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[Discussion] Beginnings

gimmepie

gimmepie

25,533
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    • You can't have a story without a place for it to start. Some people hate writing intros, for others it's a breeze. How do you feel about writing beginnings? Do you have any specific method for doing them? Feel free to share some short excerpts of your own intros too if you'd like!
     
    Palamon

    Palamon

    Silence is Purple
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    • So, truth, but my current fanfiction, I didn't start from the beginning, I started from the middle. I don't have trouble writing the beginning, but it doesn't always come to me immediately. The first 1,000 words are always the hardest, though, I will admit that it takes me the longest to write that.
     
    Bay

    Bay

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    • Depends on the story, but first few paragraphs of a scene is usually the toughtest for me to write. I feel I need to put in context/setup, so I take some time to do that and my usual specific method for beginings. For instance, this beginning paragraph from my one-shot, Burning Bright:

    Kabu liked to travel to the Isle of Armor because of the various training opportunities there. The Courageous Cavern was filled with water Pokémon, a great way for his fire Pokémon to practice going against them head-on. He often did his training runs at the Challenge Road, one of his Pokémon following along. The other Galar gym leaders visited here too and he met them on occasion, sometimes battling them.
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    The beginning scene has him at the Isle of Armor, so I set up with how he likes to train a lot there and such.
     
    CiCi

    CiCi

    [font=Satisfy]Obsession: Watanuki Kimihiro and Izu
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    • Seen Nov 24, 2023
    I dunno, I actually really love trying to come up with a beginning, and I feel like I have at least a decent grasp on how to do it. I used to struggle a lot with it, but I guess having a million WIPs really helps you get a feel for it. It's fun to deliver just the right amount of intrigue and attempt to lay out the basics of the world you've created in just a few sentences. I also loooooove cold opens. Just toss me right into some suspenseful action and I am yours.

    I'll list a few of my openings here. Just the first three sentences of them, as opposed to the first paragraphs, as I've heard several times (and have since become a believer) that the first three sentences are some of the most important sentences in your story.


    Oblivion

    Cancer — a horrid word and a horrid disease with only one objective: to take. It took her mother, it took her grandfather, it tried and failed to take her grandmother. And now, it's trying to take her.
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    With this 3rd person limited narration, I figured something like this would work well with this story. And it's one of my all-time favorites. I guess it helps that cancer is something people can relate to, unfortunately, so the main character's anger and despair is justified when she basically comes out of the gate swinging.


    Legend of Zelda

    "Twenty-thousand Leagues under the sea and he thinks it's a vacation."

    Link heard his crewmate's sass before he felt the slap of a wet cloth against his face, thrusting him from sleep. He pulled the damp cloth off and wiped his eyes as he listened to her chastise him again.
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    There are plenty of people who don't like dialogue as an opener. But I love it! One good quote can really take me into a story. Of course, the stipulation is it has to be INTERESTING. 20,000 Leagues under the sea is pretty interesting, imo. Add in two main characters and characterization for both.


    Harry Potter

    The nightmares had raged as strong as ever. Before him, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry burned to ash, crumbled to rubble; behind him, legions of Death Eaters, hissing and telling him to kill all the unworthy in his path. Draco Malfoy's tired mind couldn't be distracted from these visions.
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    This one is a miss, in my opinion. I feel like the 2nd sentence tried to have too much going on, making it drag a bit. Perhaps because I cheated and used a semi-colon. (≖_≖ )


    Naruto

    Lee was happy to help Gaara in anyway he could, but did Gaara really have to send him on a search mission? Those had to be his least favorite — no fighting, lots of running, and days flying by. Three days in, and not a single sighting of that rogue band of thieves.
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    This one is another miss, because it's also my first draft. My first drafts are typically more straightforward, a little bland, until I get into the heads of the characters and the true nature of their stories. I usually go back and rewrite the opening several times throughout.


