I’m working on Hunter’s Gazelle. If you don’t remember that story, don’t worry. It’s one of two I promised myself I’d either edit or finish on my 30 before 30 list so I haven’t talked about it in a while.
My thoughts are on beginnings. What makes a good beginning for a story? The first 10 pages is what gets sent for query or whatever, so you want the start to pull the agent in and move them along.
How do you start?
I know I’ve put down books because of a slow opening. The books ended up being amazing, but it took me a long while to pick them back up in order to dive in.
So what makes for a good beginning?
I’m asking a lot of questions and maybe they are all irrelevant or rhetorical (not the same thing, I know), but I can’t stop asking it.
When you’ve read a good book, did the beginning help start you down the right path or was it something else?
You know what this is? Worry. My desire to pursue publishing has returned and I want this (and everything I do) to be perfect. I want to nitpick and it drives me a little crazy, but I can’t help it. I want to put my hand to the plow and have something noteworthy to show for it or I don’t want to do it at all. I’ve said before this perfectionist drive has led me to change jobs and make changes because of it.
A spanking would set me to rights and keep me on track with keeping my goal. Since that isn’t likely, I’ll have to self-motivate, eh?
But back to my question… What makes a good beginning?
Comments
Tension, tension, tension! (And the ability to demonstrate that you can correctly manipulate the English language.)
Author
I’ll have to consider that in what I wrote already. Thanks.
You’ve probably already got it down — you’re always great about tension in your blog posts.
Author
I just worry about it translating to a longer piece. Or maybe I’m overthinking it.
If it makes you feel better, many writers re-write their first 50 pages fifty times. (I’m right on target with that, myself. 😉 ) It’s hard to know where to start. If only we could just forget about it being a longer piece, and just write — or at least start it — with the same urgency we use for our blog posts, we’d do better.
Don’t worry about writing in a linear fashion, some stories do come to me in perfect chronological order others come in snapshots that require me to shuffle the pack several times before I am happy with the order, listen to your instincts and it will come 😀
Author
I usually write linear because that’s how I think. There are a few stories that I’ve written in parts because it felt right.
LOL at the photo. 😀
Author
That was at my doctor’s office. I had to take a picture of it. Lol
My standard rule is to start when things have changed. Don’t begin the book on the ordinary day, begin the day your hero/heroine’s world gets put in the blender.
Author
That’s good advice. I’ll keep that in mind.
Hard to add to the commentary. But if a spanking would help, I can do that!
Author
Awesome! It’s been months since my last.
Something completely unexpected keeps me reading.
Author
Hm… Okay. Thanks for your input.