Beginnings of a story - Writers Forum

Randatos · 08-23-2005, 01:02 PM

One trouble I always have when I'm writing is the opening. More then any other block, is that damn opening. I always feel obligated to explain as much about the main character, and other characters the main character is already in contact with. Either this will turn into a boring information dump, or I won't be able to find a way to explain what happens. It's been suggested to me to try writing from the middle, but that feels awkward, and my natural urge to explain the past comes and bites me in the ass. I've considered planning ahead, perhaps making an outline or so, but that's just something way too odd to me. Any suggestions to fix my oping problem?

leliathomas · 08-25-2005, 11:55 AM

What helped me with this (not to say I've totally conquered the issue!) was to just sit and read the openings to several of my favorite novels. When reading, you don't pay attention to the method, but when reading to study it, you begin to see there are many ways to begin a book.

All the writing sites and books will say, "Start with a gut-catching, opening line. Make it stand out and grab people until they want to continue reading." Well, mark my words, at least half of your favorite novels don't start that way. They just, well, start. They start at the point that's best for them, depending on the story.

With all that said, something that does help me is actually the opening clincher line. It gets me on track.

Another thing that helps me is to have a prologue for a book. I can't say all my writing could use a prologue, but a prologue seems to really help me write the novel and provide background information in a subtle way (i.e. it doesn't have to be forced down someone's throat later on in the story).

Prologues are also typically short; this gives me an invisible but forceful cut off line for the opening. A prologue also makes me think about "what will keep the reader's interest" when I get to the closing line.

Just a thought!

Slot · 08-26-2005, 05:46 PM

Quite honestly, there's no need to worry about giving too many character details in the very beginning of a book, nor to make something "dramatic" and action packed.

Generally, if you have a basic plot, your writing should be focused around the best place to start to get your characters and plots from point A to point B. That seems to help give the story a general direction, and then, if you want to give your beginning a little zip later on, that's perfectly fine.

Also, while you may want to provide the basics such as a name a brief description in the beginning, you could always find a seamless way to give a background of a character later on, focusing only on details related exactly to the story.

I don't know, I've yet to post any of my work, and I'm rather young, so perhaps my way is offbase; but one should try everything to find what works best for them.

blademasterzzz · 08-26-2005, 10:35 PM

Ilya, I give you a word of advice: please stop referencing every question with your story.

As for opening lines: It doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, you'll probably have to rewrite your story anyway, and once you wrote the first draft it should be easier to know what to say in the beginning, and how much of it.

lisajane · 08-26-2005, 10:52 PM

Just wait and be patient. The line will come to you and when it does, it'll be slapping you across the face.

Lord Raiden · 08-27-2005, 08:19 AM

I've had that same problem where you want to tell WAY more than is needed to be known in the opening of the book. I used to do that in my prologues, but now I write my prologues with just enough info to get the reader interested, then kick off the story. Clive Cussler does this splendidly. He'll give you some back history on something that ties into a later part of the story, but nothing about the main body of the story. All that unravels as he's telling the main body of the story itself.

White Death and Fire Ice did an excellent job of this in both cases. My prologues don't tend to be quite as long as his are. Heck, his are unusually large for a novel, but they work splendidly. Mine tend to be a few paragraphs that use a quick and dirty method for getting the reader up to speed on the basics before plunging them into the main story. It keeps them from going "WTF??" and wondering what's going on when the story first kicks off.

Randatos · 08-28-2005, 06:35 PM

A few moments ago an idea struck me. I have been having trouble writing for the past few days, but with this new idea came the ability to write. Tell me what you think of this opening, please.

- - -

Towards the end all I could remember was the pain. The pain was searing, almost as if it were to burn, but at the same time, it was freezing. It was a pain like I had felt never before in my travels. Nothing was like the pain I had endured during the battle in the Tower of Adjar. It was maddening, the pain that sought to rend me from my life, weakening both my heart and my soul. And I assure you, it did just that. But just as contradictory as the feeling of the pain, was it’s effects. It strengthened me, even as I was weakened by the trauma of death. I cannot be certain weather truth lay in my theory, but I believe had it not been for that eternal pain, I would not have had the courage to cast the book into the flames. Perhaps had the sorceress not used her diabolical spell on me, she would continue to live on, having pursued and accomplished whatever diabolical plot she had set out to complete. I don’t know what it was, in my journey I never learned her history. I merely knew that she was a master of evil. Or perhaps I could be wrong. She could simply be an agent of evil. If that is to be true…

As I’m sure you can tell by my appearance I am not much fit for combat, as I had been in my youth. My sword hand, which had been the focal point for her foul spell, is now mostly useless, brittle and lifeless. My chest covered in the scars from the many battles with her minions. My legs broken from the fall. If she is to be just an agent, who will stand against it? I’m sure there are others that hold the courage I once had. I still do, but the ability to use that courage was lost when she died.

