Writing Saturday; Help! I am stuck at the beginning of my book
4:08 PMYou have a great idea for a story, unfortunately you don’t know how to get it started. You have these characters dancing around in your head and a great ending. However, what still eludes you is the perfect way to start off your book.
Does this sound like you? Well, today we are tackling some ways to figure out the beginning of your story. So get ready to write!
The beginning of your book sets the stage for the rest. You are introducing the characters and the plot to your reader. You need an opening that is introduction to the main players and the concepts of the book. So, go to the end of your book. What has the main character learned? How has he/she changed? Write the beginning of the book to display the character before he/she has changed/learned their lesson.
Example; In my book The Destiny of One, One of the main characters main struggles is what God wants to do with her life. So I introduce that struggle in the very first chapter.
“I don’t think I want to go to the university, but I have been thinking of the community college. Still…” Maria’s shoulders slumped; the question had been hounding her for almost a year now. What did she want to do with her life? Did she want to go to college or not? Did she want to get a job? What did Maria Morris want to do?
“It’s okay, you still have three months to decide if you want to start college this semester or not,” her mother encouraged.
“I know, Mom, but I just… I just feel like I should be doing something, that God has something for me that I’m missing. How do I find out what God wants me to do?”
“Here, this is for the cheese,” her mother said handing her a platter. “Maria, the question you ask is one that people have been asking from the beginning of time. I personally don’t think that you have to stress about it. God will show you his plan for your life when he thinks you’re ready.”
“I just hope that that’s soon, because this waiting is driving me nuts,” Maria said, placing the last slice of cheese of the platter.
Sometimes we have a great plot idea but just aren’t sure how to get it off the ground. The best thing to do is work it backwards, like you used to do those really tough mazes.
Example;
The Ending; The Indian that has always seemed mean sacrifices his life so that Johnny can live.
Climax; Johnny and the mean Indian are captured by another tribe
Middle; Johnny is living with a tribe of Indians learning their ways and making friends, except with one mean Indian.
Near the Beginning; Johnny is taken to live with the Indians after his family is killed
The Beginning; Johnny’s family is killed and he is all alone.
See how you can build a neat story by working backward?
Do you have any tips on what to do if you are stuck at the end of your story?
3 comments
I posted about beginnings today on my blog, too! Great minds think alike? :) I never thought about plotting the book backwards before. I may have to try that someday.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't have any ideas for endings because I've never written far enough to get to the end of one of my books. I always have a great beginning and then get bogged down in the middle and give up. :) Of course, I also stopped writing because the plots were too weak and I didn't have a main point/reason for writing. I was just writing for fun and ended up rambling. lol!
ReplyDeleteHowever, that idea about reviewing everything backwards is great! Definitely going to have to give that a try. It really helps to put your writing in a different perspective.
Many Blessings!
Jessica
I am always getting stuck! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou should write a book to help out book writers! :) ( I mean that!)