Where to start - Writers Forum

AdrienneW · 01-22-2006, 11:45 AM

I have a book that I am working on (one of about 10) that I am really-really excited about. I feel its very original and has a lot of potential. The directions I can take with the character are many, I would not say endless, but they are many....so I have a lot of options (more then one story etc). My problem is this.
Where to start. I know the first thing out of some fingertips will be, what is the story about first, but honestly I am very private about my work....so I know thats going to make it very difficult for some one to help me. But I am still going to try.

Any how. I have started this novel on 4 different occasions gotten 100 pages in and simply felt like I was not telling all of the story. I tried starting at the beginning but it felt boring to me, even tried starting at the end....then I tried starting with the action and I felt like I was spending 2/3 of my time giving back information.

Its written in first person perspective.

Should I go ahead and start at the "beginning" so to speak? when the character faces a tragedy that changes her life and sends it into the direction that enlightens her to "the" conflict that is the basis for the story? Or should I drop the reader directly into the melee and just expect them to put the pieces together?

Thanks for any suggestions.

davidray · 01-22-2006, 12:06 PM

Are you asking how you should structure your story or how to start the writing process?
If you're asking about how to structure it, I would recommend that you finish what you've started, particularly if you've never "finished" a novel (I put it in quotes because no creative work ever seems finished to its author - but there is a point at which you are satisfied and have no further intention of changing it, no matter what the benefit might be).
The reason I recommend that you finish the storyline that you've already got is because the first step in the authoring process (at least for me) is telling the STORY. No matter how much plotting you've done or synopsis detail you've written, the story won't really be fleshed out until you've written it all down.
Once you've done that, put it down for a week or two and forget about it. Go read a book (fiction) you're interested in. Then read what you've got. If you're like me, you'll think something like "the story is good but the writing stinks". Once you've been through what you've already written, the pros and cons of a particular story structure will begin to become apparent. That's the point at which the ideal structure begins to become clear.

So, if you've actually meant to ask where to start the writing process then I've been writing to the wrong question, but my answer is still the same. Start where you left off. Finish the story, then go back and start the editing process. The process of finishing & polishing a novel is an experience that will dramatically increase your writing skill and the next time you write a first draft of a novel it will be ten times better than your first complete manuscript.

I think the real test of a writer is finishing. Those that finish publish (eventually).

AdrienneW · 01-22-2006, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidray

Are you asking how you should structure your story or

I think the real test of a writer is finishing. Those that finish publish (eventually).

Well I have finished stories....gotten to the end so to speak....(always room for more

)
Any how...I guess what I am asking is, WHERE should the story begin? At the beginning, at the middle, or at the end looking back?

Thats my problem. I normally Don't have this issue at all...as to where to begin....but in this story I am having a problem..a big problem...I don't know where to pick up my story and begin telling it.

PamHKyle · 01-22-2006, 12:55 PM

Just write. Maybe you shouldn't worry about whether or not your giving too much back info, but just write anything that you feel belongs in the story. Once you feel you've told it all, go back to it, break it down into little pieces and make a sort of puzzle out of it. Keep re-arranging until you feel it tells the story like it should tell it.
This might sound like a strange solution, but I had the same kind of problem with my current story, and it helped.

simon woodhouse · 01-22-2006, 03:08 PM

I think this is a matter of personal choice.

I always like to start at the beginning. If it's the middle or the end then much of the story has to be told in flashbacks, which I think is a difficult style to master, especially if this is your first go at writing something longer.

davidray · 01-22-2006, 05:15 PM

The other thing to keep in mind is that agents & editors tend to view flashbacks as amateurish. I don't necessarily agree with this, but you don't want to prejudice yourself if the flashback isn't absolutely required.

