Thread: The beginning is the end...

Brace yourselves.

I realize that good story progression is largely (not completely, but largely) a matter of opinion. But, I guess thats what I'm asking for, opinions...

I am faced with a story I am writing, and the decision of whether to

A.) post the ending chapter at the beginning and have the book read like a collection of short stories around a central building theme.
Pros: The ending chapter is far more exciting than the chapter that would go first chronologically, and I believe it would hook a reader's interest more quickly and deeply.
Cons: It would be a little confusing- and I'm afraid jumping backwards might irritate some people.

I have had both good and bad experiences as a reader with authors 'backing up'. I know how I would want to read it, and how I wouldn't want to read it, and I don't think I'm terribly abnormal- I think I could do it.

or

B.) Having the chapters occur in chronological order as is fairly standard (as far as I've seen) for a mystery/horror/suspense novel.
Pros: Easy, and probably what most readers are expecting.
Cons: It won't have the feel of a short story collection, and when I jump from following one character to another it will feel just as disjointed.

Part of my problem is, I have two endings I really like and option A lets me use both, BUT option B seems less likely to get thrown out by an editor.

My question boils down to, I think, if the first chapter was exciting enough, would you as a reader be willing to back up for the sake of seeing how it all came to this or would you rather be mildly interested at first and see the pressure build?

I'm not an action writer, I can't start exciting and carry it through.

I think I should just make "Did any of that make sense?" my signature.

Water for Elephants begins after the main body of the story, then starts out with boring but necessary background -- boy goes to college, parents die, boy loses home, boy hops aboard a circus train. I think if the story started out with the boy going to college I would have read the story anyway but then who would be the narrator? That the young boy, now an old man, is telling his own story is the hook.

I think I'd like to know some of the ending, enough to hook me, without knowing the full outcome.

I've been sitting on a story for years now that begins with the end. Or rather, an end. The prologue is a father sitting by his daughters bedside the day she dies. The book then opens with his back story, and leads us to the prologue (and I'm struggling--would it be cheesy to repeat the prologue in context in the main body of the book?). The final portion of the book is how he chooses to continue with his life without her--essentially how she has changed him.

So: As a literary technique, letting the reader know what is coming in further chapters with a prologue is a great way to hook the reader. Now they have motivation to continue with the story. A more difficult way to approach this is the chronological tale. Difficult in that it requires much more of you as a story teller--it becomes your responsibility to create a sufficiently interesting tale to beguile the reader....

Best of luck!

If you could pluck a 'high entertainment' chapter out of the first third of the book and stick it at the front, I would take the chance and do it. After all what's the point in having such a chapter where the Agent is not going to read it. He can always tell you to change it at a later date when you've attracted his interest.

I have struggled with the same decision and plucked accordingly.

Plucking the final chapter and sticking it at the front, as you point out, changes the character and might destroy the structure; it might be a pluck too far. However, grabbing the agents attention would still apply...tricky.

Thank you. all of you, for the advice and the examples. I haven't read either of those books, but they both sound like how this sort of this ought to be done so I'll have to try to get a hold of them.

I think, until I feel I'm getting close to making my final revision(s), I'm going to keep this ending bit as my first chapter. But I have a couple middle chapters I think might do a good job as a hook I hadn't considered 'til you brought that up, Qwerty- would it be condescending to wish you cookies? I may try an alternate reworking of them to see if one would be better...

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Good question.
I finally realized I had to go back and change the story, that it was not working the way I originally began. Now I am in the process of merging. It's tricky, but a good sort of challenge to try and put together the best of what you've written, things you don't want to lose. Determination and lots of thought. I find showers are a great place to think. I still have not figured it all out, but I have made some progress. Keep thinking, it will come.

Originally Posted by Eluixa

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Good question.
I finally realized I had to go back and change the story, that it was not working the way I originally began. Now I am in the process of merging. It's tricky, but a good sort of challenge to try and put together the best of what you've written, things you don't want to lose. Determination and lots of thought. I find showers are a great place to think. I still have not figured it all out, but I have made some progress. Keep thinking, it will come.

Precisely true. And YES! Why is it epiphanies always strike when you have absolutely no way to record them?

If you have thin fingers, maybe you could write your epiphanies down on the condensed steam on the shower door. (If you have curtains, though, you're pretty much screwed.)

...I have to remember that. I have very tiny fingers yes... and glass... yes that is a brilliant idea! If only I had an appropriately villainous mustache to twirl now.

So, I've been yanking scenes and reordering chapters and I think I have a story that manages to jump around with the characters timelines to feel like your reading short stories while still allowing the background horror/mystery to build. I am sticking with using one of my endings as the opening, but I still have to pick between two.

In one, (without giving too much away) character L is fleeing from a burning building. In the second, character C is making the decision to set the building on fire. I'm thinking of using them in that order to kind of bring things full circle. C has been built up as something of a villain throughout, and I think it would be sort of a good climax for her as a character (either as a final cracking or possibly a redeeming act, depending on the readers point of view) to have her burn the story down.

A have hit a bump with my monster though. How the heck does an 120 lb woman convince- oh nevermind.

Thanks for letting me ramble, it really helps.

Originally Posted by Adeline Addison

Precisely true. And YES! Why is it epiphanies always strike when you have absolutely no way to record them?

Generally I repeat them to myself, hanging onto it like a lifeline, something I'd better remember or risk drowning, until I can type them in my notes. But it is usually a key change, something big, that makes better sense than what I originally wrote, not like sentences I have to remember, or I would be doomed.

How to hook the fish... always the question, whether in a book or a pub. Starting with end is one way to generate interest, albeit a bit flashy for me. It's done often enough in movies (inception comes to mind) and television shows (an episode of Firefly, likewise), that it's hardly cause for an eyebrow raise.

My personal feeling at this ploy -- the author was insecure about the first 2% of the story (where we, the fish begin to nibble), and he/she took a shortcut to get my interest. Almost as much a turn-off as an potential partner appearing desperate (that being said, both the examples in the paragraph above were exceptional stories, which the gimmick didn't really help). Better, I think to work on a smooth opening line, start with sincerity, and sink the hook before they know what hit them (is my simile becoming overwhelming?).

As a reader, I prefer an opening that pulls me in to a main character through either an emotional context or an intellectual puzzle (Pillars of the Earth, and The Windup Girl, respectively) based on some action central to the story's plot. The way I prefer to start a story is by asking "Who and where is this character, what do they want so badly they can almost touch it, and why aren't I going to let him have it?" or, as Frank Herbert started in Dune: "A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct."

Or, barring that, one tantalizing moment before the character steps in it.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
MJC

Hi A,
don't know if you're still engaged in your project, but I just resolved a similar problem by starting with bizarre question to tease the reader into finding out what the hell was I on about. Sneaky.

I've seen many creative writing instructors recommend putting a summary of each chapter on individual index cards.. and then.. shuffle it up!

See what comes out.

I also remember reading "Lullaby" by Chuck Palahniuk, in which he has the plot split into alternating chapters to make two storylines (one going forward from the beginning, the other going backwards from the end) and at the end of the book, they meet in the middle of the story.

So, I think you can structure it in any way you like, as long as it's interesting and adds up to a story somehow. Readers have a unique ability to put everything together in their minds. They're clever like that. So don't feel like you have to be gentle with their comprehension. : D