Beginnings

lfraser · Oct 21, 2007

I've been happy with my progress of late, having managed to pound out another 15 pages in the past ten days (no laughing -- that's fast for me). But as I sat down to write today I realized that what I've been writing is all at the front end of the WIP, and it's growing still.

I like the way the first chapter is going. I think it's where I need to start my story, since I want to begin with an outsider looking in.

The chapter describes one the main characters making a journey to the location where the major events of the story take place. I wanted to introduce the story that way because an outsider makes a great observer. The journey allows me to fit in some background through dialogue and thought and sets up the main conflict for both the character and the central plot.

But here's the problem -- I can't seem to start the story with an intruiging opener without using a flashback. The way I've structured it, the first pages are about a disaster on the journey, and then flashback is the background to why the character is on this trip, and how he gets to the point where disaster overtakes him. I could start at the begining but I have the sense that writing the journey chronologically would be boring.

I'm not averse to flashbacks, but I am leery about using one -- a long one -- at the beginning of a novel. Any thoughts?

GeorgieB · Oct 21, 2007

I've got pretty much the same problem. I'm 21K words into a suspense/thriller - most of those words have come easy. But I keep going back to the beginning.

The story will be told in the 1st person POV, starting with his return to the area where he and his deceased parents vacationed with his aunt and uncle at their cabin. The area and the cabin are central to the story.

I've toyed with the idea of my MC cruising into town one morning and describing the weather, the town, the cliffs, the pines, the traffic...ad nauseum. Purple prose lookout! I also don't want to engage in flashbacks or detailed backstory, those long paragraphs that drive me nuts in other's writings.

When I do decide on an approach I'll post at SYW and stand back.

So, I'm also looking for that magic piece of advice for a hook-y opener.

a_sharp · Oct 21, 2007

Just a thought, but you could postpone the flashback until the start of the second chapter. It seems you have an exciting opener with the disaster, whatever it is. Let the action there unfold, find a way to leave the reader hanging, and end the first chapter.

If you do it right, the second chapter will hold reader interest while you build backstory. With your background in place (flashback or whatever) you can proceed with your primary story line in chapter three. That structure makes nice breaks for the reader and keeps your story intact.

This sort of device is common in thrillers and action/adventure genres.

tanzy · Oct 21, 2007

Considering that you start with a disaster... maybe your MC is a little shaken up. maybe he could meet a random person (like a guy sitting on a street corner in a rainstorm that grabs his arm as he is passing by "whats the matter with you kid?")
then your character can have a lil mini-breakdown where he just tells the stranger a bit about previous events.

The whole mysterious guy adds to the "whats going on?" feeling of the reader
and the fact that your MC kind of breaks down under the stress of this early event leaves you able to put him under stress later on and have him handle it better (showing growth in the MC)

Then again, the retelling of events is kind of like a flashback.

Penguin Queen · Oct 21, 2007

I'd keep going for now. I know it's hard, and yes, the beginning is vital. But once you're further in, you may find that you can actually cut chapters one & two, and begin where the story starts to happen. You can then scatter the backstory in a more unobtrusive way.
Or, as a_sharp suggests, start with the action and then explain in chap. 2.

Ive finished a mystery novel in which I sort of start from the beginning and go on until the end, and because not too much happens for the first several pages, Ive opened it with a "flash-forward", as it were, a brief & intriguing dream sequence that actually happens about half-way in and forshadows a lot of what will happen without giving anything away.

It's very tempting during the first half or so of writing to go back and tinker with the beginning in order to find that perfect opening para, but it's a great procrastination tool too (I speak from experience

), and best avoided.

JamieFord · Oct 21, 2007

Congrats on such a productive start! Here are a few thoughts...

I like the way the first chapter is going. I think it's where I need to start my story, since I want to begin with an outsider looking in.

Why not begin with an insider looking out? That's the beauty of writing vs. film--that you can become emotionally vested in a character by their internal reactions to what's going on around them. The "outsider" thing can work, but I'd be careful that the POV doesn't become too cinematic. The further the reader is from the emotional conflict the greater the risk of boring the them.

The chapter describes one the main characters making a journey to the location where the major events of the story take place.

Why not just start where the major events take place then? If you look at a lot of agent blogs, you'll see this often listed as a negative.

lfraser · Oct 21, 2007

The simple answer is that I'm not certain where the story begins. Or perhaps I should say that the story starts at slightly different times for each of the three POV characters.

Argh. I'm starting to confuse myself. Next time I'm writing in first person, save myself a whole lot of grief.

jodiodi · Oct 21, 2007

Here's a suggestion similar to some of the above:

If there's a disaster, start with it like you planned. Then, in Chapter 2, if the pov character you want was involved in the disaster, is it something where he/she would be physically in danger? If so, they could be treated and released in an ER or by EMS and when giving the medical personnel their history, some of the backstory could be worked in.

lfraser · Oct 21, 2007

This is a fantasy, so what I'm trying to do, in my plodding way, is give a sense of an overarching history and mythology in the first chapter. I think the story needs some of that context right up front in order for it all to make sense. That was why I really wanted this character to introduce the story.

