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Argeus the Paladin -> RE: =mech= Starting (10/26/2011 20:47:24)
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On the contrary, I find beginning a story much, MUCH more easier than ending it. I have more than a few ways to do it.
1) For a short story:
- A vague description of the setting as a whole.
- A vague description of the main character.
2) For a novel:
- A description of the first scene and the people in it.
- A description of the first character, which "zooms out" into the scene and other characters.
3) For both:
- A philosophical non sequitur that would be revisited later. This is also quite risky a method, but it can work.
Personally, I am not one for a story that jumps into dialogue right off the bat unless it is very well written. Furthermore, when you start, IMO, you need to answer this question ASAP: "Why should we, as readers, care about these characters?". My way of doing this is by establishing as much of the characters' superficial personality as you can from the get-go by showing, not telling, so that the readers would get a "feel" for them. When that is done, well, that's your opening done.
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