Tuesday, March 3, 2015

IWSG-Your Story's Beginning

Welcome to Insecure Writer's Support Group March meeting on the first Wednesday of the month, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. To visit the website and find more participants, click HERE.

Your Story's Beginning

The beginning of your story, whether it be a short story or a novel, needs to do three basic things.
  1. The most important is to get the story going and show what kind of story it's going to be.
  2. To introduce and characterize the protagonist.
  3. Engage the reader's interest in reading on (plot).
Some beginnings do more than this. Some create moods; some create characters who aren't the protagonist, or one or more of the subordinate characters. Some will establish a norm the story will then depart from. A story can do more than the basic three things but should never do less.

These three jobs are absolutely vital. To the degree that any short story or novel neglects them, it's risking being dull, uninvolving and possibly confusing to the reader.

Why do I bring up such a very basic writing construct? Every once in a while we need to make a re-assessment of the beginning of our story. Is it doing all it can for our readers? Does it grab them and take them on the beginning of a journey that they won't want to quit reading? After not seeing my story for over a month, I got to see it with fresh eyes and found myself editing it to liven it up. You might try setting your story down for a time and then start at the beginning to see what you find. The results may be just what your story needs.
Penned by at

8 comments:

  1. Susan Gourley/KelleyMarch 3, 2015 at 2:56 PM

    Excellent points. I always try to make the beginning what it should be, but the most common change editors make to my manuscripts is always to those first pages. I'll keep on trying and learning.

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    1. Karen Elizabeth BrownMarch 4, 2015 at 7:33 AM

      Susan: It's always good practice to continue learning and going back to the beginning. But sometimes editors help us along. I always say trust your gut feelings.

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  2. Stephanie FarisMarch 4, 2015 at 12:33 PM

    That is so true. I love your three things. It's too easy to get caught up in the idea in our heads and not pay attention to how the reader will see it.

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    1. Karen Elizabeth BrownMarch 5, 2015 at 9:44 AM

      Stephanie: After all, we are writing for our readers' enjoyment, right?

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  3. cheerfuloptimisticMarch 4, 2015 at 2:26 PM

    Hmm, it's something we should think about.

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    1. Karen Elizabeth BrownMarch 5, 2015 at 9:46 AM

      M.R.R.: Thanks for stopping by. Just a little food for thought.

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  4. F. StoneMarch 7, 2015 at 3:14 PM

    Thankfully with the help of my wonderful, and no nonsense editor, my first chapter now sizzles. Honesty can sting a bit, but when I got over that and saw he was totally correct, the first chapter transformed completely. Before the editing, the story was two dimensional. Then after the rewrite, the story became as real as any movie I've loved watching and feeling. Thank you for reminding us of the importance of the first chapter. Blessings.

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    1. Karen Elizabeth BrownMarch 7, 2015 at 3:25 PM

      Feather: I'm happy for your success! I wish you well with your book.

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