You asked for a retelling of my tale, and I must apologize. It seems I have started at the end. It is the end that is most prominent to me. Many parts of my memory have faded in time; it has been two years. Still, I can remember everything from when I stepped into that Tower as if it was happening at this moment. I chased her throughout it, dodging traps and her minions. Once I was forced to fight with several of her imps, but my sword quickly cut them down. She was backed into the last room, or what I had thought to be the last room. Be it by her magic, or help from another, the floor opened up, plunging her into the darkness. At first I thought god had finally intervened, but her laughter chased me as I was to turn back. I knew, she was still alive. She was waiting for me.

I see again I have gone to the ending, instead of the beginning, as most stories begin. That is just how prominent this memory is. Many times I sit to drink tea, or continue a story, and somehow the things around me shift into that Tower, as if I had returned. Just this morning, as I was readying for your arrival, I was sitting for breakfast. The toast on my plate blackened, as if suddenly burning, then enlarged, turning into then gaping whole, just as how it had been two years ago. I felt the urge to jump and chase the sorceress. But my fork came into view several feet away, only now it was the ladder I had used to follow her.

I’m sure you understand my plight now. The memory of that Tower haunts me. I will do what I can to relate to you the story, my story rather, without needless interruptions of the Tower.

Lord Raiden · 08-28-2005, 07:18 PM

Pretty good overall. Few grammer problems. Example:

"The pain was searing, almost as if it were to burn"

That would more correctly read as:

"The pain was searing, almost as if it were a fire consuming my flesh" (note: dramatic addition for effect)

That's just an example, but one you can chew on hopefully and use.

There's also a couple of misused words (whole instead of hole, etc) but mostly it sounds pretty good.

Randatos · 08-28-2005, 07:22 PM

I purposely had some things like that in there, to have more of an effect that it was an imperfect person speaking. Not things like whole and hole, of course. I'll reread my writing soon to find things like that.

Robgb · 08-29-2005, 10:37 AM

The trick to beginnings is that they shouldn't really start at the beginning. If you do go and read most of your favorite books -- whether they start with a compelling first line or not (and more often than not they SHOULD) -- you'll discover that most of them start in the middle of some kind of action.

And by ACTION I do not mean guns and car chases. I merely mean that something or someone is already in motion. Here's an example:

I didn't like the way he was looking at me.

Now what does that opening line do? The reader immediately wants to know WHO is looking, where they are and how it affects the main character. They want more.

And that's what an effective opening does. It makes the reader want more. By starting in the middle of some kind of action -- like the above opening line -- you've already got a head start.

Black Riven · 08-29-2005, 06:14 PM

I usually don't have problems with first lines, the way I see it the trick is not to try to come up with 'a great line', but 'a line that does something great'. People get stuck trying to write 'a great line' because this concept is very abstract and people don't know what to do, but if you try to write a line that serves a certain purpose very well that's alot easier because if you know what to write, you know what you need to achieve.

Usually when I start a story I ask myself 'if this was the movie, what would the first scene look like?'. I find it very helpful to think in scenes sometimes because it helps you see what the story feels like as an event that's happening. A 'beginning scene' can work very well because it sets the tone of the story and can introduce alot of things all at once- you got locations, events, people, dialogue, actions and reaction to everything and it works out really well in a 'show don't tell' way.
Other times I find that the beginning gets decided by what's required by the structure you choose for the start of the story, be it writing style or related to the order in which you want to introduce certain aspects of the story: for example if you write about a soldier, the important part can be either that he's mighty and powerful, desperate and broken, dying or victorious, so you arrange the order in which you introduce the information in a way that emphasizes this, and then you know that 'I need a line that conveys this particular emotion/mood'.

As for your intro, I found it to be a bit confusing- a huge sea of unclarified information that you sink us too deep into. You start in the middle (well in your case- end) of things, and then apoligize for it, which is a classic trick, but then you repeat it and at the end say 'as you can see that Tower influenced me alot so I'm sorry again, I'll try to tell it clearly now', and I was left thinking that I didn't really had to go through that twice. It was clear from the first paragraph that this was going to be one of those beginnings that leave the reader with intriguing preview information which he can't understand yet before going on to tell the story. Doing it once is good, doing it twice feels like you're pulling it for too long, achieving interest should be followed by satisfying that interest, not trying to do something you already did.

Robgb · 08-31-2005, 01:48 PM

You're right that the first line does not have to be "great" in a literary sense. It doesn't have to be a line that will have everyone falling over themselves about what a wonderful prose stylist you are, or how clever you are.

The first line, the first paragraph, the first page, the first chapter -- and every subsequent chapter share one basic function: to keep the reader reading.

Your first line should be a HOOK. Or a magnet. Something that pulls the reader in and makes them want to keep reading.

And to do this, you must approach every book with the promise that you will not reveal everything too soon. What your characters are doing and why they're doing it should be revealed in small doses.