What helps you write the beginning of a story?

[Addison]

For me, Beginnings are unpredictable. Some times the beginning is perfect off the bat. Other times what I first write is a warm up. Either by a few paragraphs or even a few pages. But here is a link to five great tips to writing great beginnings.

How to Start a Novel Right: 5 Great Tips | WritersDigest.com

 

[Jabrosky]

Here's an alternative idea that has just occurred to me: what if the very first scene you wrote was not the story's opening but the climax? Start with the most exciting part of the story, the part in which the hero kicks the villain's butt, and then afterwards write how the hero came to attain that power in the first place. It's a non-linear method to be sure, but it gets the most dramatic part over with and can suggest character development arcs at the same time.

 

[Addison]

M.L Forman did that in "Slathbog's Gold." The first scene was the protag and his party armed and ready outside the cave ready to kill a dragon and take its hoard. Great book.

 

[Mountain Bard]

Maybe it's just me, but I tend to find the first few paragraphs of a story to be the easiest. If I had to guess, I'd say that it's because I'm not deep enough into the story for it to have any of the rules or restrictions that come later after the premise is established. If that makes sense. There's just this great feeling of freedom that comes w/ the opening for me.

I only really ran into the problem of not knowing how to open a story once. I decided that I would just start somewhere near the beginning and worry about an opening later. I think it worked out nicely.

 

[Ifinx]

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.

I know exactly how you feel. This is exactly where I am also in my book. I have a pretty good map in my head of how I want everything to proceed, but getting that out onto paper or into my keyboard is completely different. I decided to go back and do more of an outline of how I want the events to unfold. Many people always say to just write and write then go back and fix what you have written. I have a problem with this because no matter how hard I try I can not do that. I think its like OCD but for writing lol. I wish you the best of luck, and please wish me the best of luck to. Just my thoughts.

 

[Catharsis]

Personally I have always found the beginning of my story to be one of the easier portions to write, simply because I have a fresh slate when it comes to the plot. I don't have to wrap up any loose ends or anything of the like. However I have also found that the opening of a story can often be written after the majority of the story has been penned. I'd suggest simply diving into it, and if your opening doesn't work for you once you are sufficiently into your work, then simply rewrite it completely.