What helps you write the beginning of a story?

[Chessie]

Hello everyone! I am new here and looked to see if there was a like-minded thread on this topic but didn't see one, but if there is please let me know.

So I have this wonderful idea for a fantasy short story. I have been marinating on it for a while, so I know my characters, how it will a flow, etc. But I am having a difficult time coming up with the beginning and that is preventing me from moving forward with the writing of it. I told myself that maybe I should keep baking the idea in my head and the beginning will reveal itself...but then that feels as if I am putting off writing a story that is literally booming inside of me. I have several ways the story could be started but nothing seems to stand out and fit into the flow of it.

So I wanted to ask what works for some of you that opens up the beginning of a story. Hopefully, seeing what helps others might give me some ideas. Thank you so much in advance and I look forward to the responses.

 

[JCFarnham]

It seems like some horrid cliche I grant you, but I write one word, see how I like it, then progress from there. Starting something does seem like a chore sometimes, doesn't it? But you can beat that feeling with practice. Don't worry about where to start, just start.

Is there a particular image you have in your mind that draws you to wanting to write this story? Get some prose on paper about that.

For my urban fantasy novel, I loved the idea of having a contemporary fantasy set in Scotland in and around the wonderful city of Edinburgh. I also had a magic system I was particularly enamored with... I combined the two. I started writing. My protagonist is trudging through a heathland in the pouring rain, looking for something. That scene isn't really anything to do with the greater plot of the novel, but it did it's job. It got me going.

(sidenote: that scene is still my opening, but that may change a thousand times over before I hit the metaphorical submit button.)

My advice for you is: Just describe something. A location. A character performing some odd, intriguing action. Whatever.

If you hate it, write something else but don't throw stuff away. The more you write the more I think you're true opening will become apparent. Don't be afraid to skip ahead either.

 

[Xaysai]

I feel like I am better at writing the first sentence than I am the rest of the story. Sometimes it's all I write. My Scrivener is full of first sentences that go nowhere.

I'm going to start a service where I just write first sentences for people.

But on topic: maybe you should just write from where you are comfortable starting the story and worry how to start it later?

As I'm learning more about the art of writing, I am seeing that many people write the "beginning of the story", but their story should REALLY begin a few paragraphs in. Where the REAL beginning of the story is (if that makes sense?).

 

[JCFarnham]

As I'm learning more about the art of writing, I am seeing that many people write the "beginning of the story", but their story should REALLY begin a few paragraphs in. Where the REAL beginning of the story is (if that makes sense?).

As in "cut out the day in the life, and get straight to the call to action/this is out of the ordinary"? I do quite like that technique my self, though others will say make me feel for the character first before dropping them in the do-do.

It's sometimes called "Late in, early out" if that helps describe it and, if anything, is a nice way to think about writing your scenes.

 

[Xaysai]

As in "cut out the day in the life, and get straight to the call to action/this is out of the ordinary"? I do quite like that technique my self, though others will say make me feel for the character first before dropping them in the do-do.

It's sometimes called "Late in, early out" if that helps describe it and, if anything, is a nice way to think about writing your scenes.

Yes, this!

 

[Ireth]

As in "cut out the day in the life, and get straight to the call to action/this is out of the ordinary"? I do quite like that technique my self, though others will say make me feel for the character first before dropping them in the do-do.

It's sometimes called "Late in, early out" if that helps describe it and, if anything, is a nice way to think about writing your scenes.

But one could argue that you need to at least establish what is "normal" before you get to "abnormal", no? It's just a matter of how much of the former before the latter.

EDIT: I have this exact problem with Winter's Queen. How to show the hero's loving relationship with his daughter, and his apprehension about her going out at night, before she leaves with her friends and promptly gets herself kidnapped?

 

[Cursive]

In my very little experience with writing I've found that the start that you start with is not what you'll end up with.

The reality of translating thoughts into sentences, sentences into stories, etc, is staggering. A paragraph with even a single character, a setting and an inkling of plot requires an incredible amount of justification; it is why starting is so daunting. Just write the thickest and densest prose you can and then whittle it down to just the right words.

Once all you ideas are on paper it will be easier to see how they fit with each other and its much more practical to cut and paste the details into a different order, if need be.

I've also noticed that writing the beginning of a story is easier once I've thought more about the end and the themes that I want to pull the whole thing together.

Best of luck!

 

[ThinkerX]

In my experience, beginnings can be rough. You need something to hook the reader in almost immediately, you need a logical follow through...

A lot of my beginnings are cludges: they are 'temporary starting points', something to write from. Later, once the initial draft of the tale is done, I'll go back and try different beginnings, aiming for one which really works. Some of my beginnings have been rewritten something like half a dozen times.

 

[Jabrosky]

For me, it's a lot easier to finish a story if I start writing with only the first scene in mind. However, it is absolutely critical that this scene end with something (e.g. theme, character arc, or the story's central problem) unresolved. That way the remainder of the story grows naturally from this opening as the protagonist searches for a resolution. This approach works because stories for me are fundamentally about characters responding to problems that challenge them.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Outlining.... It doesn't work for everyone.

However, I keep a very loose outline that's able to be changed as the story takes different directions. At the start, it will list out very basic events & characters, as the outline progresses & ideas grow, those basic ideas for the beginning may start to take a more specific form.

