Rizzen

Hello, I am aspiring to actually start to create something, though I will say, starting is becoming the main problem. I have many ideas, the ending planned out, and much of the story flowing freely in my head. I believe sitting down and writing will not allow me to get everything to flow in one go, so I seek advice.

What is a workable method to start? I'd like this to be more of a short story, but still fairly long. Perhaps something between 30-120 pages. I simply cannot find a method to begin getting ideas down on paper. Should I start with characters? Setting? That sort of thing? Or should I simple sit down and write something? I do not wish to give up, since this particular idea, though done before, is something I feel I need to put on paper and show friends or strangers, it matters not to me. Any help would be appreciated.

mswietek

If you have the ending planned out, start by writing that. As you write it, you will start seeing what has to be in place to make the ending work which will stimulate ideas. As you move ahead, you may find that your ending needs changing, but this is a first draft, so don't worry about it.

Michael

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faithless

This problem and I are very intimate. I always have the ending in my mind before I start writing. What works for me is what I have dubbed the "anatomy method." It assumes that your characters have goals that will bring them to the imagined ending. It works as follows:

Shape: Find the key points of your story. Think through the many ways the characters could reach the ending. You will find certain ways work best based on your setting and theme. These keys points are the major events of the story that the characters will be driven to based on their goals. Thus your story will find a shape.
Skeleton: Connect the key points of your story. Find the logical minor events that will bring together the major events, based on cause and effect. Thus your story has structure.
Flesh, skin, hair: At this point, you should be able to begin writing. Bring out the details of the story.

I create my characters, plot, and setting all at once. For example, if I want to write a story about revenge, my character will need a vengeful personality, and the setting must be one that allows the character to take revenge. Every time I advance my characters, the plot advances with it, as does the setting. This way everything in my story stays tight and relevant.

Pick one thing to start the story. I pick a theme. Everything else unravels from that theme. If you want to start with a character, then discover what story that character has to tell. I believe a challenge for all story writers is making the great number of connections required to weave a story. Find where your story threads connect.

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killned3

Everybody has something that works for them... the best advice I can give is that you should start somewhere outside the main path of the story, and write a scene you wouldn't typically expect to be in the beginning of a story. For example, if you're writing a typical good vs. evil story, start on the evil side. On the evil side, describe a scene that promises things that are wicked to come. Whatever you do, though, make sure it's appealing . . . whether that means use action or vivid details or intense dialogue. Beginnings and endings alike have to be the most powerful part of a story. Hope that helps in the least... and if you already knew any of the above, then maybe it was just a refresher. XD

Rizzen

Thanks for the ideas and advice, guys! It is most helpful and appreciated.

Here is a second question. Should I write a scene/part of a story, or should I outline everything in detail? Is such neccesary? I often find myself in difficulty choosing a type of writing. Third or first, and I seem to have a problem with switching to two interchangeably, which causes a large problem.

faithless

-It depends on you. Carl Hiaasen, author of "Tourist Season" mentioned that he wrote the last chapter first, and built the rest of the story up to it. I like to outline everything because it gives me more structure. It also depends on your type of story. If there is some big government conspiracy (a heavy plot) then an outline would work best so the plot can be carried out right. If your story is character-based, then just flesh out your characters and let them act and interact--the story will tell itself.

Understand that this is one of the most creative processes of writing. There is no magic answer. Every writer has to find their own way.

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is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
-Albert Einstein

missmoopants

I think it's just good to write whatever seems to be on your mind, and in a format you like. For example, I wrote the opening scene of my novel about four times before I wrote any more. It was as if I had to establish that solidly before I could continue to write confidently, instead of temporarily. In between drafts, I made notes in my notebook, on scrap pieces of paper, on my laptop, anywhere I had a thought that I wanted to record about my novel.

If someone gave me a blank book of A4, I couldn't write. I need small, scrappy pieces of paper to feel comfortable with a pen. I need to fill them entirely, make sideways remarks in the tiny margins, fold them if they're too big to start off with, and treat each scrap like gold, taking care not to lose it. I guess I don't then feel obliged to continue my train of thought, which I would definitely feel pressure to do with an A4 book. Scraps align with my thoughts. You just need to figure out what yours align to.

cbrmale

Everyone has a different way of starting, I start with a concept (and I noticed that Stephen King does it the same way) which is like a vision with a picture of the background of a key scene along with some action and the main characters. From the concept comes the theme and then the other characters. At this point, I can work on the plot.

This is what works for me, and it comes naturally to me, the concepts just appear and I write them down and work on them.

This is what works for me,

MechFury

As what has been previously mentioned, you have to find your own way.

For me personally, Im horrible at the start. I have ideas buzzing around and driving me bonkers, but nothing goes past 5 pages or so. At least, that is what all my past ones have done.

On my current one, which is now about 10 or so pages, I started talking to my friends, and we came up with alot of good things on the charachters and places that had only been sleeping in my mind until that point.

Then, I got home, and just started to write. I knew I had to have the charachters reach a certain place, and with that end in mind, I just wrote the path. Another thing about my writing is that I like writing in little short bursts of a few pages. Music also helps, since I associate many things like places, people, and ideas to my music. Lastly, If you need help with a start, be it an idea for a story or whatnot, take a little pad or journalesque book with you and a pen/pencil. Then when you get the "Grand Idea" for your story (every one needs one) write it down, and in your free time, expand on it.

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The mind is the ultimate barrier. But remove it, and you remove yourself

Rizzen

Thanks for the advice!

DabigJimdogg0

For me, I usually don't write the begining until the very end. What you want to do with the begining is get the readers attention. What about your story would catch the reader's eye in the first paragraph they read? For example, I wrote a book about a guy who was deluted by his fantasies so much that his mind sent him to the actual place Dreams and he had to return to Reality through the opposite of dreams, Nightmares. Meanwhile, his body is left lifeless in Reality. So I started the story afterwards, in a mental facility where a psychatrist asks him, "How'd you do it, Timmy?" The reader's first instinict is, "What did he do? Why is it so boggling?" So they keep reading until the psychatrist goes on to say, "It's not every day someone comes back from the dead, I'd say that's something Mr. Lawerence." Here, you've got your audience for the rest of the ride because they too want to know how he did it. That's what a begining is made of and if an ideal one like that dosen't come to you, just start writing at the point where you should have everything established and keep writing and go back to the beging later.

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We are the children of the Nightmares.

SilkFX

The only thing I have to add is this: When you know that 90% of writing is rewriting, including moving stuff around, deleting, and adding, it's a lot easier to just start where you feel the most energy. Try not to give it a name -- this is the ending, this is the middle, etc. -- because it may end up being something altogether different.

I almost always start at what I think is the beginning. Rarely does the beginning stay that way.

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you can't you can never be sure
you die without knowing
whether anything you wrote was any good
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