Original Posting 29 Aug 2012
The book is Get That Novel Started! (And Keep It Going 'til You Finish) by Donna Levin. Part two, where Donna starts us really working on writing a novel, started off with chapter 6, where she had us do some preparation, looking at the basic idea, thinking about our characters, digging at conflicts, making a rough outline, and writing an opening scene.
Wait a minute! Writing an opening scene! Doesn't she know that's the hardest part? How can we just start!
Well, in chapter 7, Donna admits that a lot of people are kind of terrorized by beginnings. So chapter 7 is all about writing the beginning. Let's take a look at it.
First lines are scary because people remember all the famous ones, and you want to do it just like that, right? Well, that's hard.
Here's one trick that Donna suggests to get past that first sentence. Just type about 60 Xs, mixed with a few spaces, put a period at the end, and then start writing sentence number two. Come back later to figure out what you want to do about that beginning.
Or, you could try one of these. Actually, try a couple or three of them, just to see what you come up with. Try writing a first sentence that does this:
1. Create a mood.
2. Go ahead and shock us.
3. Foreshadow a major event or even tell us the ending.
4. State the theme of the book.
5. Reveal as much as possible about the main character.
Have some fun, experiment, see what you come up with. Remember that you can always go back and change it later.
But how do you decide where the opening scene is? Well, Donna suggested looking for where the real beginning of the story is, and starting there. Or start with the most dramatic moment.
A warning -- starting with a dream... We don't even know who this is, and you're giving us fantasy already? No, no, no.
Another way around this is to skip the beginning! That's right, if you just can't seem to get a good beginning, go ahead and start in the middle. Start with something that's dramatic and pivotal, and write that. You can go back and write the beginning later.
Or maybe you need a prologue. Yes, everyone says to avoid prologues. But there are some times when they are useful. A framing device, a flash forward, a flashback, or just to establish the milieu. Framing one story within another story, the ghost story told at the camp site around the campfire, might be just right for your story. Giving us a glimpse of some dramatic action that's coming may set us up to read the beginning. Or maybe there's something that happened long ago that drives this story? Or, of course, you need to establish the setting. For any of these, prologues are just right!
Some people write the last first. That's right, do the final scene, the climax, where it's all going -- and then go back and work on the other parts. That's okay too. Often the final scene will give you ideas about the beginning scene, too. Of course, you may find that you've written the final scene for another book, so don't be afraid to let go of it.
All right? There are lots of ways to get started. Some people make outlines, character sheets, and lots of other stuff, before they ever see write a single word. Other people start off writing, and then sometimes have to back up and figure out just what it is that they've been working on. Do it the way that works for you.
Donna ends this chapter with the advice, "To get that novel started: begin at the beginning. If you don't know what the beginning is, then begin before the beginning, or begin in the middle, or at the end."
Just begin.
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mbarker.livejournal.com2012-10-07 06:03 pm
