Thread: Age Old Problem

I'm afflicted with an age old problem, how to start my story. I've got a lot of the outline done, plot points, twists, and so on, but I'm not sure how to get started. I know it's a good idea to start in a way that will keep people interested and reading on, the problem is my story doesn't start with wizz, bang, extreme action. I don't wanna give away a load of details, but it's about a young man from Earth who finds himself in a fantasy setting and has to deal with everything there.

The story starts with him on Earth, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to make things interesting, but it's not an action packed story, at least not to start with. As a general rule I use the beginning of a story to set the scene, establish some basics about the setting and the protagonist(s), but at the same time if it's too boring you'll lose readers about 2-3 paragraphs in. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Just start writing, if you don't like it, start again, once you start, it should just come to you, read it and if you can find something wrong with it, fix it, just write the first thing that comes in to your head.

Originally Posted by Antaus

I'm afflicted with an age old problem, how to start my story. I've got a lot of the outline done, plot points, twists, and so on, but I'm not sure how to get started. I know it's a good idea to start in a way that will keep people interested and reading on, the problem is my story doesn't start with wizz, bang, extreme action. I don't wanna give away a load of details, but it's about a young man from Earth who finds himself in a fantasy setting and has to deal with everything there.

The story starts with him on Earth, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to make things interesting, but it's not an action packed story, at least not to start with. As a general rule I use the beginning of a story to set the scene, establish some basics about the setting and the protagonist(s), but at the same time if it's too boring you'll lose readers about 2-3 paragraphs in. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I actually have to deal with this on a regular basis.

I'm writing a young adult drama, and there are times where simply not much happens, I get bored, and leave it as is without being able to continue. Just skip over it and write the next important scene of your novel. You will likely have to rewrite large chunks of your novel after editing, so you can add the missing bits after you have a concrete draft on paper.

Now... if only I could follow my own advice

The beginning is the best place to start. Unfortunately, as we all know, finding the beginning can be one of the hardest things to do.

I have a couple projects on going. With each of them I have moved the "beginning" forwards and backwards in time and space trying to find out where to start. It is a process. And sometimes there are multiple good places to start. I always know the beginning of a story when I find it. And it is never really the beginning.

The beginning is the best place to start. Unfortunately, as we all know, finding the beginning can be one of the hardest things to do.

Not really, the story should begin where the normal ends, or somewhere close to it. Let's take the premise of Antaus's story. The main character is off living his life doing whatever it is he does...and for the most part, it's dull, at least from a story perspective. Then he end up in a fantasy world...and the story begins. Pretty much all there is too it. Now, the exact moment the you start writing can be somewhere before or after this point (I usually start before since you spend less time explaining the situation to the reader later). So, how do you convince the reader to follow you along until the actual story starts? Well, you let them know up front something is going to happen:
If Jack had known where his day would end up, he would have stayed in bed.
Ok, kind of cheesy and a bit cliche, but in the opening you toss in a big hint that something bad will happen shortly. Maybe it isn't so direct, a feeling, or some semi obvious sign of the impending change. Then you go about establishing as much of the routine that might be needed to provide some insight into your character. It's ok, and highly preferred by some (myself specifically) to not start with a bang or a battle scene or some other form of meaningless action, because until I know a bit about the person I'm following, I honestly won't care. Hook the reader by finding a way to let them know there is something that is going to happen soon, but after you get us grounded in the story. Snoopy always started every novel attempt with "It was a dark and stormy night", which was the right idea. Something is going to happen.

You still need the story to be interesting till you get to the change, but most readers can wait a chapter or two for it to get started. One of my favorite stories I read in high school was "Here Abide Monsters" by Andre Norton, in which a young man goes into another world, and it starts with him going on a trip, and the way she handled it was by having him thinking about the stories of the area, people disappearing, which set it up nicely for when it happened. I might have to pull that off the shelf and read it again, it's been a few years since the last time I read it.

Originally Posted by Lord Darkstorm

Not really, the story should begin where the normal ends, or somewhere close to it. Let's take the premise of Antaus's story. The main character is off living his life doing whatever it is he does...and for the most part, it's dull, at least from a story perspective. Then he end up in a fantasy world...and the story begins. Pretty much all there is too it. Now, the exact moment the you start writing can be somewhere before or after this point (I usually start before since you spend less time explaining the situation to the reader later).

Its odd that you started out disagreeing with me and then saying exactly the same thing that I said in the end.

So since you didn't disagree with me, in the end, I cannot disagree with you I guess.

Don't fret over it. Jump into the middle of the story and start writing. It won't take long for you to figure out the beginning once you get started.

Having written a lot of short stories myself, I suggest you put down almost anything that comes into your mind for the first paragraph. You may find that this gets the juices flowing and you can replace that start when your tale is complete.

The Courtjester

Originally Posted by Antaus

I'm afflicted with an age old problem, how to start my story. I've got a lot of the outline done, plot points, twists, and so on, but I'm not sure how to get started. I know it's a good idea to start in a way that will keep people interested and reading on, the problem is my story doesn't start with wizz, bang, extreme action. I don't wanna give away a load of details, but it's about a young man from Earth who finds himself in a fantasy setting and has to deal with everything there.

The story starts with him on Earth, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to make things interesting, but it's not an action packed story, at least not to start with. As a general rule I use the beginning of a story to set the scene, establish some basics about the setting and the protagonist(s), but at the same time if it's too boring you'll lose readers about 2-3 paragraphs in. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'll tell you the secret to what makes stories interesting: Characters.

How to start your story? Introduce the reader to a character.

Next step, make that character interesting. How do you do that? You give the character a goal. It could be a long term goal, like (based on your plot) finding his way back to Earth. It could be a short term goal like finding food, or shelter, or escaping a ravenous animal. Or it could be a social goal, like him being in a conversation.

Next, you make the plot interesting. How do you do that? You introduce conflicts that prevent your character(s) from acheiving his/her goals.

And on and on the story weaves until we are all begging to purchase your masterpiece.

CHeers!

The introduction to a story is very important, so obviously you want it to be correct. What I find to be the most efficient method is simply trial and error. Keep writing until you hit your sweet spot, and over time you'll get better and better at it. The more you write the higher probability you'll get it right.

IMHO the biggest problem most writers face, is writing while their 'Internal Editor' is looking over their shoulders trying to edit every word that's put on the page while constantly saying, 'That's not good enough'. It could take days or months for you to get a perfectly written beginning of your story on paper if you analyze everything while you're writing it. Not to mention it could severely stilt your creative flow.

What works for me is after I have researched, outlined, and have a good feel for my characters and plot line, I mentally hog-tie and gag my Internal Editor and let my Muse have free reign.

Then, I sit down and type as fast as the ideas pour out of me. I never go back and edit or read over my work to make changes. Before each writing session, I'll quickly read what I wrote the day before and then start typing furiously again. This gives my first draft a very smooth flow and allows my characters to come alive and do things I didn't expect them to do. When the first draft is finished, then I free my Internal Editor and let her do her job organizing, cutting, adding, and polishing things up.

That's just the way that works for me. Everyone has their own method. If you haven't found yours yet, you could always give the 'stream of consciousness' way a go.


My Internal Editor during the creative process.

Script Girrl