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Where to start?

  • Thread starter Deleted member 2173
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D

Deleted member 2173

Guest
I would like some feedback on what point in my story's timeline to start from.

The protagonist in my novel lives in our world, and is a fictional public figure. It would be within character for him to speak at a press conference. At this press conference, I have the potential to have reporters ask him questions that, while off topic from the purpose of the press conference, could be used to establish some background information on him and illustrate his personality at this point.

The other option is to begin the story the moment that he regains consciousness on the world where the main story takes place, and show the details along the way of the story line.

My concern with using the press conference is that it sounds a little to easy to have these questions asked and there runs the risk of an info dump. At the same time, it could be a great opportunity to establish his character traits quickly so that the character's progression starts early and can be more fully explored.

Thoughts?
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
My concern with using the press conference is that it sounds a little to easy to have these questions asked and there runs the risk of an info dump. At the same time, it could be a great opportunity to establish his character traits quickly so that the character's progression starts early and can be more fully explored.

It's hard to say without actually seeing the writing. However, if you're having concerns about sounding like an infodump then it's probably because it is infodump-ish. Is there a way to weave important story elements into the press conference? This could entail some questions or it could be that some other important figure is present. There's a ton of directions you could go.

Normally, I'd advise to start as close to the relevant action as possible. However, there's nothing wrong with writing the press conference. Anything that doesn't work can be cut.

Hell I've cut tons of pages from beginnings because it took me 50 or more pages to discover where the story should begin. That may sound a bit intimidating because you may not want to write 50+ pages just to throw it away. I get that. But let's look at it in another light for a minute...

If I asked you to cut 50 pages...or 100 pages...or 200pages would you do so, willingly, knowing that those cuts make the book better? I know I would.

That's how I'd approach this issue. For now, write what you feel you WANT while keeping an eye out for better starting points. Later in revision, you can pare down the work, retool or discard the opening, etc. Don't spend too much time worrying about it in draft one.
 
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If you're worried about infodumping, here's a way to split the difference: Start the story with him waking up afterward, but pick out a few key points from the conference and run them through his memories now. If he has reasons to think those questions are connected to what's happened now, it's easy to justify it as his hindsight.

The idea is, if you don't want to get into a scene itself, just mentioning their facts does most of the job if they're in the right place in the story, presented with some kind of attitude besides blandness, and you make sure they don't get overlooked.

It could be something like:


He stumbled away from one tree and almost ran into another, his head still spinning. Did these twisted trunks really have bright red bark?

--Senator, is it true that the Shadow Reactor actually draws its power from other dimensions?

And I told them no, he thought. Shows what I know. He struggled to...


Note the italicized, first-person-present tense for the direct thoughts, with the dash to distinguish the remembered question. Punctuation like this is great for keeping a short thought or memory clear when it's jammed right into the middle of other things, playing it off of the other kinds of narrative and keeping it all moving.
 

Saigonnus

Auror
Just a thought, perhaps I am bucking the trend here in thinking that perhaps you should start with awakening in the fantasy world... you could always have the MC have fleeting dreams or scenes of remembrance of the press conference during the story instead of infodumping at the beginning.
 
D

Deleted member 2173

Guest
Hello Everyone,

Thanks for the feedback!
My concern about starting in the fantasy world is that the reader won't have as strong a feeling of the person that the MC is before this startling change hits him. He's not your typical hero material in the beginning, but when his attitudes and feelings are put in context, you can understand his points of view, and quite possibly share them.

I think I will write the scene and then decide, as T.Allen.Smith suggests. It can always be added to the 25th anniversary Edition of the "directors cut", right?
 

Saigonnus

Auror
Hello Everyone,

Thanks for the feedback!
My concern about starting in the fantasy world is that the reader won't have as strong a feeling of the person that the MC is before this startling change hits him. He's not your typical hero material in the beginning, but when his attitudes and feelings are put in context, you can understand his points of view, and quite possibly share them.

I think I will write the scene and then decide, as T.Allen.Smith suggests. It can always be added to the 25th anniversary Edition of the "directors cut", right?

Just because you drop an unknown character into the world without a background, doesn't mean you can't get to know the character in the first chapter or so and more so as they develop in the later chapters. It is a common thing to get to know the characters early; whether they have a history before the story takes place or not; anything they do that doesn't fully mesh at first could be explained later and it could be just as satisfying as learning from the onset about the reasons they do what they do. :)
 

Rob P

Minstrel
For me personally, writing my first MS has shown me a story can start in several places and not until the writing has begun do all those possibilities become clear. We set out with certain ideas that give us structure yet still we allow ourselves to remain open to the prospect of a latent discovery.

I thought I knew where my story started even after finishing a basic first draft. Now, whilst in editing, I'm not so sure, believing perhaps that somewhere in Chapter Fifteen is the true beginning. Am I willing to forego the prior chapters if it creates a better story? Yes. Am I upset at losing that material? No, because it helped me define my characters, my understanding and gives me a wealth of information to call upon in reconfiguring Chapters Sixteen onwards.

My advice is write both the press conference and the waking up scenes and ask yourself then which has the most resonance.
 
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