im a teen. I wanna write a story but i dont know what to start with. I wanna write a story about animal cruelty or something similar. any one know any good story starters for it?
You could find story starters for general topics on google and work from there. But why not just start writing, and figure out how to open the story later? Or if you really have no idea what story you want to write, do one of those guided free writing things on animal cruelty. Just start on that topic, and write whatever comes to mind - opinions, stories, whatever. And once you have that, find something within it to build a story up on. No one can tell you what to write about but you. Read books and newspapers for inspiration. If you're really desperate there's wikipedia (not for actual facts, but for inspiration). And don't let your age stop you from writing.
Why don't you begin by READING some stories about animal abuse? I'm sure you'll get lots of ideas from other authors and you'll learn how to write with skill at the same time. There is a story titled Shiloh about an abused beagle that runs away from its owner. I haven't read it, but I'm told it is often reviewed in schools during discussions about animal abuse.
i have read shiloh in school before. i think i am going to look at some animal cruelty articles for ideas. Thanks guys, i really apprecatie it.
Reviewing animals abuse articles online, reading stories about it and writing general ideas that come to your head about it (even just points that may not be plot) should help get the snowball rolling. You have a passion for it, so that's great, now you just need the information to mold. And as for an opening, go with whatever comes to your mind and then fill in a different opener if you so desire later. I find that works best for me.
Some advice for beginnings, in general. There are three ways to start your story: right before some action happens, in the middle of the action, or right at the end of action / right after some action has taken place. Depending on your POV and characters and general plot, that gives you a lot of options. You could have a character start out by explaining "I never planned on getting a dog," and then describing how they happened to be crossing a bridge when some cruel local boys threw a puppy into the river (just before action). Or you could have someone start right after they've done something: "The first and only time I ever punched someone out was after I heard him laugh. Mockingly. His face was lit up and his right sneaker was red. Behind him, the dog he'd kicked for the tenth or twelfth time lay still." (right after an action scene.) Or you could start it in the middle. This might be harder to do given the subject matter. But you could still have someone watching (or listening, imagining all the gory details) a neighbor or a stranger doing terrible things to a critter. And since people who are unnecesarily violent will frequently be that way in many contexts, you could easily have the observer be the victim of abuse (not necessarily from the same person who is hurting the animal) and comparing the events. Especially for beginning writers, it can feel daunting -- just not knowing where to start, I mean. But you don't really need a "hook." If one comes to you, great; use it. But if no hook occurs to you, the standard "just before action," "mid-action" and "post action" story openings are all pretty serviceable.
Write about what interests you. If animal cruelty is one of them, take a look at some real-life scenarios. Maybe dogs that are forced to fight each other. Watch Animal Cops on the Animal Channel. But before you write about animal cruelty, what about animal cruelty would you write? The abusive owner? The abused animal? From whose perspective? I don't think many stories about animal abuse have been written from the abuser's perspective. That would require some psychological research to determine what is with the abuser, whether they suffer from anger management problems or are just sickeningly sadistic or something else.
The only book that I read that had some animal cruelty in it would be White Fang it's a story about a half dog half wolf. It's a good story and it's short. I read it in elementary I think which was a long time ago so I can't remember the author.
