Having trouble writing the opening of a story.

[OldDog_NewTricks]

Looking for some advice.

I realize I only have one published work, but it’s not for lack of ideas or trying.

I have a couple of ideas swimming about in my head, but I’m having trouble writing the opening “scenes”. When I’m verbally telling a story (not sexual but for everyday “people”) it’s a bit easier knowing I only have one shot at it, but the ability to make changes on the fly to make up for a poor opening. Here at Lit there’s no making changes after it’s published. My usual M.O. is like the listener walks in in the middle of a scene or conversation, and then a quick “backtrack” to explain the 5 W’s of the either the premise or at the very least the opening “scene”.

For whatever reasons, I’m having trouble doing that with the next stories I’m working on.

So, I guess what I’m asking for is some different ways to set an opening that can get someone’s attention, draw them in, and have them want to finish the story. I like the “little bit of mystery” or the “unanswered question” lead in because it does draw you in, but it doesn’t always work.

Thank you all for any advice.

 

[Ssbbw4u1974]

Idk, I usually start by describing what my characters are doing before the big "scenes" .
I honestly just start writing and try to set the scene.

 

[StillStunned]

What I like to do with sword & sorcery is to describe a scene as background - a border castle, a wasteland, a mausoleum - with a bit of worldbuilding for flavour. Then I zoom in on a figure - a messenger pproaching the castle on a flying bird, two people arguing in the wasteland as they're held up by bandits - a soldier discussing the mausoleum with a clerk. From there I shift to the perspective of the character and let the story take off.

 

[THBGato]

It depends on your narrative voice. I nearly always write in first person, so I like to start in media res but ideally in scenario that shows who the person is or a major aspect of their personality e.g a musician carrying her instruments checking into a hotel while on tour; two best friends completing university application forms; an actress trying to get into the right mindset for an audition.

I imagine that with 3rd person narrators you can do a bit more describe-the-setting: in first person that would be weird unless the setting is complete new to the character (we don't tend to notice the everyday).

My two cents, anyway.

 

[OldDog_NewTricks]

I’ll have to investigate those ideas and any more that come up. Thank you.

As a side question for a thread I’m posting in a few minutes. If I want to reference a story or series of stories by a particular author in a forum post, should I link to it (or the first one if it’s a series) or just mention the author and title? I just want to respect the author’s work correctly.

 

[OldDog_NewTricks]

@THBGato … I usually tell my stories in the 3rd person even if they have personal experiences running through them.

 

[StillStunned]

I’ll have to investigate those ideas and any more that come up. Thank you.

If you want to see how mine work on paper, I was referring to chapters 2, 4 and 5 of my series The Rivals. The opening of Not A Soul works the same way, but much shorter.

Don't worry, I'm not asking you to read the entire stories. But reading the intro will give you some idea of what I mean.

As a side question for a thread I’m posting in a few minutes. If I want to reference a story or series of stories by a particular author in a forum post, should I link to it (or the first one if it’s a series) or just mention the author and title? I just want to respect the author’s work correctly.

There's probably no established etiquette, but a link would make it easy for anyone who wants to check the author out.

Good luck!

 

[TheWritingGroup]

So, I guess what I’m asking for is some different ways to set an opening that can get someone’s attention, draw them in, and have them want to finish the story. I like the “little bit of mystery” or the “unanswered question” lead in because it does draw you in, but it doesn’t always work.

Sometimes I write the ending, then the middle, then the beginning. Knowing where I'm going can help me write the parts that I'm vague about. For instance, I know what to foreshadow.

I just plotted out a story this morning that's almost all told in flashback, so we start with two characters screwing in an imaginative (I hope!) way, then Main Character starts telling Lover about her day. It was weird and frightening and joyous and surprising.

