How to begin?

Kittenmay · Aug 27, 2011

Hey all.

I'm not new to writing, but I've always had one trouble. I just can't get started. I plan out my plot, I know what's going to happen in my story and who the characters are and what the events are. I just can't figure out how to start the novel. No matter what I do, I simply cannot sit down and write.

What am I doing wrong? Has this ever happened to you? What do you recommend I do?

Any tips at all are more than welcome.
Thanks!

Tromboli · Aug 27, 2011

I don't think it matters where you begin. Don't worry about the beginning being great, just write. You can always re-write the first chapter, or even the first three, if you have to .

Kittenmay · Aug 27, 2011

That's what I tell myself. But even saying that it doesn't matter does not help me. I just can't write, can't figure out how to phrase it and put it down into writing. I just don't know where or how to even begin

rainsmom · Aug 27, 2011

Don't start at the beginning. Start where you want to start. Start at the end. Start in the middle. Start with a random exciting scene.

Most importantly, give yourself permission to write crap. Say, "I can change this later." Because you very likely will.

The beginning is probably the hardest part. It's hard to figure out exactly the best place to start. How far in *can* you start? If you start at x, how do you get in the back story. If you start at y, will it move too slowly? It's HARD. And that's okay. Write it when you figure it out, and then change it a dozen times.

JSDR · Aug 27, 2011

I had this problem too. But a story was inside me, screaming to be let out.
I found the scene I cared the most about. *The* soul of my WIP. For me, that was the easiest place to start. It happened to be the end of the story. After that, I wrote the next scene that I felt strongly about, which was a scene about 1/3 of the way into the story. I left the beginning chapter as one of the final chapters I wrote. Make sense?

SRHowen · Aug 27, 2011

I see that you have plotted out everything in your story. Not all writers do that, in fact many "organic" writers who try to plot out a story can no longer write that story.

When you write to ridged a plot or sometimes any plot you limit yourself in a directions kinda way.

I open the Ikea box and if I want my project to go smoothly I follow the directions step by step and if I miss a step it might screw up the project.

To me when I plot out a novel, two things happen, a I get so caught up in the this has to happen first then I have to get to this point so this can happen and so on. I get frozen in how overwhelming it is.

Second I can no longer tell the story because I have already told it. I know the story start to finish so what's the point? I've written it.

Organic vs plotted

Perhaps you should try the organic approach.

Try this, what is your story about? Forget the plotting at this point, sit down and write an e-mail to yourself telling someone what the story is about, no outline no plot.

Example:

Dear Myself,

I want to write a story about a girl who finds a magic lamp and instead of a genie in the lap she gets drawn into the lamp and becomes the genie . . . using your idea in it's simplest form

It might get you started, just write out the e-mail and see where it takes you. Using the e-mail form takes away the pressure of the blank word processor screen and puts it in more relaxed terms, and if you get away from the outline you have, it give you permission to write out of order.

imagegod · Aug 27, 2011

Read 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'
Pirsig has a wonderful section about teaching beginning writers: Essentially, he says to start as small as a single brick in a wall:

http://grammar.about.com/od/advicefromthepros/a/pirsigblock.htm

blacbird · Aug 27, 2011

"The (noun) . . . "

Proceed from there.

Well, okay, that may have come across as slightly flippant. But it wasn't intended that way. Seriously, you just need to write. And you emphatically don't need to write from the beginning, in order, to the end. Beginnings are often the most difficult things to get right. They may be the last thing your write. If you have a plan, an outline, a concept, go write scenes that need to be written, and stitch them together later.

caw

melnve · Aug 28, 2011

I understand totally. I spent months talking about my characters and plot with my husband, and outlining my characters. I then spent a month on the first page, twisted with agonising decisions over every word. I gave up for a while, then I finally decided I was being stupid. I sat and started writing, trying not to worry about the words so much as getting the story down on paper. After that I just forced myself to keep going, and now I am fixing it all up in edits.

I feel your pain. Just write something, anything. Get yourself started! Good luck!

AnnieColleen · Aug 28, 2011

imagegod said:
start as small as a single brick in a wall:

Yes, this.

