I seem to struggle the most with the start of my stories. I generally have a good idea for how I want the middle and end of my story to go, but I seem to struggle with how to bring the story to that point and introducing characters. My strength is really after characters are established and known to the reader. Does anyone else struggle with this and if so, do you have any tips you can offer?
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Sometimes, yeah. I'll admit to this problem; I'm often not sure what kind of opening will draw the reader in. Often I've restored to the old moment of brutal violence at the beginning to get attention (luckily, it does fit the kind of stories I write). For those that don't start with physical violence, I've used an argument, foreshadowing of danger, exploration of an exotic place, or somebody in despair and their spouse desperately trying to cheer them up... I just don't do "everyday life" beginnings, because when I read these I find usually them boring (unless they're humorous) and find myself skimming rather quickly. So I guess I'd start the story at the "middle", and fill in the backstory later to whatever extent it's necessary- usually not that much.
Beware, though, this is coming from the guy who thinks 100,000 words is an great amount to use to tell a novel-length story (did it once, not sure how I ever did it now) and writes whole books at short-story/crack-addict pace... your mileage may vary. Apparently, I have the opposite problem of most writers who need to trim... I'm direct. Maybe too direct.
Beware, though, this is coming from the guy who thinks 100,000 words is an great amount to use to tell a novel-length story (did it once, not sure how I ever did it now) and writes whole books at short-story/crack-addict pace... your mileage may vary. Apparently, I have the opposite problem of most writers who need to trim... I'm direct. Maybe too direct.
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Beginnings? Beginnings?! I've got intros and scene ones coming out my ears. I can write beginnings all day. Then what do I do? That's the problem...
Try not thinking about a splashy entrance. Don't think about hooking the reader, or starting at the right place in the story with the right tone. All of these can be done during the rewriting process. Invision on how you see yourself walking into the story, then just start writing about it, keep writing. Don't think about the reader, or the publisher, or the agent at this point.
Just write.
You will have plenty of time to worry about the fine tune of things when it is important to get it right.
Sara
Just write.
You will have plenty of time to worry about the fine tune of things when it is important to get it right.
Sara
My first page or two tend to flail all over the place until I get my bearings, and then I'm okay. More and more frequently, though, I have my exact beginning before I start writing anything. Which is very nice. 
Sometimes, I just have a general situation and then I stumble for awhile until I realize what I'm doing.
But yeah, for a long time, beginnings were very uncomfortable things with me. I'm getting better, though. Definitely getting better.
Sometimes, I just have a general situation and then I stumble for awhile until I realize what I'm doing.But yeah, for a long time, beginnings were very uncomfortable things with me. I'm getting better, though. Definitely getting better.
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I've got no problem with beginnings. It's the endings that make me shake with fear. I never know what to do for an ending.
My issue is endings as well. I usually have a good idea where I want it to go but as I write it that ending gets further and further away. The conclusion I end up with is usually different than what I expected.
As for beginnings, I try to start as close to the action (the pulse of the story) that I can and establish the character along the way based on their decisions and actions.
As for beginnings, I try to start as close to the action (the pulse of the story) that I can and establish the character along the way based on their decisions and actions.
I'm a neophyte, so I struggle with everything.
I have too many possible beginnings, too many possible endings, and not enough cohesive scenes in between to link them.
I have too many possible beginnings, too many possible endings, and not enough cohesive scenes in between to link them.
That might work. So write as if these characters have already been established and in the editing process create introductions?icerose said:
I have a terrible time with beginnings! I tend to plan a plot, then create the characters to go with it, which might be why I struggle with openings since I need the characters in place to draw out the plot. I usually know what I want to happen in the first chapter, but my mind always runs to what will happen in the middle of the first chapter.
I was also one of those kids that liked to do mazes from the end point and work my way backwards.
I just plugged my nose and dove in, assuming I could write into the comfortable middle, then return to my child-like way of working backwards to see if it fit. I ended up introducing a pivotal (and unplanned for) character that helped drive the story in a better way. So it's worked out pretty well, or at least it has for me. Time will tell if it's worked for anyone else since I've never been published.