I continue to outline & refine ideas until I just can't hold back from actually doing the real writing anymore. This is the point where I realized the ideas are well-formed enough to begin. With a dynamic outline in hand, I love starting new chapters and scenes. I have a road map with points of interest to hit along the way, how I choose to get from one point to another involves creativity. Those guide points are powerful sparks.

 

[Chessie]

Thanks so much for the great responses! They were all great ideas that have given me some things to chew on. I have sat down and written 3 different beginnings so far, and all of them have gone into the trash. But I have the rest of the story and ending mapped out in my mind and it just feels like I cannot get to it. So I tried writing the part before the climax and it just felt wrong without having some beginning. I think I am going to try some of the suggestions on here and see where that takes me. Its important for that the reader see the relationship between the protagonist and her husband before getting deeper into the story. So far, its all been cheesy and I'm anti-cheese.

Thank you again for the ideas, definitely going to them a try.

 

[BWFoster78]

Thanks so much for the great responses! They were all great ideas that have given me some things to chew on. I have sat down and written 3 different beginnings so far, and all of them have gone into the trash. But I have the rest of the story and ending mapped out in my mind and it just feels like I cannot get to it. So I tried writing the part before the climax and it just felt wrong without having some beginning. I think I am going to try some of the suggestions on here and see where that takes me. Its important for that the reader see the relationship between the protagonist and her husband before getting deeper into the story. So far, its all been cheesy and I'm anti-cheese.

Thank you again for the ideas, definitely going to them a try.

This is important: Allow yourself to write a first draft that really sucks. Repeat over and over, "It's just the first draft."

I doesn't matter what your opening is, just write the story. Save this kind of agonizing for the 2nd draft.

If you're still having trouble at that point, find a writing group or beta readers or post it on a forum like the Showcase here. Once you have an actual story, you can get input as to how the story should begin from others.

 

[Telcontar]

It was already said (directly above me, in fact), but I'll say it again cuz it's important.

Write the first one that comes to mind, then ask yourself why it does and doesn't work. Then improve.

I've already written three beginnings for my current novel project. I have a fourth rewrite in mind. That might be the beginning I end up sticking with. It's a strange irony of writing that the beginning of the story is the least likely to remain unchanged after the first draft anyway. You learn so much writing the rest of the story that you can't help but change the beginning to match it better.

 

[wordwalker]

One thing I keep in mind is, what's the essence of either the hero and why he's so driven (or so capable, or else why he has such a long way to go in becoming either) or the villain/problem and why it's so serious. More than anything else, I think an opening can show something specific that captures how much momentum one side or the other is going to have, in the way that's most unique about this story.

It might be straightforward, like "the knight's dead, how are a group of pages going to kill that dragon??" Or it could be as complex as "This is the most despised recruit the army's ever seen, but he wants to be a general someday..." But I like to put my finger right on the problem, or the sense that this is the guy who'll be the solution.

 

[JCFarnham]

The best adivce I can give is, don't throw anything away. EVER.

You may not see the use of that scrap right now... but I've lost count of the amount of times I've looked back through my files and found that a piece I used to hate can in fact be worked into something better. I may begin a story at a much later date that can cannibalize that older bit of writing.

Slow process but, you simply may not yet have come up with the idea that makes it work just so, you know?

 

[Chessie]

I just got so frustrated. Normally, I will think of what I want to write for some time and then one day, it just all comes out of me. I go over and change it a few times before I am ready to say its finished. But everyone on here is right, I just need to start writing something and not say its the final draft of the beginning.

I suppose what is important is that something just get me started.

 

[SeverinR]

I wrote one story at the beginning of the day and continued to write.
Later I deleted the boring stuff.

Most of the other stories I thought about until the beginning worked.

 

[Steerpike]

I'm more like Xaysai. I don't have trouble writing the beginnings. The vast majority of my stories start with a beginning that comes to mind, and is written down. Sometimes, they don't go beyond that. Other times, they turn into a full-fledged story.

If you're having trouble with a beginning, I'd think about the first event in your story that takes things beyond the point of no return, where the rest of what happens in the tale is going to flow from there, one way or another, no matter what. Try to find that place and write it. Chances are, it will make a good beginning.

 

[Anders Ämting]

I normally try to see the first scene in my head as if it was a movie. I don't usually have a problem knowing where a story is supposed to start - generally it's with the first notable thing that happens. Not necessarily the first really important thing, but whatever actually sets off the events of the plot. Actually putting words to it can be tricky, though.

 

[Chessie]

I'm more like Xaysai. I don't have trouble writing the beginnings. The vast majority of my stories start with a beginning that comes to mind, and is written down. Sometimes, they don't go beyond that. Other times, they turn into a full-fledged story.

If you're having trouble with a beginning, I'd think about the first event in your story that takes things beyond the point of no return, where the rest of what happens in the tale is going to flow from there, one way or another, no matter what. Try to find that place and write it. Chances are, it will make a good beginning.

I like this a lot. I had never thought of trying out doing it this way. Thank you!

Anders, I can see the other pieces of the story in my mind as a movie...in bits and pieces. But this beginning is eacaping me. I do think I'm going to end up starting it at the point where the first action starts, then go over and see if that is really the beginning or if I should add on to it. All your suggestions have been so helpful!