-Annie

 

[OldDog_NewTricks]

@TheWritingGroup … one of the two ideas I have is similar to that. A wife recounting previous escapades they had together to her husband as part of a gift to him. That’s the one giving me the real fits. Being told in “flashback” it’s verbally confusing trying to start in the present with so many important details being in the past.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

So, I guess what I’m asking for is some different ways to set an opening that can get someone’s attention, draw them in, and have them want to finish the story. I like the “little bit of mystery” or the “unanswered question” lead in because it does draw you in, but it doesn’t always work.

Thank you all for any advice.

I start out with a bit of history and an overall setting.


Sample one:

"Life was normal. Mundane, boring, but normal. We weren't rich or poor, we had everything a normal family needed along with a few extras. Mom did her best after Dad ran off with someone from his job. She took on a couple of extra jobs to pay the bills and it really took a toll on her health causing her have have some issues with weight. She did the best she could, but it was clear it was too much for her. My sister Jane and I knew we had to move out as soon as we got out of school so Mom could slow down and concentrate on herself and her health. She'd told us for years that as soon as we left, she'd sell the house and move back to the more relaxed country life she grew up with. We knew the score and agreed.

Mom's sister Nancy was almost a complete opposite. She'd gotten in to a good college earlier than many people did and had really excelled. She worked hard and got a break with a financial firm in a major city hundreds of miles away, where she was able to move up the ranks quite quickly. Aunt Nancy never got married, telling us she never really had time for it. We barely ever saw her other than a few small family gatherings. But when she arrived in our small town everybody noticed. She simply exuded style and grace the way old time movie stars used to in the Golden Age of films."



Sample two:



"We had the house where everybody hang. Ask all my friends, they'll tell you the same. Was it the house or was it the gang. Or a phenomenon no one can explain? Lots of music, lots of games. Weekend parties we kids attended with our friends. And weekend parties we kids didn't attend. Parents only they said. Then Parent only. Dad had gone to work one day and never returned. Two years of grief turned up nothing. Mom went back to work at a cosmetics counter and doing some side sales work. That's all we were told. We'd visit the store sometimes while she was there in all her finest, but the side sales work was more of a mystery. On the road or so she said. But she was home nights and weekends doing what Moms do. Overall a great mom.

She kept going to the parties though.

We were one of those families with similar sounding names. Mom was Charlene, but everyone called her Charli. Sis was named Carly after a famous singer. I was Carl, Jr.

Funny thing was, everywhere we went, strangers seemed to flock to Mom. Then I saw an actress on TV and knew why. Mom bore a striking resemblance to this actress, Joan Severance. I now understood why people would ask her for her autograph. "

 

[JGittes]

Looking for some advice.

...

So, I guess what I’m asking for is some different ways to set an opening that can get someone’s attention, draw them in, and have them want to finish the story. I like the “little bit of mystery” or the “unanswered question” lead in because it does draw you in, but it doesn’t always work.

...

I don't want to derail your thread and can't help you if you're looking for specific answers to specific issues.

There is, however, a recent bit of popular storytelling culture that I've found helpful, and discussing aspects of that story may help clarify your issues. It's a movie, Top Gun: Maverick, and while certainly not great 'cinema,' it's more than damned fine storytelling and something you may have already seen. It uses the language of film and not words (except for dialogue), but the storytelling questions you've mentioned are issues within the story universe of TG. Examining how TG:M solves them may help with your writing.

Let me know if you're interested.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Crap, that's a terrible go.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I often write the substantive bits of a story first, and then it becomes clear what needs to be in the beginning.

When I start with the beginning, I generally have to go back and edit it down, to make it punchier and better at hooking readers in quickly.

Sounds like you're not sure yet what the 'hook' of the story is? Try writing the rest of it, first.

(If anyone cares about how much editing can improve things, see ch.1 of Smoking Hot, vs The Bet, which is the same story only with about 1000 words eliminated from the first page (and 80k words of gay sex removed from later chapters - The Bet doesn't work that well as a story, but the beginning is much better)