SxThorntonxS · 01-22-2006, 05:18 PM

Did you write an outline of some sorts? Try that. Also, write in pieces if it helps. You get a good scene in your head, write it out. You can put the peice together later

mammamaia · 01-22-2006, 05:30 PM

no one can tell you that, adrienne... only you can decide where it's best to start your story... david's advice is excellent... all i can add to his latest bit is that editors also shudder at first person pov novels from unknown new writers... unfortunately, it's a choice many [if not most] beginners make... truth is, few of even the best writers of all time have pulled it off well enough to make it work...

main problem is that it's not the best way to engage the readers, since they can't feel themselves pulled 'into' the story, when all those 'i's and 'me's won't let them forget it's only the writer who's 'in there'... sounds odd, perhaps, but the third person pov is more conducive to imagining oneself as the characters, and personally enmeshed in the fictional situations... that's how a story 'comes alive'...

as david noted re flashbacks, it's best to maximize your book's chances of hooking a publisher, not minimize them...

cryptika · 01-22-2006, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mammamaia

all i can add to his latest bit is that editors also shudder at first person pov novels from unknown new writers... unfortunately, it's a choice many [if not most] beginners make...

Oh.. dear.. I didn't know that

davidray · 01-22-2006, 09:07 PM

The good news is, third person POV is EASIER to pull off than first person. I wrote fifty pages in first person, then realized the story would be much more interesting if I could add the POV of other characters as well. Plus, I was getting frustrated having to tell the story from one character's POV. I wanted to be able to build suspense by creating an intersection of subplots, which is very hard to pull of from the first person. Usually authors do this by creating a mixture of first and third person POV, which is awkward and requires gimmicks (like making the first person parts of the story be in the form of letters or journal excerpts). I know of a few novels that did it, like A Bend in the Road by Nick Sparks and Guardian of the Horizon by Elizabeth Peters, but it has always seemed awkward at best and just plain stupid at worst.
The cool thing is, it's not that hard to change a story to third person. Some careful editing is all it takes - you can still get into the character's head but you're not constrained by the POV you've established (because it can vary by scene, which can't be done in first person without the gimmicks I already mentioned).
Just to be funny, one of the best ways to get rejected on the first page of a manuscript is to submit something in the second person. Don't do that!
I may have gotten off track of your original question, but I hope it was still helpful.

mammamaia · 01-23-2006, 06:32 PM

david, you're proving to be one of the most valuable additions to the forums!... hope you'll stick around...

pay attention to what he said, crypti... he's right, as usual...

hugs, m

cryptika · 01-23-2006, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidray

The cool thing is, it's not that hard to change a story to third person. Some careful editing is all it takes - you can still get into the character's head but you're not constrained by the POV you've established (because it can vary by scene, which can't be done in first person without the gimmicks I already mentioned)

I totally get what you're saying, davidray, but to be honest, in the story I'm writing now, I've switched the POV a few times, and the story has come to me most naturally when writing in first-person, with my protagonist the narrator... it started out as a story about four friends, but I realised that the story is really my protagonist's... so it made sense for her to narrate..

davidray · 01-23-2006, 08:49 PM

Mammamaia, I'll do my best to stick around. Thanks for the props!

Cryptika, don't let me stop you from sticking to a good thing. I'm only speaking in generalities. There have been plenty of books written from the first person that wouldn't work any other way. Honestly, I think the most important thing is that you keep writing, and the best way to do that is to follow the format that flows easiest for you. Get in your creative groove and go!

SxThorntonxS · 01-24-2006, 01:51 AM

I find it hard to believe that most editors shudder at first person pov novels. Of course Im probably wrong, maybe its just my preference. The majority of the books I've read in the last year or so have been in the first person POV. THis isnt because i was looking for novels in this format either. For example, Chuck Palahniuk. I have never read anything by him that was anything but first person. Maybe its just me, but i almost prefer it.

AdrienneW · 01-24-2006, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mammamaia

no one can tell you that, adrienne... only you can decide where it's best to start your story... david's advice is excellent... all i can add to his latest bit is that editors also shudder at first person pov novels from unknown new writers... unfortunately, it's a choice many [if not most] beginners make... truth is, few of even the best writers of all time have pulled it off well enough to make it work...

.

Well most of my stuff is written from thrid person...and I did start this story twice in thir person....but I was constantly drawn back to a first person perspective.