How quickly should the action in a novel start?

Without reading the work in question, it's impossible to say whether what you're doing is working, but the best advice I can give is this: if you can't start off with the main story conflict, then you need to introduce one or two smaller conflicts that serve as a bridge to the main one. Without conflict, there is no story at all; you just have a "day in the life" scenario. (Or in your case, a "day in the past life.")

Writers are often advised not to start with backstory, though sometimes it's necessary. It does need to be riveting, though, or else you're in danger of losing your reader before they ever reach the real story. Still, the tolerance for such things in today's readers (not to mention agents and editors) is low. And in looking at your description, my impression is that you probably need far, far less of the character's backstory than you think you do. You might consider just starting with the story, and working in the relevant bits of backstory along the way. That's usually the best way to do it.

BethS said:

And in looking at your description, my impression is that you probably need far, far less of the character's backstory than you think you do. You might consider just starting with the story, and working in the relevant bits of backstory along the way. That's usually the best way to do it.

Click to expand...

This is my hunch too, though it's hard to say without reading your opening. 10,000 words without the major problem being introduced seems like quite a way in. This doesn't mean you need sword fights or car chases or whatever. But an introduction to the story's conflict or inciting event should probably happen as early as possible.

Another problem with starting with backstory is if you make it too riveting, your reader may feel cheated when he or she discovers it's not the "real" story.

I wouldn't axe what you have at the moment, though. Keep working on your draft and see where it takes you. Then you can go back and decide what to chop or rewrite once you have things down.

Write the story, write everything down you have. Then when you're done read through it again and ask yourself if you need to maybe re-arrange everything. Weave the backstory into the later chapters for example... Also ask beta readers for an opinion?

Searching said:

My story starts in media res - there's a good hook there which involves the MC confessing to a mistake which may cost him his life - but then we go back into the past, and nothing happens for a while.

Click to expand...

Does nothing interesting happen in the past? If not, why are you taking the reader there?

You can develop character and have things happening even if you haven't started the "main" story yet, though it's generally advisable to at least foreshadow what the story's actually going to be about sooner rather than later.

Ultimately, you might want to run your draft past a beta reader or two - maybe you've made your character development interesting enough that it carries readers along, or maybe it comes across as dithering and dawdling. (I have to agree with BethS - you often don't need as much backstory as you think you do to get the point across, so long stretches of the stuff often lose more readers than they entertain.)

Searching said:

Hello friends. I need your advice.

And yet as I slowly creep over 10k words in my first draft, I fear nothing overly interesting has happened yet.

Click to expand...

Go in peace. It's a first draft. While your concerns are very valid (and BethS has given solid advice) you've got a lot of story left to tell. I'd recommend getting into it further and figuring out where all the pieces are, so to speak. Beginnings of novels are like beginnings in chess. There are strategies, but you need something to aim for. You may discover a whole new conflict later in the book that needs a foundation earlier. You may realize the story is actually about your sub-plot, in which case your problem is already solved. You may need to rewrite your opening 10-12 times. That last one is likely to happen anyway so don't sweat it and good luck the rest of the way.

ETA: Forbidden Snowflake and Brightdreamer beat me to it.

If you've written forty pages and you don't even consider it to be interesting then it seems to me you should either be considering starting again afresh, or else keep going till your story starts, finish it and then be prepared to cut at least the first forty pages.

Good luck.

=Searching;9032608]Hello friends. I need your advice.

I realise it's important to get to the action as soon as possible. The advice to start at the beginning of the story and not before has been hammered into me many times.

And yet as I slowly creep over 10k words in my first draft, I fear nothing overly interesting has happened yet.

My story starts in media res - there's a good hook there which involves the MC confessing to a mistake which may cost him his life - but then we go back into the past, and nothing happens for a while.

Nearly 10k words in the main plot hasn't begun (a sub-plot has, and it's important to the story), but the MC's character and the character of his wife have been well developed - his motivations and the reasons why he does what he will do - and we have started exploring his childhood which is important to the story.

The two big things - a discovery he makes which will see him sucked into a scheme of an evil corporation and a mistake he makes, that will put a life of an innocent child in danger, will come within the next 5k words. My question is - is that too long into the piece?