Since my start was largely unplanned, if it turns out that it didn't work I have a lot of rewriting to do, but I've already been doing that for a while now.
I was also one of those kids that liked to do mazes from the end point and work my way backwards.
I just plugged my nose and dove in, assuming I could write into the comfortable middle, then return to my child-like way of working backwards to see if it fit. I ended up introducing a pivotal (and unplanned for) character that helped drive the story in a better way. So it's worked out pretty well, or at least it has for me. Time will tell if it's worked for anyone else since I've never been published.
Since my start was largely unplanned, if it turns out that it didn't work I have a lot of rewriting to do, but I've already been doing that for a while now.
Puddle Jumper said:
That's what I do. I invision that my characters are real people and what they are doing is part of their lives. I pick a window, climb in, and go from there. It may not be perfect, but it's how I write and it keeps me from worrying about all of this other stuff until after it is finished.
I write with the attitude that the characters in my book have a story to write, and I am the medium of which it is told, it keeps them as flesh and blood in my mind and I write as if they are showing me their story and I am recording it as it happens.
No problem.
I find that this method keeps the cardboard characters away, I don't feel like I am God to them, they don't feel fake or flimsy to me, as they are real. I cry when they get hurt, or die, I laugh when they have something funny to say, or do something silly, I grimace when they act stupid or make a mistake, and want to wrap my arm around their shoulder and tell them it's okay.
Perhaps I am a little too connected to my characters for some people's tastes, but it's the only way I can write. Without the connection, I just don't care, and it comes out stotic and uncaring, and flat.
I find that this method keeps the cardboard characters away, I don't feel like I am God to them, they don't feel fake or flimsy to me, as they are real. I cry when they get hurt, or die, I laugh when they have something funny to say, or do something silly, I grimace when they act stupid or make a mistake, and want to wrap my arm around their shoulder and tell them it's okay.
Perhaps I am a little too connected to my characters for some people's tastes, but it's the only way I can write. Without the connection, I just don't care, and it comes out stotic and uncaring, and flat.
I'm the same way, I think that connection is necessary or else I can't write. I love doing dialogue, it's almost like acting. When I'm writing words for a character I tend to take on their facial expressions, think like them, and absorb their personalities. They each have a distinct voice, and it's fun to step into different roles while writing.icerose said:
One thing I do for settings is personalize it for the moment. If I need a house to be a place that invites tenderness as well as independence I'll describe the outside of my first love's house, and the interior of the first apartment I lived alone in. After that the feelings surrounding that particular home come out naturally because of the meaning it holds for me. When I'm done I go back and change the outside description, since it served it's purpose I no longer want it to be an exact replica of someone else's house.
Beginnings
For me, the beginning is the hardest part of any story. A bad beginning means a bad middle and a bad ending, so most of my effort goes into getting the beginning right. If I can do this, the rest of the story is fairly easy. If I can't, there's no point in writing the rest of the story.
For me, the beginning is the hardest part of any story. A bad beginning means a bad middle and a bad ending, so most of my effort goes into getting the beginning right. If I can do this, the rest of the story is fairly easy. If I can't, there's no point in writing the rest of the story.
Yeah, those pesky beginnings...but ya gotta have 'em.
I'm trying something different for my current WIP. I'm not worried about anything in my first draft.
I was torturing myself about all kinds of things, POV, where, exactly to begin, the self-perceived inferiority of my prose, etc.. That stuff can be crippling. Then, I said, screw it. I picked a place to start, acted as if the characters had been around forever, and started writing. I've decided to simply not worry about any aspect of my first draft. Worry is for the second and third drafts. It's very likely that I'll change from first to third person POV, but I ain't worrying about it now.
Now, I was one of those writers who tried to get it right from the beginning with my first two novels, as a result I was less willing to look at my novels for things to fix when I went back over them than I should have been. This new way, I know I've got lots of crap that needs fixing, sure, but it's not slowing me down. I'm going into it knowing full well that I'll spend as long on my second draft as I did on my first, but the writing is very fast by my previous standards.
My advice: don't sweat anything in your first draft.
I'm trying something different for my current WIP. I'm not worried about anything in my first draft.
