How Do You Start Off?

[Griffin]

It is a simple question, but an important one. How do you start off on your projects?

For example, I primarily write short stories and novels. My first draft is mostly dialogue with little descriptions and key actions here or there. Dialogue is my strong point so I get all that down and be finished with it. Then I print out my work (or chapter) when I'm done and "rewrite" the whole thing. This is where I describe the scenes and the characters. The action is more action-y. And so on.

Everyone has their own way of doing things. I know some people describe first, dialogue later. Or do it all at once.

 

[Penpilot]

Well. I outline first. I figure out my plot and arcs for my characters then I block out scenes. In each scene I figure out how it's advancing the plot(s), whether it's an action or reaction scene, and after that, I start writing. Dialogue and description come out at the same time, but in editing, some gets trimmed and some gets expanded.

 

[Devor]

For me I start somewhere different each time. Sometimes it's a character, or a setting, or an event - or a challenge prompt - and everything just comes into place around it.

Even when I start writing, sometimes I write a scene straight through in order, and sometimes I start with the main event, and sometimes I write a structural outline with just a short sentence for each paragraph to fill in piece by piece later, and sometimes I write out all the dialogue to fill in the narration on a second pass. Each scene and story has different demands, in my mind, so I try to not to be rigid. But each strategy has different strengths and weaknesses in setting up the scene. Going straight through is more likely to surprise me, while a structural outline yields a tighter scene, and starting with the main event helps me to flush out the point and see how much setup it needs.

Mostly it's what feels right for the scene.

 

[Twilight Flyer]

Everyone is going to adopt a style that best suits them. As Devor said, it's important not to be rigid and to allow yourself room to move around.

Personally, I start by writing a single paragraph about what the story is going to cover. Then I spend a lot of time fleshing out the main characters - ie. what they look like, what their motivations are, what their faults are, etc. Then there are some shorter bios on the secondary characters. But I believe that character development needs to start early and you need a really good idea of those characters before you start putting them to story.

Once I have that done, I do an outline and then a full-scale synopsis of each chapter.

Then comes the fun part - writing the story. I write the prologue first and then I write the ending, or at least a general idea of it. That gives me a target to shoot for. Of course, that ending often changes as I'm creating, but that's OK. I still find it easier to see where Point Z is going to take me, even if I'm on Point A.

When doing individual chapters, I do the dialogue first by picturing it as a movie in my head. I transcribe as fast as I can, not worrying about errors. I can correct when I'm done. Then I fill in the the descriptive and it's off to the next one. I'll usually work 5 or 6 chapters like this, before I go back and start smoothing out some of the rough edges. I find that if I let things just flow and not worry about being correct or precise, I get a lot more ideas and gems down on paper.

 

[Jabrosky]

I usually start with a concept for either the main characters or the setting and try to figure out a plot for them.

 

[RavenBower]

How the idea germinates for me is different with each story. Sometimes it starts with the characters and the plot follows them and other times it starts with the plot and I find the characters within it.

Either way, after I've both the characters and the general plot idea I write a short snapshot of what I want the story to be. After that I spend some time mulling over the details and writing plot cards - one per each scene - and then breaking those down into chapters.

Because I can only fit so much info on a 3x5 card I sometimes, not always, take those cards and write an in depth description of each scene in a master document. After that, the writing begins!

Sometimes I'll write in order and other times I'll pluck the scene card I feel like writing off my plot wall and write whatever scene is calling to me at that moment.

 

[Cassia]

I just start writing...I don't really have a plan. I usually write diarys so a lot of the times I have only one scene in my head and I write that then just continue. But then again I'm ten years old...my biggest "novel" so ar has 27 pages...

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Depends on the story. If it's merely a few people placed in a situation then I just write.

If its a complex story involving large families, different timelines, etc. then I need to extensively outline before I write anything more than scene cards. In this case, I will outline and do detail work for 4-6 months while keeping a log of ideas for scenes along the way.

 

[Feo Takahari]

When I outline, it's usually with one-paragraph summaries of what will happen in each chapter, but I often just start off by writing. I write in chronological order, never skipping a scene. (I read somewhere that if you're bored writing a scene, your reader will be bored reading it, so I change or remove any scenes that I'm tempted to skip over and return to later.)

 

[Kenneth J. Ester]

My first step is always to just come up with one idea I like. My present series, I came up with the idea of demons wanting to wipe out the human race as their way to get back at God for kicking them out of Paradise. The angels turn to warriors for help, and aid them when they can. So my planned trilogy has a human story and a spiritual story going at the same time.

Once I have that one simple idea that I like, I just come up with my main character's name, imagine what he is like, and I sit down and start writing. I will usually write from beginning to end in order, and let the plot, and twists come naturally. When I first started writing my present series, The Demon Siege Trilogy, it started as one idea for one book. As it developed, as I continued writing, my imagination branched out and came up with what the next two stories would be and it became a trilogy. Then it continued and I came up with an idea where I can continue with a whole new story line using some of the same characters after the trilogy is finished.

Just dont be afraid to let your imagination change things up now and then, and if you ever feel like the story is not going in the right direction, do not be afraid to kill some of it off and start fresh from the last point you liked it.