Starting your book

[Charles T. Forests]

I have been racking my brain on how to start my novel with the main character but everything i want to write predates his needs/wants im not talking prologue just destination and time line does it matter with multiple pov or i also tried to change the main character but it does work or should I just cut out the story til it involves him? This is because I can't start my first chapter with a war scene personal view.

 

[dollyt8]

I would never start a book before the main character (unless it's a very short section introducing them through someone else's POV), but I suppose that's just a personal preference. I know some other people that manage it just fine. I think it takes a lot of skill though and should be handled prety carefully.

 

[pmmg]

I don't think there is enough info about the intro to be helpful.

I would think, whatever it is you are thinking about the opening, must be completely re-thought, if it is essential to start with the MC.

There are many ways to leak in backstory.

I'll give the same advice, I give to everyone, find the place where everything changes for the MC, and start there.

 

[Mad Swede]

No, you don't have to start the book with the main character. With that written, if you start a story with another character then this character must have or must quickly develop a link to the main character and the main character needs to turn up in the second chapter (or first if you use a prologue).

Yes you can start a story with a war scene, but that scene will need to be important in some way for your main character. I think that the risk you take in starting with a war scene is putting potential readers off, especially if you write a very gory war scene.

I always start a story in medias res, that is in the middle of the action. Then I try to feed in back story details (timelines etc) in or just before those chapters where the information is needed. If the reader doesn't need the back story to follow the plot then I don't put it in, I leave them using their imagination a bit. In my view you as the author need to know the back story in some detail so that your characterisation develops in the right way without losing the readers sense of credibility, which is why you sometimes need to drip feed the back story into the main story.

(Finally, and no offense intended, please punctuate your posts correctly. As someone with severe dyslexia I found your post at the start of this thread incredibly hard to read and interpret.)

 

[Diana Silver]

Why don't you just start the story where it starts for your main character, and let him gradually discover all the things from the past that led up to his destiny? We don't need the information to be presented chronologically: we can learn about the past as the story progresses. Then it becomes a puzzle for him (and the reader) to piece together. As a reader, I love puzzles.

 

[Prince of Spires]

start my novel with the main character but everything i want to write predates his needs/wants

One question this raises is, are you actually using the correct main character? In the end, your main character is the one with the biggest wants and needs, the one with the most at stake in the story. If this isn't your current main character, then you should definitely switch.

Other than that, keep in mind that the first character a reader comes across (who is not in a prologue), will be considered the main character. If you're writing multiple POV's, then this could be an issue. Of course, you can alter this during the novel, by showing different characters. However, you will have readers wondering where that first character is and what he's doing.

In my opinion, your start either needs to be part of the story, or you should skip it (at the start). If it's crucial for the reader to know, put it in later, either as a flashback, or as an explanation the main character gets, or just a worldbuilding chapter. But start with your main character (and like PMMG mentions, what changes for him), and take it form there.

 

[Dylan]

I would never start a book before the main character (unless it's a very short section introducing them through someone else's POV), but I suppose that's just a personal preference. I know some other people that manage it just fine. I think it takes a lot of skill though and should be handled prety carefully.

You're absolutely right, starting a book before the main character's direct involvement is tricky and requires careful execution. Your preference for keeping the focus tightly on the protagonist (or introducing them through a brief, intentional alternate POV) is a strong approach, especially for character-driven stories.

 

[The Dark One]

You may want the reader to know something (about the world / situation etc) which the MC doesn't know yet. Prologues or first chapters without the MC can be very handy for this and that special knowledge the reader has - which the MC does not - can be profitably used to inspire intrigue/drama/anxiety in the reader's mind as they hover at the MC's shoulder.

 

[Fidel]

Starting is the hardest part, just vomit words onto the page now, clean ‘em up later. Momentum >>>>>>>>>>>>>> perfection.