One Way to Write

Opening a Story

"I'm [...] curious on how you'd decide where to start the book [...]" - SC_Writes

I could've asked some follow up questions, but I decided to tackle all of what it means to "start a book" someplace.

So, there are three types of writers: plotters, pantsers, and people somewhere in between. That's a bit of an oversimplification, but for the purposes of this topic, let's think of it that way because I have to break down my tips based on what kind of writer you are. If you're somewhere on the spectrum in between, just take tips from both sections. First ...

Plotters

Let's use my upcoming book, the sequel to This is Not a Tragedy for this example.

I started off with a chronological outline of major plot events. The first major event is the breaking news that a child has mysteriously killed another child by biting them, sending humans and vampires alike into a frenzy. My first step was to decide what should come before that because I can't just jump right into The Turning Point. I need to establish the main character and the current circumstances of my universe.

Step 1: Brainstorming

Every book should begin by introducing the main characters and the life they're living before The Turning Point. You don't have to start at the beginning of their life, but a scene that can establish a several things at once.

For This Is Not a War, I thought about a prologue (more on prologues later) of the event that leads to The Turning Point. However, the prologue doesn't feature the main character. I want the readers to be jump into the life of the MC. Additionally, instead of revealing things in the prologue, the readers can keep up with the suspense and mystery that the MC also experiences.

I contemplated starting the book where he is at home with his partner. It's a start that reveals their life but there is potential for more.

In the end, I decided to start the book at a meeting that immediately sets the stage for the MC's job, the current state of affairs in the vampire community, and the tension, and his relationship with his father—the association head—all within the scene. Afterwards, he goes home and his home life is revealed. He talks with his partner about the state of affairs as they go about their day revealing more things that set the stage. Yada yada.

In summary, I have a mental checklist of things the first chapter should contain. I try to think of how best to hit those things without info dumping. I always make sure I'm introducing information through conversation and action. If I'm writing in 3rd POV, I would still try to do this. This Is Not a War is in first person. If you're writing 3rd limited or 1st person, meaning the book is from the point of view from the main character only, there's a huge rule I once read: A character will never explain or think to themselves what they already know.

So when Natsu is at the meeting, he won't narrate, "I've been working as a liason since I graduated university." And a third limited POV wouldn't do that either. Instead, I'd include something like Natsu snapping back at a rude board member, "I've been talking to the people for five years and what they want has never changed."

Step 2: The First Line

Once you decide what scene to start with and have outlined the rest of the story on a scene-by-scene level (because you're a plotter, haha), it's time to start writing. You need to figure out your opening line.

The opening line is the most important part of the story—or so some people will tell you. In my opinion, you can get away with a weaker opening line if you're opening paragraph is overall interesting.