Yes, the POV character could wake up in this society's version of a hospital -- in fact, that was how I originally introduced him. It didn't work, the way I had written it.

So -- disaster strikes, POV character goes down for the count, starts to put the pieces together when he gets well? Hmm. It could work. There is one Convenient Minor Character he could start to tell his story to, and then I could put in the backstory scenes.

Edit: Or I could put all of this after the first first scene I wrote. Or maybe chuck it down the stairs, see what order the pages end up in. Gah. If I drank this is where a shot of scotch would come in handy.

Paula Boon · Oct 21, 2007

I'm with Penguin Queen on this one. I'd say there are two huge advantages to writing all the way to the end before worrying about this.

First, you're likely to gain perspective on the beginning since you haven't looked at it for a while, and second you'll have a stronger sense of where you're taking the readers, which should help you decide on the best possible opening.

Oh, and as PQ mentioned, agonizing over what you've already written is a sure-fire way to avoid writing more. I also speak from experience on that one.

Good luck!

Judg · Oct 21, 2007

I add my voice to the chorus singing, "Just write it and worry about it afterwards." I wrote no fewer than three chapters as the first one, and then gave up. I'm just putting them all in chronological order and I'll sort it out once the whole story is laid out. I can tell you now that two chapters will disappear altogether and quite possibly more. But writing those chapters helped me get things worked out in my own mind, so they weren't really a waste of time.

Of course, I still agonize about how I'm going to open the book, but at least it isn't slowing down my writing.

jenstrikesagain · Oct 21, 2007

I'm for starting with something that grabs the reader, whether that's a flashback or just a current crisis that must be explained in a flashback. Not my favorite book ever but a good example is Stephen King's "Firestarter," where the "current crisis" takes about ten pages and the "flashback that explains everything" is about the next two hundred and fifty.

David I · Oct 22, 2007

Well, I'm opening with my protagonist in present action, and there are hints about backsotry, but we ain't gonna get the flashback until the last third of the book.

I hope it lives up to the pressure I'm putting on by leaving it that late...

The only thing I can contribute is this: The reader needs to know far less than you think. Connecting the dots is part of the pleasure.

Devil Ledbetter · Oct 22, 2007

David I said:
Well, I'm opening with my protagonist in present action, and there are hints about backsotry, but we ain't gonna get the flashback until the last third of the book.

I hope it lives up to the pressure I'm putting on by leaving it that late...

The only thing I can contribute is this: The reader needs to know far less than you think. Connecting the dots is part of the pleasure.

I'm with David I on this. I had a backstory prologue I set aside, then broke into bits and sprinkled over the course of the story as I wrote my second draft. The climax of the backstory is revealed in the same scene as the climax of the present story.

Instead of halting the story at the beginning to talk about the past, the sprinkled backstory provides history and depth of character throughout the book.

I suggest you write the backstory and set it aside in a different file. Then continue writing your current story. If, when and how the backstory should be presented will eventually become apparent.

Bufty · Oct 22, 2007

Yes, that's how that approach will come across no doubt -plodding. Don't treat me as though I'm an idiot. Plunge me straight in and don't have him wake up in a hospital for goodness sake.

Give me a thrill or two in his shoes first so that hopefully I then want to find out more about him and his background.

If it's really that hard to work out wait till you've finished then consider how to start. It will probably jump up and hit you in the face if you keep going.

Keep going and have fun. Good luck.

lfraser said:
This is a fantasy, so what I'm trying to do, in my plodding way, is give a sense of an overarching history and mythology in the first chapter. I think the story needs some of that context right up front in order for it all to make sense. That was why I really wanted this character to introduce the story.

Yes, the POV character could wake up in this society's version of a hospital -- in fact, that was how I originally introduced him. It didn't work, the way I had written it.

So -- disaster strikes, POV character goes down for the count, starts to put the pieces together when he gets well? Hmm. It could work. There is one Convenient Minor Character he could start to tell his story to, and then I could put in the backstory scenes.

Edit: Or I could put all of this after the first first scene I wrote. Or maybe chuck it down the stairs, see what order the pages end up in. Gah. If I drank this is where a shot of scotch would come in handy.

Joe Moore · Oct 22, 2007

Most agents and editors will tell you that the biggest mistake new writers make is starting their story in the wrong place. Here are a couple of thoughts to consider. Start your story at the moment your main character's life is jolted out of the norm into chaos. Whether it's mental, physical or spiritual, begin at the moment of "impact". And also keep in mind Kurt Vonnegut's rules of writing, particularly #5 which is to start your story as close to the end as possible. Here's a post I wrote on the subject over at InkSpot. Good luck.

Beginnings

lfraser

Bored and Frantic

GeorgieB

Almost a wannabe writer

a_sharp

Somebody give me an A

tanzy

Penguin Queen

Break the rules.

JamieFord

giving resonant directions

lfraser

Bored and Frantic

jodiodi

Reflections of Reality

lfraser

Bored and Frantic

Paula Boon

Judg

DISENCHANTED coming soon

jenstrikesagain

David I

Devil Ledbetter

Come on you stranger, you legend,

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

Joe Moore