Beginnings? - Writers Forum

cacafire · 01-23-2006, 03:32 PM

Please, I need help. Any information you can spare on how to start writing a story will benefit me greatly. Specifically, I need help on the five areas of my writing:
How do I set the scene and environment efficiently?

What are good ways to show characterization and glue the reader to the character in the first five sentences?

I need tips on my style. For a piece of my style to critique, look at: The Mark of Jaun(Revised edition). You don't even have to read it all the way through. It's just to get an Idea of my style.

I seem to have thousands of ideas on stories and good plot's and characters. But the second I sit down to right it out... Argh! a little help here, por favor.

Thanks,guys.
-Cacafire

cacafire · 01-23-2006, 03:33 PM

The Mark of Jaun is in the critiques section.

slayerofangels · 01-23-2006, 04:36 PM

Beginnings are probably the hardest thing to get right. The only way to go with a beginning is to throw something down, then keep tweaking it until you're happy. That's why I'll probably never finish my story, everytime I review it I just seem to rewrite it from the start...

As for characters, its the small details of how they think and feel, of how they speak, how they react to other characters and how other characters react to them, that gives you a sense of who they are.

Hope that helps.

Slayer

cacafire · 01-24-2006, 09:23 AM

Hmm... can you be more specific on the characterization, slayer? Maybe a few examples?

cbrmale · 01-24-2006, 09:50 PM

There are so many ways of starting a story... I like to start with something mysterious and dramatic, which leads to a terse style of writing. Terseness means that characterisation will be only partly developed. Generally, I have little dialogue in the opening scene or scenes, and most of the character development is done as brief prose, brief thoughts in the narrators head. He or she may be thinking through what has happened, or about to happen, how they feel about it, how the impact the action is having on their lives and so on.

In a novel I recently finished, the character and her friends are being chased for their lives and they escape and hide. Nice dramatic start. As she recovers her breath she goes through thoughts like her contempt for her friends (look at them, - describing each in a couple of words - and they expect me to come up with all the answers!) as well as the way she is fed-up with her situation (I've had enough of this, running for my life, not knowing who is next to get me). Just enough to establish her mood (she's ready to change her life) and to briefly describe the people around her in the scene.

Over the next few chapters, we learn more and more of this character. But at the beginning, the events and the character are quite mysterious, and readers want to turn over to chapter two to find out more about who she really is and where is she going to turn for the answers.

Personally, I hate starting a book which has all flowery descriptive prose of a scene and a person and nothing much happens. I start with the 'happening' and add the descriptive prose and character development in later chapters.

cacafire · 01-24-2006, 10:09 PM

Yeah, I don't like the flowery descriptiveness either. But until now, That's all I knew how to do! I guess I have a lot to learn. lol.

SxThorntonxS · 01-25-2006, 12:56 AM

You and and i have a lot in common. I hate flowery descriptiveness. I like things to be closer to the point. Its one thing to describe something, its a completely different one to spend a page doing so. Im more interested in characters than in the location. I really dont care how the wind blew etc unless its important to the character or plot. But anyways, yeah starting is not easy. I must haver rewritten the first paragraph to Wicked In A Bottle Chapter 1 a dozen times and i am still disatisfied. Just start somewhere, get the story done and tweak it later. Dont be like me and constantly tweak the first chapters and thenneglecting to finish the story.

TrEe FoX · 01-25-2006, 01:07 AM

I feel like whenever I try to start a story with a punchy, exciting beginning I get sucked too quickly into the action of the story (perhaps I don't plan well enough), or I just run out of material for the beginning and it ends up as trash. I sympathize with you, cacafire, because I have the same problems. I feel like depressingly descriptive and long-winded prose is "longer, and therefore better" or something, but I also can barely stand to read what I've written. Also, whenever I start a story off snappily I feel like a trashy Airport Novelist. It's a vicious circle, eh?

g.f.whitney · 01-25-2006, 02:42 AM

What normally helps me, in figuring out my characters, is the backstory. I almost always compose a basic story, including small elements of their quirks and basic personality traits, before I ever begin writing a piece of fiction. It changes drastically once I begin writing the story, but it gives me a good start. Once you get into the story, however, there are a million and a half ways to tell your audience about your character. My personal favorite (not favorite, i don't particularly like using it, but it tends to work) is the internal monologue. They work wonders, because all you have to do is write dialogue in your character's voice that their world would never have insight into, thus tying in the audience with that particular character. This, of course, is just my method - there are millions of other ways.

maia · 01-25-2006, 02:57 AM

Ok, I have many tips on starting a story, however I will imit them to points I feel have not already been mentioned.
It sometimes helps to start off a story by marching down to the local library and choosing books that are of the same genre/ideas as you want your novel to eventually span out into. Pick about 5-10 books. Then, read the first couple of pages and see which one grips you the most. Make notes on what you find. Does the least interesting begin with description? Characters? Dialogue? Rate them all out of 10. This will give you an insight into what you plan your own novel to be. Remember, do not read to far into them, as novels of a similar disgretion to a developing idea of your own, will most likely shroud your ideas rather than aid them.
The most important thing is, like other people have so clearly pointed out, is to start with characters or dialogue. Do not point blanc describe everything to your audience - miscommunication is vital in story-telling. And if you get three pages done, and think Oh, dam, this is boring the hell out of me just writing it, start again! Sounds obvious but you'd be amazed how many people continue.
My final advice is one which I use in all of my novels. I do not start at the beginning! I start at a scene which would interest me. A fight etc. You can even start at the end. You'll find yourself dragged into the plot much easier; and the beginning will totally change - all in all, your story will end up much more in depth. Sometimes the only way to get to the end - is to work backwards!

Hope this helps honey
-lots and love
-maia
xxxxxxx

imrhati · 01-26-2006, 12:42 PM

I write 90% science fiction and my rule of thumb is start with action. lots and lots of action. then explain the action when it's over. this usually will hook the reader. a common problem i face when writing action beginning is that I try to write at the speed of what is happening. bad choice. remember that you can take two minutes to describe how someone holds their gun when they are sniping for example.

TimK · 01-26-2006, 09:13 PM

Kate Wilhelm has a great chapter on beginnings in Storyteller. Sorry I don't have time right now to dig it out and summarize her advice. I can, however, recommend her book wholeheartedly.

Sincerely,
-TimK