    Pokemon: Mecha

    Sirens.
    Smoke.
    The roaring of a great beast.
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    This is a cold open one, starting right in the middle of the action. I tried to make it as hectic and crazy in as few words as possible, to get across the fast-paced way the main character's brain is processing things, purely based on his senses. I tried to go with "A great beast's roar", but it didn't have the same oomph. I wanted the sentence to be about the roar first and foremost, to go along with the "just his senses" motif, then add the great beast after to transition into a wider narrative.


    Here are a few of my openings without any of my input. The lightning round. Some are hits, some are misses.


    Shadow the Edgehog

    "Vitals on the Project?"

    He heard it again. Voices.
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    Cassie and Saul's story

    Cassie strode through the graveyard near her campus, chilly air prickling her cheeks and hands. Held to her chest, a bouquet of violet hydrangeas and white orchids awaited their next lost soul. As she scanned the area, she spotted an older gentleman, translucent yet quite solid, sat atop a tombstone with head in his hands as he hunched over.
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    Avatar: The Last Airbender

    The open sea rocked Prince Zuko's ship. In the distance, an island of the Earth Kingdom sat nestled between Makapu Village and the Abbey, and while he wasn't keen on landing there, his ship needed supplies. He'd left after the Avatar so quickly that his ragtag crew hadn't realized the ship was low on food and coal until halfway across the bay.
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    Portal 2

    How long had he been floating in space's ever-expanding vacuum? It could've been decades but there was no way to tell. For however long he'd been drifting, he unfortunately had to drift alongside Rick.
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    Annie's story

    The roaring of aircrafts overhead signaled their arrival. Half a dozen enemy planes unleashed fiery bombs from their backs, pelting the town below. From the front, brave air soldiers fought back, unloading their rotary guns, shattering the enemies where they flew.
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    Resident Evil VII

    Moving out to the sticks wasn't exactly what Persephone Black wanted. If she had it her way, she'd still be living in Chicago. Of course, her father had other plans.
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    Vragon2.0

    Vragon2.0

    Say it with me (Vray-gun)
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    • Since I technically only have on intro I've done outside of my older (subpar) stories I've yet to improve upon, I honestly liked working on it. Maybe it's because it was more of a "reworking" of it, but it was enjoyable to set the groundwork for the characters, world, and the current issues at hand as well as how I wanted to implement them in a way to make the reader feel along with how a certain character is feeling along, leading up to the end of the introduction arc.

    I'd like to try a hand at other intros again in the future, but we'll have to just wait and see when it comes to it.
     
    gimmepie

    gimmepie

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    • CiCi said:
    I dunno, I actually really love trying to come up with a beginning, and I feel like I have at least a decent grasp on how to do it. I used to struggle a lot with it, but I guess having a million WIPs really helps you get a feel for it. It's fun to deliver just the right amount of intrigue and attempt to lay out the basics of the world you've created in just a few sentences. I also loooooove cold opens. Just toss me right into some suspenseful action and I am yours.
    Click to expand...

    I feel like you have to be really careful with cold opens. They can be super dramatic when they land, but it's hard to get people invested in the action when it concerns characters they don't even know yet.
     
    CiCi

    CiCi

    [font=Satisfy]Obsession: Watanuki Kimihiro and Izu
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    • Seen Nov 24, 2023
    gimmepie said:
    I feel like you have to be really careful with cold opens. They can be super dramatic when they land, but it's hard to get people invested in the action when it concerns characters they don't even know yet.
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    To be fair, you could have that same argument with any style of opening. The stipulation of it having to be good is kind of a given if you want people to keep reading lmao
     
    gimmepie

    gimmepie

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    • CiCi said:
    To be fair, you could have that same argument with any style of opening. The stipulation of it having to be good is kind of a given if you want people to keep reading lmao
    Click to expand...

    I mean, yeah. I just feel like pulling off a good cold open in writing is trickier.
     

    AquaMarie271

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    • She/her or they/them
    • Seen Mar 30, 2023
    I might be in the minority of this one, but I generally find the introduction the easiest to write. After a few chapters, I tend to get major writer's block or begin to lose the story. Still, it very much depends on the style, POV, characters, and plot of the story.
     
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