Starting a story

[Guessmyname]

I have a lot of trouble with introductions. How do you go about it? Do you just throw the reader right in, or give an opening narrative, or, or what?
I have the most trouble with introducing the characters myself. I know what they're like, how they act and talk and what they are / will / have done, but how do I convey this? How do I set the first scene? It drives me nuts...

[CheshireCat]

Dropping the reader into a story already underway -- and at a tense moment -- is my preference. Characters are described when they need to be, usually in bits and pieces over the course of the scene or chapter or book. You don't have to stop the action to tell the reader that Character A was born in Memphis and has blue eyes and issues with his abusive father; you bring in the relevant details when they become relevant.

[maestrowork]

Interesting people in interesting places in interesting situations. That's where you should start the story -- exposition, narrative, etc. can come later. Make us care about what happens to these characters before telling us who they are.

Imagine yourself going to a party. Do you get a spec sheet of all the guests and their backgrounds, interests, etc. etc. first? Or do you get to know them one bit at a time by having conversations? Readers are invited to your story like they are to a party. You don't want to hit them in the head with a long history of personal backgrounds and settings. You want to get right into the party action and let them figure things out. Respect your readers' intelligence, and they'll have a much better time.

[Lyxdeslic]

Interesting people in interesting places in interesting situations. That's where you should start the story -- exposition, narrative, etc. can come later. Make us care about what happens to these characters before telling us who they are.
While I agree whole-heartedly that this is the current trend of modern writers/writing, I don't necessarily agree with this philosophy as a whole. When done well, starting a story this way can be quite enjoyable; when not...well...it's not. The same goes for opening with narrative/background or, as this is commonly referred to nowadays, an infodump.

Imagine yourself going to a party. Do you get a spec sheet of all the guests and their backgrounds, interests, etc. etc. first?
Yes, but wouldn't it be quite fun to attend a party with a "cheat sheet" of info on the fellow attendees?
Respect your readers' intelligence, and they'll have a much better time
I agree, with a caveat. If done with intelligence in mind, it can be done either way. I worry that if we completely give in to the current trend of "hit 'em over the head with action right away", how lost will we be when the market shifts back to the days of literary dominance.

It all boils down, for me, to style. Whatever style you choose, just be sure to make certain you're good at it. :)

Lyx

[Michael Dracon]

Dropping in moments before a small bad thing happens to an/the/several MC(s) is my advice.

Whenever I set up a story I tend to go for the classic 9-act structure used very effectively in movies. More info here: http://hs34.order-vault.net/~admin160/film/nine_act.html

[swvaughn]

Starting out with fires, explosions, dead bodies, or poodles is always fun.

Wait... poodles? Where did that come from?

Anyway. I like stories that start in media res, so that's usually the way I start them. I still end up going back to fix the beginning most of the time, because I learn more about the characters as I go along, and have to change things to reflect that.

I'd say just start and see where you go. You can always come back and change it later!

[FredCharles]

I have a lot of trouble with introductions. How do you go about it? Do you just throw the reader right in, or give an opening narrative, or, or what?
I have the most trouble with introducing the characters myself. I know what they're like, how they act and talk and what they are / will / have done, but how do I convey this? How do I set the first scene? It drives me nuts...

I'm blogging about the novel writing process at my blog. Check it out if you are interested.

There is no "right" way to start your story, except that it should draw the reader in right away. I like to just throw the reader in.

[job]

The first chapter of your story may be the hardest chapter to write.

For one thing, you don't know your characters nearly as well as you will in another 70,000 or 80,000 words.
You know this first chapter is important, yet you're not really prepared to write it.

So my advice would be -- Don't agonize over that first couple pages.

Don't agonize over the first three chapters ...
there's a good chance you will significantly change them or discard them altogether.

Sketch the early pages in and move on.
When you return, in draft two, everything will be clearer and easier.

FWIW ...

I think the reader, in the first pages, is looking for some indication that the writer can write.
Show the readerr that you are in charge and competent, and she will sit cheerfully through a discussion of Mozart or a running gun battle or the pixie trying to drown your cat.

There is no right or wrong subject or place to start or level of action or narrative or hook or logical starting point ...
There is only doing what you decide to do, well.

[scarletpeaches]

In medias res.

[Judg]

I think the desire to start in the middle of the action results too often in actually alienating us from the character. If we meet a character for the first time when they are in the middle of intense emotion, we can't identify with it very deeply and so we're almost clinical. Not that it can't be done, but I've been struck lately by how many successful books do not start with explosions, dead bodies and what have you.

There are lots of successful ways to open. Sometimes, especially in first person, the voice itself can enchant and beckon. Sometimes, we are intrigued because the author makes us ask questions and doesn't answer them too quickly. This can be overdone; I've seen even very experienced authors start out with so many obscure terms and references to things we don't know yet that I've been tempted to slam it shut.

I do like in media res, but I don't think it should be too intense. If it is, it can feel too much like a news report, something dramatic happening to strangers yet again, ho hum. Better that it should be something intriguing happening to strangers, or strangers doing something intriguing.

My two cents, worth every penny you paid.

[maestrowork]

In media res doesn't mean you start the story in the middle of a huge conflict or emotional trauma. It does mean you need to get as close to your inciting incident/main story as possible. It may be one chapter, three scenes, or two pages. But don't do 3 chapters of set up before the main story begins.

The point is to make us care (characterization, intrigue, etc.) while moving the plot along -- don't give them a reason to say, "What is this about?"