Click to expand...

I find in general - not having seen yours, I can't comment on that - but in general, I'm not fond of 'in media res' beginnings any more than I am info-dump slow starts and ones that begin at a frantic pace only to slow to a crawl immediately after 'the hook' are rarely ones I ever bother finishing.

The best openings, imo, start with the story. There's some movement or action or characters doing something beyond waking up or puttering about the house that gives enough of a hint of what's going to happen to keep me reading.

Being dropped straight into a sword fight, an execution or someone dying can ironically be just as 'blah' because the characters are essentially strangers and it's hard to care what happens to them.

Sometimes the best thing to do though, is write out the entire story first, then go back and cut back the beginning and re-work the opening. Overall, it should 'feel' much like the rest of the novel.

Maybe you are starting in the wrong place?

To an extent, it depends on what genre of novel you're writing. An action thriller should have action up front. Litfic, not so much.

People will throw out all sorts of writing rules but the big rule that's #1 that everyone seems to forget to say is that it needs to be interesting.

If even you, the writer, are having a hard time pointing out what's interesting in your first 10k, you have a problem.

Searching said:

I realise it's important to get to the action as soon as possible. The advice to start at the beginning of the story and not before has been hammered into me many times.

And yet as I slowly creep over 10k words in my first draft, I fear nothing overly interesting has happened yet.

Click to expand...

Understand the difference between "action" and "something interesting". Yes, you really do need to present "something interesting" on the first page; few readers are going to plow through many pages of static description of setting, character genealogy, etc., to get to "story". BUT, "something interesting" doesn't have to be zombies exploding.

Now, go look at some actual books by good authors, in a variety of genres. See how they do it.

caw

I had your problem. I knew how I wanted my story to start and their was some crucial back story that was important to what was going on. I fixed my problem by taking the story from another persons POV ( the mother instead of the child's) and adding a prologue (I know some people are against prologues but I am ok with them as long as they are interesting). I found out after doing this that i ended up leading up to the action right away. I know your a good ways in, and starting over at this point would suck, but its worth a thought.

Do you need to go back to the past, or is it in fact backstory that can be dribbled in here and there as the story progresses from your first action incident?

Who knows? It depends on your genre and ability to write in a way that draws your reader in. Many popular thrillers start with action in the 1st few paragraphs. On the other hand, Silence of the Lambs bored me for the 1st few chapters, yet it did OK.

My advice would be to have conflict related to the story ASAP. Could be as simple your MC having a fight with his boss, but something that shows character or plot. Think about your favorite action movies. What do the 1st 10 minutes consist of? Not just talking, that's for sure. Of course movies are a different medium, but still . . .

The fact that we go "back into the past and nothing much happens" sounds bad. The subplot isn't important to the story until the story itself happens! Don't confuse important to you with important to the reader! Is your subplot exciting, with tension that rises to meet the main story line?

It's Newton's first law of motion applied to writing. If you don't give a reader agent a reason to turn the page, he won't. Does every page, every chapter, end w/an incentive to go the next?

On the other hand, it's your first draft. Sometimes you just have to write and not think to much.

PS--I'm a little confused by your post. You state you start in medias res, let worry nothing interesting is happening yet. If jumping to the middle of the action at the opening isn't interesting, you have a problem. Don't you mean that you start with in medias res, but worry if the action/suspense/conflict will carry the reader through the coming slow parts?

Searching said:

Hello friends. I need your advice.

I realise it's important to get to the action as soon as possible. The advice to start at the beginning of the story and not before has been hammered into me many times.

And yet as I slowly creep over 10k words in my first draft, I fear nothing overly interesting has happened yet.

My story starts in media res - there's a good hook there which involves the MC confessing to a mistake which may cost him his life - but then we go back into the past, and nothing happens for a while.

Nearly 10k words in the main plot hasn't begun (a sub-plot has, and it's important to the story), but the MC's character and the character of his wife have been well developed - his motivations and the reasons why he does what he will do - and we have started exploring his childhood which is important to the story.