I was torturing myself about all kinds of things, POV, where, exactly to begin, the self-perceived inferiority of my prose, etc.. That stuff can be crippling. Then, I said, screw it. I picked a place to start, acted as if the characters had been around forever, and started writing. I've decided to simply not worry about any aspect of my first draft. Worry is for the second and third drafts. It's very likely that I'll change from first to third person POV, but I ain't worrying about it now.
Now, I was one of those writers who tried to get it right from the beginning with my first two novels, as a result I was less willing to look at my novels for things to fix when I went back over them than I should have been. This new way, I know I've got lots of crap that needs fixing, sure, but it's not slowing me down. I'm going into it knowing full well that I'll spend as long on my second draft as I did on my first, but the writing is very fast by my previous standards.
My advice: don't sweat anything in your first draft.
Diana Hignutt said:
It seems so simple when you say it like that. But how do you put it in to practice? I am a stickler for grammar and spelling. How do you turn half your brain off and ignore the
"it's not right, REWORD" "it's lousy, START AGAIN"I am just at the beginning of my novel (about 6000 words in) and I just can't seem to get it flowing. The editor in me keeps screaming "You call that writing???"
Diana Hignutt said:
I'm just the opposite. I sweat everything in my first draft. It doesn;t slow me down, and in fact makes the writing faster. I've found it really takes me no longer to write a good first draft than it does to write a bad first draft. I definitely do not want to spend anywhere near as long on a second draft as on a first, and I hate, hate, hate writing soemthing I know is crap. I'd rather not write crap in the first place than try to fix it later.
Different strokes.
In fairness James, this is a new approach for me...
I had spent two years not writing ... paralyzed by bad publishing experiences.
I needed something to get me going again... it's working so far...
I guess we'll see after the second draft though...
I had spent two years not writing ... paralyzed by bad publishing experiences.
I needed something to get me going again... it's working so far...
I guess we'll see after the second draft though...
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It's entirely likely that you won't know where the real start of your book is until after you have a first draft.
As far as spelling and grammar -- practice. Correct spelling and grammar will become second nature to you, and your first drafts will be spelled correctly and grammatically sound without extra thought and effort on your part.
As far as spelling and grammar -- practice. Correct spelling and grammar will become second nature to you, and your first drafts will be spelled correctly and grammatically sound without extra thought and effort on your part.
Good Morning,
I wrote a paper on Cape Breton author Alistair MacLeod last semester. As well as being a University writing instructor he has penned 18 short stories and the novel No Great Mischief. Excellent reading and if my memory is correct he won the IMPAC award. Point: He says that he never edits. His first draft is his final draft. He writes very slowly and considers every word before he uses it. Must be nice. His work is wonderful, especially if you are interested in Cape Breton society.
Hockey
I wrote a paper on Cape Breton author Alistair MacLeod last semester. As well as being a University writing instructor he has penned 18 short stories and the novel No Great Mischief. Excellent reading and if my memory is correct he won the IMPAC award. Point: He says that he never edits. His first draft is his final draft. He writes very slowly and considers every word before he uses it. Must be nice. His work is wonderful, especially if you are interested in Cape Breton society.
Hockey
smiley10000 said:It seems so simple when you say it like that. But how do you put it in to practice? I am a stickler for grammar and spelling. How do you turn half your brain off and ignore the
I am just at the beginning of my novel (about 6000 words in) and I just can't seem to get it flowing. The editor in me keeps screaming "You call that writing???"
Ya know, about a year ago, Uncle Jim, gave me explicit permission to right badly in my first drafts... at first, I thought like you did, and consequently got little writing done... ah, but now...
smiley10000 said:
At that point, you grin at your inner edit and say. "I know, but it's on paper." And you keep on writing.
Some people are like James, where you can write meticulously the first draft.
I am not one of those people. I wish I was by the time I am hitting the editing phase, but for me it's better that I get it done then worry about it.
One of my biggest problems isn't spelling or grammar in my work, but punctuation, active voice, and such. I don't even know how to make past tense active. It already happened, what do you mean it has to be active?
Moral of the story, do what fits you best. If being meticulous keeps you from writing, drop it. If it keeps you going and happy, keep it.
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