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How to start a story?

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luvsarahdessen97	8:09pm May 13 2010
Normal User Posts: 192	Am I alone when I say that I have a great story idea, but my beginning is just a complete thumbs down. It's like, I can picture the climax, the characters, the dialogue, everything, but when I try to start, it all just...sucks. What is a good way to start a story? In the middle of a problem? Dialogue? Building suspense? How do YOU start your stories?
DecemberMoon	3:28pm May 14 2010
Normal User Posts: 255	Heh. I have the opposite problem. I get a vague idea of a story, write a beginning, then forget about it and never go back to it. (example=the story section I posted here in the writing thread, which no one has read T_T) Nowadays most stories seem to start right in the middle of the action, then explain the events leading up to it. These stories are more popular with the impatient sorts of people who don't want to wait for things to get exciting. (Or people like me, who at this point will read just about anything that has a plot.) Then there are the stories that start at the beginning. These story beginnings are slightly more old-fashioned, but are still popular with more patient, avid readers. I personally like to have a relatively quick beginning. Basically, not too many unnecessary details; wouldn't want to bore my audience with the prices of oats in Mythridiel, for example, but enough of a beginning so that it isn't difficult to catch up with the story. A good way to make up a beginning that is actually interesting, I have learned, is to start off with something quirky about the character or something unusual that happens. This makes things a little more interesting to the reader, and gives more insight to the character, which is always nice. \r\n
�_Ranvier	11:23am May 15 2010 (last edited on 11:24am May 15 2010)
Normal User Posts: 1,731	I have to say I have the same problem. Sometimes I'm working on a story, and by the time I get somewhere deep inside the intro is just not all that great. I, personally, am not one for peaceful starts. There has to be something happening, an event, to draw the reader in and wonder what's going on here? I do like starting with quotes/dialogue, but I find that sometimes when I do that the story sounds rather cliche, and that can be unappealing to readers as well. Normally I start stories with a deion of a place, or a person, as they are doing something. Not sure if I helped at all as I'm rambling, but. xD Good luck getting started!
luvsarahdessen97	1:14pm May 15 2010
Normal User Posts: 192	haha thanks guys :) Another good way that I found to start a story is to just write a really simple, short sentence, and then go into a non-boring deion with it. It's hard 'cause you don't want to start right in the action and not have much else to write after that, but you don't want your story to be too slow and bore the readers

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