The two big things - a discovery he makes which will see him sucked into a scheme of an evil corporation and a mistake he makes, that will put a life of an innocent child in danger, will come within the next 5k words. My question is - is that too long into the piece?

Click to expand...

Searching said:

Yes, that's right. The in media res beginning is interesting, but what comes after is an introduction to the characters and their motivations which is important (crucial) to the story itself.

Click to expand...

Is it? Can't we learn them as we go along, without halting to tell us about it?

Bottom line is ... if it's not interesting, that is where you'll lose readers.

And one of my pet peeves about too many books of late, is that they start with action, then go into a long droning background phase... and sometimes never really come out of it. Or I drop the book before they get there, because the background phase is not what the first chapter promised me.

If the story is about this guy and his wife and their life together (or apart as the case may develop), then focus on that. But if it's about whatever the action was at the start, then focus on that. Drop hints instead of doing 10,000 words of John and Suzy's Home Life. Readers aren't dim; they can figure things out from nothing but those dropped hints.

Searching said:

Yes, that's right. The in media res beginning is interesting, but what comes after is an introduction to the characters and their motivations which is important (crucial) to the story itself.

Click to expand...

I have to admit that my immediate response is, Don't do that. I really hate it when a book goes backwards after an interesting start. It's sometimes called 'bait and switch'. You bait us with an action opening then switch to info-dump. Once you've grabbed your reader you can't relax and assume they're with you for the rest of the book. Keeping them grabbed is vital. And backstory and info-dumps do not grab.

Keep the story moving. Put in background info as and when the reader absolutely needs it, not before. Remember: wanting the answers to questions is one of the ways to keep the reader reading.

I agree with the others. Since it is a first draft still in the works, things like this happen. I'd say work through until you've completed everything you planned, then go back and edit. You may just need more engaging subplots and to cut back excess details or backstory.

I really like something to happen immediately. That something doesn't have to be the line up for the story's main conflict, but if it's all sun and landscape as a reader I'd probably give up.

If you hit the ground running don't stop until its over. ... that's just me.

To me its like I'm waking up in the morning after a peaceful night of rest and then someone kicking my door down and "Let's go! We got to go now!" Then I hurry up and get ready ... hopping on one leg trying to get my pants on, putting my shoes on, munching on a cracker as we dive into the car... my adrenaline is surging, the tires are squealing as we back of the garage and then we slow down and coast to the destination and then come to stop for no reason at all just to tell me some crap that could've been told after I enjoyed a nice shower and while I was heating a hearty breakfast.

Searching said:

Hello friends. I need your advice.

I realise it's important to get to the action as soon as possible. The advice to start at the beginning of the story and not before has been hammered into me many times.

And yet as I slowly creep over 10k words in my first draft, I fear nothing overly interesting has happened yet.

My story starts in media res - there's a good hook there which involves the MC confessing to a mistake which may cost him his life - but then we go back into the past, and nothing happens for a while.

Nearly 10k words in the main plot hasn't begun (a sub-plot has, and it's important to the story), but the MC's character and the character of his wife have been well developed - his motivations and the reasons why he does what he will do - and we have started exploring his childhood which is important to the story.

The two big things - a discovery he makes which will see him sucked into a scheme of an evil corporation and a mistake he makes, that will put a life of an innocent child in danger, will come within the next 5k words. My question is - is that too long into the piece?

Click to expand...

It's difficult to say without reading it, but I'd guess you're in trouble. In media res is not a "hook", and does not mean starting with action, at least in the usual meaning of the word. You don't need explosion, murders, etc. You need story. If you're ten thousand words in and still aren't telling the story the readers came to read, you either didn't start in media res, or you left it fast, and this is almost always a mistake. An extremely common mistake, but still a mistake.

Going back in the past doesn't mean you're allowed to leave the story. If you go back in the past it needs to be because that's where the story is happened, and you jump from your hook, back to the in media res of the past.

It's really quite simple. Is something interesting happening? If so, you're fine. If not, start the story where something interesting is happening. This doesn't have to be "zombies exploding," as blacbird said. Look at how stories similar to yours handle openings.

Unless you write for an immature audience then just draw your reader in, there does not need to be wham bang action from page one.