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kicking off a story (the right way)



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Tue Feb 18, 2014 7:56 pm
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horrendous says...



okay so i've got a type of permanent writer's block when it comes to the first page or two of a novel, or even more pertinently, the first paragraph.

i literally always start stories off "Suchnsuch was doing thisorthat, when something happened." it seems to me a really lame way to kick off a story, but i just can't make my mind bend around the corner that is writer's block.

so my query is, what are some of you guys n girl's ways of getting your novel up and running in the most engaging way possible? i know there isn't a uniform method for it, but i need input from other writers. thanks y'all.
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Wed Feb 19, 2014 1:52 am
Iggy says...



My favorite thing EVER to do is immediately throw the reader into an action scene. I try to do that as often as I can.

The second thing you can do is immediately start off a conversation. That can be engaging, especially if the narrator is being asked a question that will require a shocking answer, or not even shocking; sometimes, dialogue is a good hook-line-sinker for the beginning of the story.

I find that descriptions of what the character is doing can be boring if not done right, no matter if it's at the start or the middle or even the end of a book. I would advise that, if you do want to start off your novel/story/what-have-you with that general description, then have something exciting immediately follow, like someone engaging the narrator into a conversation or something like that.

May I ask what your idea for your story is? That'll be easier for me to tell you what you should start off with.
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Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:17 am
horrendous says...



@Iggy action sequence, huh. i sort of have one written in the first few paragraphs of the story, a scene where the main character's best friend rescues a kid from a bully in the school hallway. i wouldn't call it pulse-pounding, though.

i need help with characters

the last post in this thread contains a plot outline (it's the first thing in the post) of the story i'm working on. i wrote something to tack on to the beginning of the story, kinda like an epilogue as a prologue, to hook the reader. this is it. and keep in mind that i wrote it in about 5 minutes and didn't proof read it once:

In retrospect, he realized that the perfect storm of tragedy and circumstance had culminated in the final showdown with his nemesis. His best friend was dead, killed by Him. Vengeance had been bittersweet, for he had loved Him.

Reapstar.

then the actual story kicks off with the scene of Nathan saving the kid in school. i'm not satisfied with it yet, but it's better than "Main character walked down the school hallway, his best friend at his side."
hor·ren·dous
adjective: shockingly dreadful; horrible
synonyms: appalling, frightful, hideous

--

Life is like a box of chocolates. Too much will make you sick.
  





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Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:40 am
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eldEr says...



Well, that's an alright start. However, it seems like you're plunking the reader down right in the middle of an action scene, which you don't want to do. You definitely don't want your first phrase to be 'in retrospect,' because we have no idea what to compare what's being said next to.

Also, starting with a description isn't something that I'd do. Which you didn't, so you're good. Another pointer is not to start with narration (as in, don't start with a paragraph where you're inside your character's head, because when you start having your character do things, it's awkward).

Personally, I always start with an action. Even something simple, like "[I/she/he/they] jogged down the sidewalk, holding a hand over [my/his/her/their] head to keep the rain from pummeling them."

That first sentence doesn't have to be super engaging. Just make sure that you follow up with more engaging actions. :P After you've accomplished that, break into your imagery and ease into your character's head a little.

If that made any sense. xD I'm kind of half asleep here.
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Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:52 am
deleted30 says...



I agree with what Iggy and Isha said. Additionally, atmosphere can be nice. However, kicking off a story with atmosphere is tricky because you can easily fall into clichéd or boring territory.

For example, this would be an okay way to start a story:

The sun set over the distant mountain cliffs, casting a golden glow down on the valley. The tips of dew-drenched grass swayed back and forth like dancers in perfect unison, as did the trees. Oh, the trees—made up of leaves the color of scarlet, brown and warm yellows. The girl, a freckled little thing, stood staring at the valley's beauty in wonder.

Even that beginning is a little cheesy, but not terribly so. A bad beginning would be:

It was a dark and stormy night in a big, scary house.

Now that's really cheesy. :wink:

Action, however, is a lot of fun. It can be hard to write, but worth it, because it'll immediately suck the readers in.

Good luck with whatever you end up doing! :smt003

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Wed Feb 19, 2014 4:05 am
Iggy says...



horrendous wrote:"Main character walked down the school hallway, his best friend at his side."


This could totally work! But add onto it a bit. Have the next sentence be the start of dialogue between the two characters. It doesn't have to be anything shocking or that gives us insight to the character's tragic past; just made it casual and short, then transition into them arriving at their destination.

I know all of your English teachers taught you to begin your persuasive essays with an attention grabber, and that does apply here, but get this: it doesn't have to be as extreme as you think. By staring the sentence off the way you did, you've already given us a name and a location. By this, we assume that there will conversation and that these two are headed somewhere. That, itself, works just fine!

Isha does make a lot of fair points about how dropping the reader immediately into an action scene might confuse them and scare them away. I still like doing that, but that may be because I'm evil and like intimidating my readers. :mrgreen:

So do what you feel is comfortable for you and you like best! And if it needs super editing, your loyal reviews will help you out more. ;)
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Wed Feb 19, 2014 5:12 am
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Holysocks says...



I had the same problem, what I found helps is reading the beginings of books... just pull a bunch of novels off your book shelf, and read the first few sentances. It doesn't matter if you use a few badly written novels, so you know what you'd like to avoid.

Anyways, I hope it gets easier for you.
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Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:44 pm
horrendous says...



well act one to Nemesis is submitted

Nemesis, Act One

i don't mean to advertise, i want feedback on the first paragraph. i think it may he too descriptive right off the bat, but idk, i suck at critiquing my own work.
hor·ren·dous
adjective: shockingly dreadful; horrible
synonyms: appalling, frightful, hideous

--

Life is like a box of chocolates. Too much will make you sick.
  





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Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:26 pm
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Rosendorn says...



I personally start off with dialogue more often than not. But a lot of people hate that, so there really is no "right way" to start off the very nitty gritty details of the story. Everybody has their own preferences, but the idea of starting with something actually happening is generally the closest you can get to "right way". You want to hook a reader, after all, and action is the best way to do that.

My general advice for beginnings is: start as late as you possibly can without having to explain backstory.

If you immediately start with a flashback, then you've started the story too late. Because if that flashback was so important it was utterly critical to understanding the story, you should have started with it.

For the first few thousand words of the story, you should have forward momentum. Backwards momentum hamstrings reader interest, especially really early on. They want to find out what's happening next, not what happened ten years ago.

And remember: You probably won't figure out how to properly start the beginning until you've been writing the story a really long time. I only came up with how the plot should've progressed for my novel after writing 40,000 words. Now, I'm not saying it'll take you that long, but most writers hate their beginnings as a general rule and constantly want to change them.

Do not do this. Editing a beginning non-stop instead of writing forward is like trying to figure out where one piece of a 500 piece puzzle fits exactly on the table when you haven't put any of the other pieces together to get the context around it.

Instead, dump all the pieces out and start putting them in approximate locations. Put what fits together, get the parameter done and set in place (ie- the general "here's what's going to happen"), then start working in from the outside edge, in, maybe put together some islands of pieces as you realize more stuff fits together, but you haven't gotten enough done to actually know where they fit. You have an approximate location, but you don't actually know until you've worked in from the outside enough to click the pieces in place.

And, sometimes, you realize that there are actually seven hundred and fifty pieces in the box, some you need to throw into a "sort later" bin because they don't fit anywhere, some of which are whole scenes to themselves but don't actually fit in the puzzle so need to be laid aside, and you have half of another puzzle started already.
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