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Is This Too Sudden?

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Taylor_Writes

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My new WIP involves a girl who has a best friend (DUH!) and she tries to attempt suicide by drowning herself (Which really happened at my schoo. This buddy in a grade higher than me got really upset at his teacher, which is mine now, and pitched a desk at him, and then ran off school grounds. He went to one of the old wharfs and tied a rope around him and a heavy rock, and tried to drown himself). Anyways, when I started it, its right when the MC finds her best friend about to throw the rock and jump, and I'm wondering if its a bit too sudden. Its ike 300 words in and then she jumps.

Sorry if the brackets and stuff made it a bit too hard to read. Thanks to all those who help in advance.
 

Chris P

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If the event happens at the beginning of the story, then no it's not too sudden. In many cases, starting off with dramatic action pulls the reader in. Just watch any action movie of the last 10 years; the opening 15 minutes is an action sequence in which we meet the main characters and get an indication of the good guys and bad guys.
 

CheyElizabeth

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Nope, I think it sounds great. I hate stories that start off with backstory and info dumps. Just dive into (pun) the action and draw in your readers!
 

gothicangel

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The only problem for me would be it screaming Titanic, cue: :rolleyes:

I know you didn't mean it, but when I hear the 'this really happened' I really do roll my eyes.
 

Taylor_Writes

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I do too, gothicangel. But, seriously, we had a "Secure School" thingy because of that. And then, alot of police cars. :)
 

Danthia

If that's how it starts in your head start it there. You can always edit later if it feels too sudden.

Without seeing the texts it's impossible to say, but I think the key thing would be if readers care about what's going on. If you've established enough of an emotional connection in those 300 words, then it's probably fine. If it's just some girl trying to kill herself then they might not have time to care yet.
 

rbuckley9104

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John Grisham, a writer of some success, says that you need to capture the attention of your audience within the first ten minutes of your novel. Personally, I always try to begin my work with a captivating event. Yours seems suitable.
 

leahzero

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Danthia nailed it. As long as you can make us care about what's happening, then it's good. The risk with this scene is that we may not empathize with the person attempting suicide, so make sure we do.
 

The Lonely One

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I think there is a difference between starting with action and rushing a scene. Starting with action can be good. Rushing a scene is glossing over the causality and transitional drama to get to the "good part." I don't mean pacing, which is an invisible technique, but the unnatural rushed feeling readers would get from a poorly-written scene in which the writer's rush to get to "interesting" action causes shallow, hurried writing and leaves out essential bits we need to understand the scene.

So, IMO, starting with action = good.
use of pacing as a device to control speed = good.
rushing and neglecting other important parts of the story = bad.
 

shaldna

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If that's the catalyst that starts the story then no. It's fine.

Jodi Picouts 'The Pact' had the suicide within the first two or three pages
 

JayG

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Very shortly after the beginning of any novel, comes the inciting incident. That is, the thing that changes the protagonist's life and sends it careening in a new direction, one filled with constantly escalating problems and uncertainty, that will build to a climax that changes the protagonist in some major way.

So there's no reason at all for you to avoid opening with the events that lead to the protagonist taking part in or witnessing a suicide or attempted suicide, if that's the thing that puts events out of the control of the protagonist. The mystery writers have a saying that sums it up well: begin your story with a body hitting the floor.
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That being said, let me give a small commercial: From the sound of your comments you are either in high school, or have just recently graduated. The fact that you’re beginning and novel is good. If your school is like most however, they’ve spent twelve years teaching you how to write book reports, not books, as they readied you to become a working adult with the writing skills a business requires (author-centric, fact-based nonfiction—as against character-centric emotion-based fiction writing technique). They didn't teach you the skills and craft of a working writer, be that screenwriter, playwright, journalist, tech-writer, or novelist. In fact, they taught you no profession, they only readied you to learn one.

Given that, while you're planning and writing, and if you haven’t already done so, I would strongly suggest that you read a few books on fiction writing techniques, in addition to the things you may get here in AW. Certainly, by writing you gain experience. But if experience is a ladder, education is an escalator—useful in telling you what works, but even more useful in warning you about what doesn't. There’s a thread in play, just below this one, that discusses which books various people have found the most helpful.
 

kaitie

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If that's how it starts in your head start it there. You can always edit later if it feels too sudden.

Without seeing the texts it's impossible to say, but I think the key thing would be if readers care about what's going on. If you've established enough of an emotional connection in those 300 words, then it's probably fine. If it's just some girl trying to kill herself then they might not have time to care yet.

This is exactly what I was going to say. Three hundred words might be enough to establish an emotional connection to a character if done well, and it might not. I'm a little cautious about jumping straight into something like that because I've seen quite a few examples of people starting with something dramatic like that, thinking that it adds to the story because it's action and not boring, but it fails to connect with me to the extent that I really just don't care. If you're aware that this is a potential problem and can work around that then it can be fine. Most things like this are more a matter of execution than anything else. :)
 

Lady Ice

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Depends whether the story is about the suicide or the protagonist's reaction to it.
 
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