be surprised at what a difference it makes when you get back to a chapter you passed.
Hello, my friend This is a good opening scene. With this, you can explore what happened to the king, people involved in the murder clues that you want to give the readers. I suggest you start with the story with dialogue, why? Since the king is dead, you will provide us with clues about your characters personalities, and with that, you can play with the game who's guilty. Of course don't say straight away the king is dead, leave that to someone, a servant perhaps? Reach to the dining room and say: the king is dead. I suggest you read one Agatha Christie book: Murder on Oriental Express. I hope this helps. Keep on good work, you have a good opening scene. And remember to have fun
Do what the experienced writers above say and get a chunk of writing done. Then take yourself to an old dank moldy rock house on the island, on a drizzly day with a packed breakfast. Set up a little table, pretend you are in a castle, eating that cold bacon and eggs with cold coffee. Experience the cold toast cardboard choking your throat as you wash it down with cold coffee. Then think about some bad news and the fact that you now have to pack up and take a long trip.... Not sure if it'll work for you... that's just me. Bottom line, make it fun! Not a chore where you have to drag it out. You have the story, now see it and show it to others. Best wishes to you!
Another thought from me - if you are having trouble writing the opener, it is possible that you are opening in the wrong place? Does it start with breakfast? Does it start with the death of the king? Does it start with one of the characters missing breakfast because the bus was late and therefore not knowing what the others know until a little bit later on? Try a couple of different things and then, as others have said, get writing. You may be one of the rare breed of writers whose honeyed words flow onto the page without revision, or you may be like the rest of us who believe that we're like that until half/three-quarters/all of the way through, we realise our opening doesn't now work and we fix it, but the biggest obstacle to finishing a piece of work is not starting it!
Usually I start my high fantasy novels with a "day in the life of the MC." And I do that because I want readers to get a feel for where the character is in their life. Are they rich? Are they poor? Are they going to school? Do they like grits? Are they different from their peers or think a lot like their peers? This helps determine why things happen and also how your character's life will be changed.
Is there any particular reason why you want to write this scene first? It seems to me that it might work better to write a few lower-stakes scenes first, to get to know your characters
Shitty First Draft. SFD. That is how you open your story. You open it by writing Shitty First Draft. By writing you get momentum to your writing. With that momentum you keep on going no matter what happens. Everything can bee - and often should be - bad in SFD. It is a draft, not a book, not a script but a draft. So... "This opens here and now. Pekka and Pätkä are sitting near window. They are talking..." You can infodump. It can be boring. You fix it in rewriting and you rewrite it ten times. Now you just need to write the things you will fix in rewriting...
I'm a novice writer so take my opinion as you will, but I'd open with the Father and two sons already in the capital. The scene could be of them attending the coronation of the new king and upset about how this 'summons/demand' has forced them to miss the funeral of their elder brother. This could create instant friction and tension, if that is your aim. I don't think the breakfast scene, which frankly sounds a little dull as an opener, needs to exist at all or it can be referenced later if description is needed or in dialogue by the characters as they are discussing how/when the news was heard.
Suggestion: Don't open with breakfast, open with something that has more conflict, and that will start developing people's feelings for the characters. Just to get you thinking about possibilities (but take it if you like it), consider this: The MCs are preparing a memorial ceremony for their dead half-brother. This part establishes a bit of their character, their relationship to each other, their relationship to their dead half-brother, and their culture. In comes father: the memorial is being postponed indefinitely because the king is dead, and the three of them have to go to the capital for coronation. This upsets the two MCs: they loved their half-brother, and think the memorial ceremony is more important than the new king's coronation. Father, of course, knows better. This part establishes a bit of Father's character, his relationship to the MCs, and the relationship between them and the kingdom, the former king, and the new king. Don't go overboard, just put enough in the first part to be sympathetic to the MCs, and enough in the second part to understand their world and their place in it, and create an initial emotional conflict (here, love versus duty). It's fine if that initial conflict isn't part of the main story. Watching them deal with it can engage the reader with the characters, and get them to read on.
If you planned the story then the first scene is easy. If you are winging it aka pantsing then just start writing. When you finish throw away the first three chapters because your best opening scene will not be seen until much later than the beginning.