Think of a scene that's strongly in your head. Then a character in that scene. Then a feeling, thought, sensation...a detail your character is observing...whatever comes to mind. Zoom in small; don't think about the big picture. Write your one detail. Then the next one. And so on.

Also try writing with eyes closed/screen turned off.

Zelenka · Aug 28, 2011

I have to say I feel your pain, I have exactly the same problem sometimes - some projects, I know exactly what the first sentence is going to be, others I just can't for the life of me think of it.

Way I've got over that is actually the opposite of what someone else said, but to plot more rigidly. I find if I don't outline and plot, I tend to lose the threads of what I'm doing and the book goes all over the place. Also, actually writing down my notes concentrates my mind on the story, and helps me think of other ideas to go with what I have already. So before I start a story or even a chapter in a story, I sit down and block it out like a stage play. Lately I've discovered that if I start just jotting down a few notes about the general atmosphere of the place, what the weather's like, what the POV character could hear, feel or smell in that place, then think about the actions he / she is doing, then that really helps me get it solidified in my head and I can start writing soon as I've done that.

Course, not every method works for everyone, but that's how I've overcome the problem.

n3onkn1ght · Aug 28, 2011

Well, Kittenmay, it's like this:

You either need to write something, anything just to begin with and build on, or start thinking about a career in the fascinating world of telemarketing.

Seriously, if you can't write, then maybe this isn't the discipline for you.

Write like Hemingway if you have to, loads of simple subject-verb sentences with the barest, beige-est, most stripped down prose imaginable. Anything that lets you put words down on paper helps.

Kathleen_ · Aug 28, 2011

Just write. If you can't write what you want to write, white about what you want to write, how you want it to sound and so on.

Sometimes when I get stuck with something I'll start writing something like this:
OMG stupid brain hand thingy just work! Bum in seat, check, hands on keyboard, check, now move those bloody fingers! What am I writing about? Ok, so I have Sara here and Fred has just said all those horrible nasty things to her and I really want her to slap him. Sara slaps Fred. Yeah, like that works. How is she feeling? What are her thoughts? The breath catches in her throat as Fred delivers his final punch... hey, is that good? Sara's breath caught in her throat as Fred delivered his final punch. She realed back, as if physically struck. The words hurt more than any fist...

Give it a go and see if it works for you!

lorna_w · Aug 28, 2011

When I'm planning a novel, little phrases and snatches of dialog spring to mind. I write those down immediately in a document that says "novel title" and I put a chapter number down and then that little bit. Then I go back to planning, etc. So when I'm read to write, there are plenty of options to start with (though I myself never have a problem writing something from the beginning).

Surely you can write one sentence. And if you can write one sentence, it's a guarantee you can do it again, maybe immediately, maybe later that day, maybe not until tomorrow. I'm not saying I'd advise this was a good plan for a writing career, but to drag yourself out of a standstill, it's one possible way to think of it. "Today, I will write one sentence." Write it, pat yourself on the back, and go do other things. The next day get up, and set a bigger goal. "Today, I will finish that paragraph." By the end of a week, you'll have normal, workable production goals.

I can guarantee you, with 99.9% certainty, whatever beginning you write, it won't be there in final draft, so feel free to write sentence fragments, stupid ideas, boring descriptions, or whatever stuff it takes to get you to sink into the fictive world. The story should unfold before your eyes once you're there, and you'll be trying to type fast enough to get it all down.

SRHowen · Aug 28, 2011

Kathleen_ said:
Sometimes when I get stuck with something I'll start writing something like this:
OMG stupid brain hand thingy just work! Bum in seat, check, hands on keyboard, check, now move those bloody fingers! What am I writing about? Ok, so I have Sara here and Fred has just said all those horrible nasty things to her and I really want her to slap him. Sara slaps Fred. Yeah, like that works. How is she feeling? What are her thoughts? The breath catches in her throat as Fred delivers his final punch... hey, is that good? Sara's breath caught in her throat as Fred delivered his final punch. She realed back, as if physically struck. The words hurt more than any fist...

Give it a go and see if it works for you!

