Where Do I Begin?
Ranting & RavingA reader asked a few days ago about how to start her story. It felt like a good idea for a post. So here you go.
1) Your plot. I won't go too deep into that because you already know—I hope. Your plot is what happens in the story. The beginning, the conflict, the resolution, the end. That is your plot. Be at least relatively clear on what it is before anything else. Please.
2) Your outline. I highly suggest that you write one of these. Literally write it down on a piece of paper. Seeing the story come alive on paper is a very satisfying feeling. And! It's also insurance. Computers can be funny things. This is to ensure that you have a backup copy somewhere in the world of what in the hell your story was supposed to be about.
How you choose to write your outline is up to you. If you just do bullets of major events, that's cool. Under any circumstances, it should look a little something like this.
Just a little something that will keep you on pace and reminded of the sequence of events. These are especially inportant if your story isn't linear. If there are a lot of flashback, or if, say, you start with the breakup and then explain what led them to it, please make an outline. As detailed as you can stand.
3)Your first paragraph. It's so, so, so important. You may very well re-write it ten times before you're satisfied with it. It sets the tone for how the reader will perceive th
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