When the beginning won't cooperate?

Now that I'm finally done with Henry Rider (for the time being, anyway) I want to work on one of the other ideas I've been sitting on for a while. But no matter how many times I rewrite it, I can't get the beginning to feel right. I'm not someone who can write my stories out of order, so until I get this figured out I'm stuck.

Any suggestions?

 

If you can't - or rather, won't - write out of order, you'll have to figure it out.

Being more specific would help us help you.

 

The only advice I can give is what I remember Brandon Sanderson saying in one of his online lectures once - If you cant understand why you feel something is wrong, write out a bullet point list of why you think it doesnt feel "right." Then write a list down of what you think it would take to make it feel "right." Narrow things down in a very scientific way.
You have to analyze the problem and look for concrete identification points, otherwise you will just rewrite until you're blue in the face without understanding the problem.

 

I won't pitch the non-linear method since you've made it clear that one's out. So...

Try backing up to a point prior to where you're attempting to write. Write your way toward it, and then, heretical as it may sound, the bit leading up to where you want to actually start, cut that part off and throw it away. It's what you needed to get you there. It's just you letting the car run a few minutes before you pull it out of your Winnipeg garage in the middle of February. It's just warm up.

 

I want to set up the two main characters (who are both 17) as being rivals. One is a bully, the other is a complete pushover, both of which ties into their backstory. But everything I try just makes them sound like bickering first graders. And since I write YA fantasy, I also don't want to waste too much time and risk losing the reader's attention.
So basically I have to introduce and develop two character, make the development feel natural, make THE CHARACTERS feel natural, build the world and the lore that sets up their goals and motivation, and keep the plot moving at a brisk pace...all in the very first chapter of the book. Maybe the first two.

 

^ That's very similar to what I do before I start on a story. I write about the story and characters for some time, getting to know them and putting them into little scenes together. This gets the juices flowing and the ideas rolling, and you might find all of a sudden that what you're writing is now the story itself.

 

I know you don't like to write out of order, but often what I do is write the scene I want, then go back and write what had to happen for that scene to be able to occur. If this is a middle section there often would be two or three chapters/sections connecting the two events. Sometimes that works, other times I realize there was no way to allow X to happen without something that is completely out of character for the story. If that happens, I know I need to scrap at least one of the scenes and start over.

 

My question is, what part of the story do you feel the most inspired to do? It sounds like you're more interested in a particular outcome or certain characters, so does it have something to do with how your plot/people get to that point? Maybe make a list of various beginnings and choose the one you like the best.

 

What if you start it off already within a scene? Like perhaps the bully and the pushover are engaged in something at school or a party, etc. so the very first words of the story could be dialogue or describing something they are doing. Sometimes when you open a story already mid-scene, the reader is immediately pulled in and will see character traits immediately.

You could also maybe open it with a scene from the past, like a sort of prologue to setup one or both characters.

Just spitballing there...

 

I am working on the idea of a format for chapters. I think this is just a vehicle to get me further along my writing journey, so maybe not permanent. Anyway, it took me two years to write and rewrite my first chapter. The original first draft was something that I loved but it just wasn't working. It ended up being spread across the first three chapters of my book (not published) and that solved the issue. I think the thing is, the first chapter has to do so many things and there is only so much space. The particular issue I had was that it was just too dense, it had to be thinned out to work.

If you want to send me a copy of what you have, I can give you my view if you like.

 

Good advice. I do the same but I think you have simplified the idea!