This is a great way to get unstuck, sometimes I just rant about something that happened that day, anything to just get the words flowing.

rainsmom · Aug 28, 2011

The beginning is the toughest thing to write, because a *good* beginning has to serve a lot of purposes:

* Hook the reader
* Introduce characters
* Ground the reader in a setting or time
* Introduce (or hint at) conflicts and themes that will run throughout the book

I wrote several different beginnings for my WIP before I settled on one that I think does the best at all of the above. I couldn't write this beginning, however, until I far enough in to really understand not only the major conflicts in the books, but the smaller interpersonal ones as well. I needed to have a grip on the themes and symbols that occur in the story, and I needed to know every major character's arc -- and how it related to/affected the other arcs and other characters. THEN, and only then, was I able to create what I feel is a truly effective beginning.

If I had waited to start writing until I had that exact beginning, I probably wouldn't have ever gotten started.

bearilou · Aug 28, 2011

I'm going to cast my vote for starting somewhere else other than the beginning. Start with a scene further in and get it down and keep going from there. Once words and ideas are flowing, you can go back to the beginning.

Writing from an outline doesn't mean you are tied to the outline strictly, nor does it mean you have to write linearly.

I have outlines and they work just fine for me, while they obviously don't work for someone else. But I don't write linearly all the time. Having that skeleton helps me find a direction and it also gives me places to jump to when I'm stuck on another part.

Also, give yourself permission to write any beginning, knowing you may have to change it once you're done or further into the story. That's what has happened to me. I thought I was starting at a good spot and now that I'm several thousand words in, I realize I have started too late.

No reason to panic, though. I made a note of where to possibly start it at the beginning and just keep writing. I'll eventually fix it.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 28, 2011

Read Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing. If you don't know where and how to start after this, it's hopeless.

My own advice is to stop planning. I suspect the trouble you;re having is how to start so you can follow your plan. Forget about it. Just sit down and start pressing keys. If it follows your plan, fine. If it doesn't, who cares? Go where it takes you.

Other than what Bradbury says in Zen, I don't believe in tricks, methods, or anything else. Writing is sitting down and pressing keys. You can do this, if you don't over-complicate what writing is.

Coco82 · Aug 28, 2011

I'm not sure if I can add much, but just start writing is what I'd say...you can always go back and fix it later. Don't mind your plan too much though, let it be a rough guide but don't let it impede you.

GFanthome · Aug 28, 2011

When I was writing my most recent novel, I started by writing a chapter - any chapter. I didn't worry too much about where exactly it would fit into the story. Maybe you should try that approach. If you have the plot figured out, you're already halfway there. Even if it's just bullet points or snippets of converations.... write 'em all down and piece them together later.

Sometimes forcing yourself to start from the beginning is the worst thing you can do to hinder the writing process.

And remember... sometimes when you get writing, the plot you've laboured so diligently to put together will change on you because the story and the characters lead you elsewhere.

____________________
One Broken Wing

seawitch · Aug 28, 2011

Write any darn scene in the book that speaks to you. Then write another fun scene. Then another. Then go back and do some basic outlines of other chapters. Then go back again and start at the beginning and fill it out properly. And don't stop until you're done.

At least, that's how I do it... YMMV...

Layla Nahar · Aug 28, 2011

It may sound very silly, but what if you start your Ch 1 p.1 with "Once upon a time"? I mean quite literally - even if your novel is about drug dealing housewives. "Once upon a time the was a woman named Kathy Smith who lived in a suburban tract west of Houston..." or whatever. Its a silly way to get started, but silly helps take the pressure off...

SomethingOrOther · Aug 28, 2011

Let your first drafts suck!

seawitch · Aug 28, 2011

Like to the link.

SomethingOrOther · Aug 28, 2011

Also, since you're only a kitten (albeit a magical, flying one), it's quite an accomplishment that you can write any words.

How to begin?

Magical flying kitty

Hopelessly Hopeful

Magical flying kitty

Feeling like an old timer

wants moar baddassery.

Erotica is not a four letter word!

Invisible Writer

Going home!

Confused Alien

Erotica is not a four letter word!

Feeling like an old timer

DenturePunk writer

At the computer, opening a vein

Seashell Seller

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