How to Write Stories People Will Love

32. Rework the Beginning

A common question I see in the Improve Your Writing club is, "How do I begin a novel?" The smart-ass answer I sometimes see is, "You start writing, duh." Not helpful, I know.

Beginnings are hard. That first chapter needs to set up the story premise and setting, and hook readers at the same time. The responsibilities of that first chapter are so great, writers often paralyze themselves thinking about it. The story never gets started, or they enter a loop of endless revisions for Chapter One.

When starting a new novel, there is some wisdom in that smart-ass reply. Just start writing. Start at the beginning you envision for your story, and get on with it. Get through it. Keep going and don't look back until you finish your story. Then you can go back and revise that first chapter.

Is it time? Okay, here are some different ways to start your story...

1. The Inciting Incident - This is the most frequent advice you'll get, and that's because it tends to work. The inciting incident is that thing that catapults the main character from normal life into The Story. It's that spaceship landing in Suzy's back yard. It's being served divorce papers. It's that new kid showing up in class. Whatever it is, the event causes a chain reaction that changes the main character's life and launches her into your story plot.

By starting at the inciting incident, you stand a better chance at hooking the reader, because hopefully they're interested in what happens next. When the reader is curious how a character is going to react to something, you've got them.

2. A Typical Day - Fantasy and Science Fiction both require much more setup than Contemporary because the reader needs to become familiar with world you are presenting. The average day in a Fantasy or Sci Fi story is much more interesting than the average day of a teenager in high school, because we are already familiar with the latter. By starting with the character's average day, you give readers a chance to acquaint themselves with the technology, terminology, setting, and time period. But don't take too long. If you start with a typical day, be sure to get to the inciting incident by Chapter Four.

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Chapter Update!

adueri asks: How do you start with the "typical day" without it being boring? Even if it's not sci-fi exactly, but the reader has to know how the life of the character is. But I don't know how to make it fast and fun when it is a normal day.

Boring details can be made not-boring by the way they are relayed to the reader. Humor is a good way to do this. For example, "I ride the bus to school" - yawn. But "I ride the bus to school, breathing as little as possible. Because Joey Schmidt has neglected to shower AGAIN." - Interesting!

Or it could be summarized more briefly in a paragraph, so the reader gets the idea, but isn't bogged by details. Perhaps like this:

Every day is the same. I wake up, eat cereal, and ride the bus to school. I stay awake in class, sleep through lunch, pretend to pay attention in the rest of my classes, and then head to my after-school job at the grocery store.

Here, an entire typical day has been described in a few sentences. Boom boom boom, done. Then the story can continue with how this day is OUT of the ordinary. Like her friend gave her a ride today. Or there was a substitute teacher. Or the grocery store was closed.

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3. A Blend Of Both - Diving right into the action, while exciting, could also mean a disconnect from the main character. We, as readers, don't know this person yet, and find it hard to care what happens to a stranger. Sometimes we need a scene just before the inciting incident to give us an idea about her personality or situation in life. This makes it easier to care.

HOW NOT TO WRITE THE BEGINNING

There are a few no-nos that most writers blunder into when starting out their writing journey. If you find yourself committing one of these mistakes, don't feel bad. I've done each and every one of these!

1. The Dream Sequence - Chapter One begins with the main character dreaming about something, which will foreshadow later events. While this is not terrible in and of itself, it's so overdone that it's become cliche. Most readers will roll their eyes when they encounter it.

2. Waking Up - Another tired method of starting a story is the alarm clock. Starting with "A Typical Day" does not mean pelting us with mundane activities. Don't tell us about how the main character brushes her teeth or eats her cereal. Tell us about things that differentiate her from other people. Maybe she likes eating cold pizza from two days ago for breakfast. That tells us something.

3. Looking in the Mirror - Often when a writer wants to convey what the character looks like, they'll describe what she sees as she looks in the mirror. This is done a LOT. We don't need to know precisely what she looks like all at once. Try sprinkling in the details gradually, like maybe she puts her brown hair up into a knot, or talks about how her sister "has blue eyes like me". Or maybe she covers her freckles with makeup. But don't do it all on the same page, because then it's not gradual. It becomes obvious, and we don't want the reader to get bored with descriptions.

Again, none of these things are terrible. It won't ruin your story. However, if your goal is to make a good first impression, avoiding these overused methods is a good start.

GirlyGamerLL has a great suggestion:

Come up with an amazing first sentence for your story. The first sentence is what really hooks the reader in, and if the first sentence is something boring like, "I woke up," the reader isn't going to want to read that. I know I wouldn't. Try something more interesting. The first sentence for my story, Running, is this:

"Come back here, you little bitch! I still have to punish you for what you did to your mother and I!" my father yells from the front door of my old house.

Does that make you want to read the story now?

Yes. Yes it does!

Do you have any of your own suggestions you'd like to share? Also, while you're at it, I would love your vote for this chapter. Thank you!