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Nov 3, 2019 · Stop agonizing, sketch out the first chapter and get on with writing your story. This is really important for NaNoWriMos. You could spend the whole month worrying that thing to death. Don’t. That’s because when you’re writing your first draft, you’re writing for you. Later, you’ll edit for your reader.
- The arrival of a letter, email, or package. (The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield.) To me, this is one of the best ways to start a story. This could be momentous.
- A main character in a frustrating situation. This can also give the reader a feel for her everyday life, while making them empathize with her right away.
- A main character in an awkward or embarrassing situation. Maybe her cat is puking on the lap of a visitor she was trying to impress.
- The discovery of a dead body. (Thief of Shadows, Elizabeth Hoyt. Also about a million mysteries.)
May 26, 2020 · 7. Develop an inciting incident that will drive the plot. 8. Edit what you’ve written of the book. 1. Identify the novel premise. As King says, the best novel openings aren’t just beautiful sentences — they’re invitations into a world of the author’s creation. That means the beginning of a novel should set the tone for all the writing ...
- Tom Bromley
- DON’T start with a Robinson Crusoe opening. That’s when your character is alone and musing. Robinson Crusoe is boring until Friday shows up. So don’t snoozify the reader with a character
- DO open with the protagonist in a scene with other characters. Show how he interacts with the world. Two or three is ideal: not too many or the reader will be overwhelmed.
- DON’T give a lot of physical description, Especially of the police report variety. All we know about Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice is that she has “fine eyes.”
- DO give us a few unusual physical markers that indicate personality. Interesting characteristics like Nero Wolfe’s size, Hercule Poirot’s mustache, and Miss Marple’s age show who these characters are and make them memorable.
- Introduce the main character. You want to open with a scene involving the protagonist. Yes, I know the standard opening of every cop show on TV involves random strangers discovering a body or getting killed.
- Make us care enough to go on a journey with that character. This is trickier than it sounds. What makes us care? There’s no formula and no one thing will work for every reader in every genre.
- Set tone. You don’t want to start out a romantic comedy with a gruesome murder scene, or open a thriller with light, flirtatious banter. You want to immerse your reader in the book’s world from the opening paragraph.
- Let us know the theme. If you’re going to be dealing with a particular theme, you don’t want to hit us over the head with it, but give us some foreshadowing.
Nov 28, 2016 · Many scenes are overburdened with backstory, description, and the characters’ inner monologue, which leaves little room for the action that should be driving the story forward. Remember: What the readers need to know to read the story is not what you needed to know to write it. Because the beginning is usually the first part of the story that ...
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These five types of story beginnings work: Introduce readers to a memorable narrator-protagonist. Begin with crucial memories. Start with ambiguous action. Lead with a purposeful prologue. Open with the unexpected. Watch the summary video on ways to begin stories now, then read discussion of the story beginnings below:
