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How to start your story?

So the big problem I have is starting my story. I know what I want, how I'm going to get there, just not how to kick things off in an interesting way. As such, I start writing from a point further into my story.

So, I guess my question is this: How do you kick off your story in an interesting way?

Cheers
 

Reilith

Sage
Pick a starting point randomly if you don't have one already. Think back about it. What are your MC's like? Where were they before they began their journey through the plot? Then put them there - build a world around them, give them an introduction and starter "quest" that can tie into the main plot. Let the readers get to know the MC before you put them through hell.

I don't really know how else to respond to this cause I don't have a problem with writing starters - I am more of a person that gets stuck in the middle.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
I'm with Reilith. Just start. The chances are overwhelming that no matter what you think is the start of your story, it ain't. So don't waste time fretting. Yes, only do useful fretting. :) No story I have ever written wound up starting where I originally thought it would.
 
At the stage I'm at with my WIP, if I can't think of a way to describe what's happening in an interesting way, I sort of write it in a basic this-is-whats-happening type of way. Then I just move on until it comes to me. How you start your story off is very important, so I wouldn't expect get it right the first time I'm writing.
 

Devora

Sage
It all depends. You can start from the beginning. There's also "In media res" which starts the story in the middle, but usually this takes a fair about of flashback and narrative backtracking. It all depends on if the beginning of the quest is important narratively, or do you feel like getting straight into it? Take a barfight for example: you can lead up to the fight, or you can just start in the middle of the fight and then bring the reader up to speed on how it got there through dialogue.

Another advice i can give is make the first sentence "pop out". It should hook your reader. It should pretty much encompass the "voice" of the story. (Neuromancer by William Gibson: " The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.", The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.")
 

Saigonnus

Auror
I tend to start things where the action begins. In books that I have read that do the same, it helps to hook the reader into the story, instead of having 30 pages of setup that can easily be explained other ways.

Truthfully, I haven't finished much beyond a few short stories, but most use that strategy for how they begin. If it is truly important to tell the story about how the characters got to the action, you could write it up in a prelude.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Heliotrope

Staff
Article Team
I'm with Skip 100%. Just start. Don't think too much about it until you have at least a draft finished. I usually change my story beginnings at least 5-6 (or more) times before I'm happy with them, and often I'm not sure exactly even what the story is about until I'm finished a draft. Things change so rapidly as you are drafting that what you thought is the 'beginning' will change rapidly as well.
 

Addison

Auror
I understand the issue of getting that beginning down to the best of your abilities. I read in a writing book that a beginning, and the entire story, is like a rocket launch. The beginning is the launch, the middle is the journey from earth to the moon and the end is that big sigh of relief moment where they come around the moon and everyone knows the characters are safe. Beginnings are tricky and the launch is ulcer-inducing. If one thing goes wrong in a rocket launch, trajectory is off, valve pops, doesn't get enough speed, whatever, the rocket either won't break the atmosphere and it will be the world's biggest most expensive four-seater plane ride. Worst case is the rocket explodes before it gets clear of the station. As writers we don't want that to happen.

Several professional writers, in their writing books, have said that a back cover/book flap should entice readers by covering the who, what, where, why readers should care. I've found that the same applies to beginnings. Introduce who the story is about, what is happening at that moment that's so important/revealing/descriptive whatever, where does the story take place (not just geographically but also in genre) and why readers should care. Obviously you're not, or you shouldn't anyway, tell the whole scope of things in the first or second chapter. No. Stories are composed of arranged, varied yet connected events. So the first event, the one you start the story with, why should readers care about that? Look at some your favorites. Like Harry Potter, why do we care that Harry's relatives are trying to get rid of him so they don't have to take him to the zoo? Why do we care that Bilbo's home is suddenly full of rambunctious dwarves?

Like I said there's no perfect or set way to start a story, but there are ways you do NOT want to start. Dreams, Flashbacks, video game, and dialogue. The first three ways are perfect to annoy a reader because, while the opening scene may be good-incredible, the second it's over and the readers see it was all in someone's dream, or a distant memory, or a video game, they're annoyed. They were given some kind of great action or tension that could have lead to a fantastic story but then, "Sorry to keep you waiting, we hope you enjoyed the opening act, here's the real story".

Dialogue isn't a good idea because you're introducing two or more characters that the reader has never met and they don't know who's the lead, the side, the villain, what's going on or anything.

My opinion, figure out the key elements that absolutely, positively, no-way-rhyme-reason-method-to-introduce-it-later-so-it-works-elemtns of the story and find a way to introduce them in that beginning. Remember rocket launch. You want to break through the atmosphere. Of course you won't know if the beginning works until someone besides yourself reads it. I probably just made some of you really nervous just then, sorry. Just cover the who, what, where, when and why of the first act. Tweak it from there.

Good luck, happy writing. :)
 
C

Chessie

Guest
How to start a book:

Step 1) Make a drink of any sort: tea, coffee, or tasty margarita

Step 2) Sit in the chair

Step 3) Open up your laptop or turn on your computer

Step 4) Take a sip of your drink, then another one

Step 5) Write the first sentence that comes to mind. Then keep going.
 
Well, I think that's the key, just to get on and do it. I think starting at a point in time where the protagonist is running from a scene of crime is a good start...

I will see where it takes me :)
 

Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
A while back I was given the following advice:
Start the story wherever you feel like, then once you're done, cut out the first third.

I don't know that I agree with the specifics of the advice, but it makes a few good points.
- Start wherever you feel like. In fact, just start. It's better than not starting.
- Finish the draft and then see what needs changing.
- You're probably going to load up the beginning with too much information that isn't essential for understanding the story.
- Don't get too attached to your writing. You may have to get rid of some of it.
 

Velka

Sage
Like others have said, wherever you choose to start your story in the first draft is very unlikely going to be where your story ultimately starts when it is complete.

My personal strategy is to just start it where and when I feel it makes sense when I sit down to actually start writing it. I often find that by the 1/3 way mark I realize that it should really start later, or earlier in the timeline. I'm guilty of either providing way too much info or not nearly enough at the beginning of my stories. As I write I find ways to weave in backstory/worldbuilding/info through the plot, making a lot of the 'beginning' unnecessary, or I find that the reader doesn't have enough information for what happens later to make sense or get them to care.

I've had stories that ultimately began in what I thought was chapter 2, and stories that had two chapters added before what I thought was the beginning. Outlining thoroughly can help, but it's not until you start putting flesh around the bones that you can you see its true form.
 

Malik

Auror
Start where the story starts. Write forwards. When you're done, reread the beginning and see how much backstory you need to make the opening make sense. Go back to that point, write what you need. Lather, rinse, repeat. Your editor will tell you to take out whatever you don't need.

The story rarely starts where you think it does, but you won't know that until you're done.
 
The story rarely starts where you think it does, but you won't know that until you're done.

This is so true. It's only when the story is over that you can go back and think: "Is this really the best point to begin? Or does the story actually start in chapter 2?" It has been said elsewhere that in many early drafts, particularly by new authors, the first three chapters can often be deleted entirely in order to find the point where the plot really kicks off.
 
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