Do you have any tips for starting a story? The middle and end is easy (lie) but the beginning SUCKS to write sometimes
oh gods no joke openers are one of the hardest part for me. Theres so many ways a story can start, and it makes me CRAZY because that right there is your hook, thats what convinces people to start reading!!!!! And there are so many unique ways one can start, so it ends up feeling a bit like that one reaction image of the girl being handed so so many pancakes
I think for me, what i try to ask myself when sitting down to write an opener is: "what kind of story is this?"
Because each story needs something different to accomplish its goals. A slower story might want to take its time with setting the scene, while an action-packed one might start in media res and with a bang!!! I guess if i had to give advice i would say, take the time to identify what your story is trying to say, and then look at what different openings can do for you to identify that goal.
For example; this is from my fic when the night cries, which is essentially a ghost story:
This was meant to be an introspective story, with a very gentle pace overall, so i took the time to really set the scene, build up the sense of what we're looking at before we get dropped into the fic proper. I remember my thought process for this was: how can i make this unique??? how can i make it FEEL like one of those old paintings with the beautiful yellows and summery oranges, while giving the reader a sense of whats to come?? Adding in the repetition of "it begins" was a way for me to sorta hammer that home: this is the start. This is where the story originates. And in a technical sense, it hooks your attention, with the question and immediate answer within the narration. The intention here is for the reader to want to know why this is important, and now it's answering that, but still leaving gaps for more questions.
Now compare that to, say.... lost in the dark's opening:
The overall pace of hunger au is slow, but this opener isn't-- partially because it's a rough draft, but also because what i wanted out of this scene was a sense of deep, deep urgency. We're in the middle of action; Grian is physically running while he thinks, and i wanted the reader to feel hunted and uncertain with him. Dropping everyone in with Grian at one of his most frightened, shaken points was the best way i felt i could establish that scene, and throughout it i drop hints as to what's actually going on. He's scared. He thinks he's going to hurt people. He's been on the move for a very, very long time. These are all things that are meant to pique interest and get answered later, when the reader is already invested. And i guess in that regard, its really all about timing.
But yeah!! Rambling aside, i'd say try out a few different ways of opening your fic and see what works. Think of em as thumbnails; write maybe 200 or so words at most and see if something works better than something else. I think theres this secret culture of shame among writers for not putting the perfect start down on the page the very first time you open the doc, but it's super normal to have to workshop things around to your liking!!! There's absolutely nothing wrong with writing a few different openers to see what works best for you and your story, and in fact is something i genuinely recommend. Its good practice, and essentially functions as a warm-up!!! You also get the benefit of exploring new angles in a scene, which can sometimes unlock really cool stuff for your writing
Sorry for how long this is, anon!! Hopefully you find my rambling helpful :D thank you for sending in this ask!!!
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(hands you a bundle: it is a handful of singular flowers tied together with a string of glossy white ribbon, in a simple bow. it consists of yellow honeysuckle, purple hibiscus, yellow rose, and white hydrangea)
(´;ω;`) so pretty thank you-
AND OF COURSE SINCE ITS YOU I KNOW THESE HAVE MEANINGS SO OF COURSE I WENT AND LOOKED AT THEM-
I'm so soft right now (´;ω;`)
... the honeysuckle has a funny name, but it's a flower I'm not much familiar with, I've seen it in pictures tho, but the other 3 I know them. The hibiscus I've always thought it was such a pretty one, I've always loved it's texture and it brings memories of people I love and a couple things that have happened. The hydrangea when I first learnt about them I thought were so pretty, they just carry such a pretty vibe and the way how they basically can be revitalized with water it's something so pretty... The yellow rose was one I did know the meaning of, having played Ib and be obsessed with that game heh but... It made me really soft...
From the heart I thank you... It's really sweet of you and... You know when you notice that people actually enjoy having you around? And actually think of you in a good light? It was one of those moments of realization heh
I love you a lot, verdaderamente eres un amor and you deserve only the best to happen to you... So kind and warm... When I talk with you, or just general interactions, you only transmit good vibes... Like.... You are someone that just by existing and talking to others, you recharge other people's energies, if that makes sense? Heh I hope you also take good care of yourself, thank you... And... Thank you for giving me your friendship, I may not talk about it much, but, friendship is something extremely important to me, it's such a soft concept that I hold really close to my heart and... Just thank you ... I love you a lot and I send you MANY MANY HUGS
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i wish brokeback mountain fics entertained the idea that jack knocked lureen up and thats why they got married more often
cause in the short story jack mentions the fact that he'd never wanted kids or anything like that, so i think its highly plausible that bad luck jack, whos life never seems to go the way he wants it to, would fool around with some rodeo queen one night and he winds up getting her pregnant. and what else can he do but marry her? he's been taught to do the respectable thing, and her daddy would probably find and gut him if he sullied his little girl's reputation and left her to deal w it on her own anyways.
but i just think it would add an extra layer of sadness to it all...the idea that jack, whos pretty much only interested in men, probably only messed around with lureen because he was pent up and lonely and sexually frustrated, and heres this beautiful, rich rodeo cowgirl whos giving this poor ranch boy the eyes and making him feel wanted for once in his sorry godamn life. making him feel like someone sees something worthwhile about him. he doesn't prefer a woman, but he's desperate, and she chose him. she could've had her pick of the bar because shes a big deal and any man would've been lucky to have her, but she chose him.
and now this thing—that was supposed to just be a quick fuck in the backseat of her car to help quell the need for human contact until the next motel cowboy came along—is going to define his entire life.
hes going to do right by her and get married. shes going to have his kid. hes going to be a dad.
his whole life has been laid out before him and the one time he said fuck it and had sex with a woman is all it took for everything to be set in stone. its just so. fucking. sad.
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THE LEAGUE VIDEOOOO literally sets them all as friends and in good terms i am so not normal about it. THE BETRAYAL!!!!! Purple going from place to place and always being on the move is my favorite thing ever, i also HC that KO moved out of his epic depression chamber of a house and got something nicer since now purple more likely lives w him question mark ? or at least crashes at his place every now and then cause i bet he’s still going back and forth from the internet and the pc (manifesting w all my might that purple gets appearances later on where it is confirmed that he visits the color gang PLEASEEE)
YES YES YES YES YES YES ALL OF THIS YES.
idk if i mentioned but my friend is currently binging season 3 of avm. she just got to the parkour episode. i am SO EXCITED i wish i could experience it for the first time again.....
purp and king are so important to me i hope we see them more in the future.
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oh but i am so excited for the change in narrative of discacc bc aside from the initial stuff with goro getting into the metaverse, there really wasnt That much action to capture, bc most of the action was like. ykno. stuff that already happens in the game. i wasnt gonna have repeats of things that werent significantly different
BUT NOW.............. omfg omfg omfg ive been thinking about the thing this chapter sooo much (which is good considering im at the cusp of writing it) and just. it’s so goddamn FUN. i love writing action!!!!!! fight scenes r so fun!!!!!! and like no i dont have any kind of formal training with fighting BUT neither do my characters. & by working within the bounds of a video game, i have a general set of guidelines to follow, BUT ALSO of course i wont follow them 100%. no one wants to read a fight scene that just perfectly follows the bounds of turn-based gaming, complete with definite restrictions on skills and sp and whatever the fuck. like. the skills are whatever i need them to be. the sp is whatever i need them to be. i can give them whatever items i need them to have for the narrative. that is my freedom as a writer
AND SO. im having some fun stuff. sorry phantom thieves ur having a rough day today
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