A Guide to Writing

Getting Started

Getting started could be the hardest part of the entire story. You're staring at a blank page thinking,"I don't know how to start a story." Well, hey, look at that! You came to the right place, I'll try to help.

[1] The First Sentence
To start writing a story you need a sentence that will grab the readers' attention immediately or else they'll drop the book so fast you could've thought the book was on fire.

[a] Fact
A good way to do this would be to simply state a fact. For example, in Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451, the first sentence is,"It was a pleasure to burn." Another would be Isak Dinsen's Out of Africa where it says,"I had a farm in Africa." Sometimes the most brilliant first sentences are the most basic combination of words we've ever read.

[b] Make Them Ask Questions
A different technique for the first sentence would be to make them ask questions. J. K. Rowling made the first line of the Harry Potter series ask questions by saying,"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number 4, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." Who were the Dursleys? Why are they proud to be normal? Are they really that stuck-up? Questions make the reader want to learn more about your book so this is a great way to start it.

[c] Foreshadow
A great way to open up your book is to foreshadow. It gives the reader something to think about, maybe even wonder what you were talking about for half the book. Example from Blood Will Out by Walter Kirn,"It felt like a noble gesture at the time, and I was in the mood for an adventure."

[d] Make the Reader Relate
If you can make the reader relate to your story from the very start, it will draw them in and establish a connection with the character.

[e] Paint an Image
Painting the image fore the reader will set them in your story with a clear picture and image of your scene. In Suzanne Collin's Mockingjay, Katniss thinks,"I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather," which immediately puts you in her place, watching flakes of gray particles float towards a pair of old shoes. The reader will want the image to be continued, therefore continuing to read your story.

[f] State Something Absurd
If you start out your story with something totally random, out of the blue, and so odd, the reader will think,"What the crap is going on?" and continue reading, or even better they'll think,"Why'd they say that?" and they'll have to continue reading.

[2] Start Small
300 words a day is really good, if you write a page a day, you could accomplish a lot.

[3] Have an Outline
Writing a table of contents is probably the best thing you can do to stay on track with your book, sometimes it can even help prevent writers' block. Break up each chapter of your table of contents into a few sections and think of your book in conditions of beginning, middle, and the end. If you make it more complicated than it needs to be you will get lost and confused.

[4] Have a Set Time
Setting a time for you to work on your book everyday, or every couple days, helps you to keep your book moving, and keep the readers interested. If you want to take some days off, set that as a type of vacation day. Another great idea would be to have a deadline, having a goal to work towards really motivates me to write. If anything comes up to where you can't update a chapter by your deadline, post an update. Readers really hate it when they're left hanging and thinking,"What if they died?!" ...well maybe not to that extent but you get the point.

[5] Have a Unique Place to Write
I'd say this is more of a thing that can only apply to some people, but if you have a unique place to write (something totally different from where you do other activities) then you'll be ready to work on your project. Or for some people, all you have to do is grab a nice drink, sit in a comfy chair, and start writing. Which to me seems like the best choice.