Writing Blog Number 2

20240612 Starting A Story

Starting A Story

This came up as a question when I asked for questions on WdC, and has come up a couple of times on Discord, and a fellow local writer and I had this discussion the other week.
         It’s been tough to come up with an answer, so I have been asking other published authors, and the following is what, as a collective, we have come up with.
         Before I start, I will freely admit this list is not comprehensive, and some people have found other ways of starting that work for them. These are just what have worked for those I have spoken to, and what does not work from the point of view of slush readers, editors, and publishers (who I also asked).
         I should say now that when I asked everyone by email, etc. about publicity (see not last post, the post before that), I also asked about beginnings, endings, plot holes and plotting techniques… so get ready for some more topics you asked for!


Preferred:

1. In Media Res
         This Latin for “In the middle of things,” and it means you start with some action. Especially in a short story, starting with action already happening is a way to hook a reader. This is also very common in some specific genres – fantasy, thriller, Western being the most common.
         When using this technique, you need to make sure the characters are introduced organically and that there are no info dumps, as it takes away from the pacing of the writing.
         This is a good way of starting, in my opinion.

2. Description of Setting
         This is used primarily when a scene is central to the action, or when the location can almost be considered a part of the story. There should be description of what is there, and any exposition should be set seamlessly into the narrative. It takes a writer who is very good at description to pull it off well (not me).
         This tends to crop up in horror and romance more than most other genres, though some science-fiction starts this way, especially when set on an alien world.
         One big issue with this, according to a few professionals, is when the writer switches to second person in a description. For example: If you look to your left, you will see the ancient Halberk Mountains, where King Harold fell to the forces of Prince Henri… This info-dumps the history lesson and uses second person (and it comes from a published book).
         But if this is your strong point as a writer, don’t be afraid to use it.

3. The Climax
         Start with the events right before the climax of the story, then back-track to the beginning. Works best if used in a first person PoV story. This can best be exemplified by the meme of a record scratch, action on a screen stopping, the music of The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’ starting and a voice-over saying, “I suppose you’re wondering how I got myself into this mess.”

         Don’t use those words or anything like them! Cliché alert!
         However, it is not a bad way to start a story. Maybe not a short story, but a longer work can certainly utilize this. I have seen it most often in horror, comedy and romance.
         Difficult to pull off well, but when done well… it is really effective.

4. The End
         This is related to the previous one, and is becoming more and more common, especially in science-fiction, action-adventure, thriller and romance. What this involves is starting right at the end, after the climax is over, and the protagonists are going over the ashes, but also leaving questions that need to be answered.
         It is becoming more common, as I said, and I have experimented with it a few times, and I can see it working, although it can reveal the ending too much. Yes, in these stories, the journey is all the fun, but if you show that a person everyone thinks dies on page 12 is still alive afterwards, tension is not maintained, so too much being revealed can be an issue.
         This I have seen used a bit in young adult fiction of late. Again, it needs to be done well, but can be an interesting way of approaching a longer work.

5. Normalcy
         Start with a scene showing the world as completely normal, people going about their lives. This can introduce characters in their natural setting and show (not tell) them being themselves. A Stephen King book I can't remember the name of started with reader following a kid riding his pushbike around his hometown. Then you can introduce the inciting incident or complication or whatever else in the way your story is going to work and disrupt this setting of the normal world.
         This is really common in romance, young adult and horror stories, because it can make the changes seem even more drastic.
         This is such a great way of introducing everything without info-dumping. This is a strong story start, especially when stakes are going to become really high later on.


Questionable:

1. Dialogue
         This one was a split in professionals! Starting with two (sometimes more) characters talking, having a conversation, is seen as either a strong way of scene setting and character establishing, or lazy.
         Yes, it is split quite far apart.
         So, it is two people have a conversation about something relevant to the story action to follow, or discussing something that has just occurred in media res. If they are just talking about irrelevancies, then why is it there? Remember Chekhov’s gun!
         I think for a short story, it can work, but it needs to flow into the action seamlessly. Also, if a story is dialogue-only (becoming more and more popular, by the way, and quite the challenge to write well), then, obviously, it is going to start this way. Some people also think starting with an argument can work for their tale.
         I have this as questionable because of the split amongst those I spoke to, but I personally see nothing wrong with it.


Not preferred:

1. Info Dump
         This is one of the most common errors seen in beginner writers, though it can also be seen amongst more experienced authors as well. Starting with a dump of the back-story of the story, a history lesson, what has just happened as a tell not show – all of these info dumps just feel like the writer has no idea how to incorporate the details into their narrative well.
         What is worse is when a reader manages to wade through such details, finishes the book, and finds that 90% of the info is completely irrelevant to the tale. I’ve covered this in quite a few previous posts – it is word count for the sake of word count, or just the writer telling the reader, “Look at all the stuff I made up; aren’t I clever?”

2. Character Description
         While describing a scene can be a good way to start, describing the characters is not. Especially if describing them like a sportsperson’s statistics or what they are wearing like a reporter from Vogue magazine.
         For example, Emily was a five foot three girl with blue eyes and a body she thought was too skinny. Her hair was just below her shoulders because she was growing out an awful pixie cut. She wore a pink t-shirt and blue jeans and her favourite crocs. She liked the music of Dua Lipa and thought Taylor Swift was over-rated. And she liked to draw pictures of ponies in her school-books. I have copy-pasted that from a story I was asked to edit a few years ago. This is the sort of information that, if it is important to the story, should be blended in seamlessly. Not dumped like this. It’s worse when there are four characters in a row where this happens (which I have recently seen in a “novel” here on WdC).
         And when they describe the person as "perky" or "intelligent" or the like, we hit tell and not show and it grows tedious.

3. A Question
         This used to be a way some stories started from the mid-1800s into the early 1900s. the writer poses a question that the story is then going to answer, usually a philosophical one, or a moral one. Horror writers especially were prone to this. If not a question, then a statement that the story examines.
         It has simply fallen out of fashion, and modern readers have rejected it in newer works. The professionals don’t like it and readers wonder why you do it. Having said that, some capital-L Literature short stories have started this century using it again, so – who knows? It might be on the way back.
         Personally, I am not a fan.


And that is a quick look at starting your story. Hope this helps someone!