posted
Okay, I'm trying to find the best beginning for one of the stories I'm working on. I've posted several attempts in the FF area yet the real difficulty seems to be bringing the right hook to produce potential readers. I've received good advice about the ideas and where I could start it but I'm stumped as to where to go from there. I mean that there's more to the story but I can't cram that all into the first paragraph; some ask for more action, some for clarity in what information I have included and some for exclusion. How do I gage what I can or cannot use without loading the FF section down with reiterations of the same story? Is it simply a matter of taking what everyone says and then combining them into one entry till I find the right one? Or is it simply writing the beginning I think fits best for the story then posting it? Hmmm.. I'm not so sure I'm making sense right now. I know I can't potentially please all groups since not all groups hunger after the same thing but there has to be some way to "feel" the story, whether it'd be a good idea to use one idea over the other. Right now I've six to eight different versions of the first paragraph, or thirteen lines, already written. I'd like feedback on them all, yet I don't want to inundate the FF section with them. Out of those beginnings there are only two or three that I really like. There's got to be some way to reach the vast majority of readers without risking the continuity of the story or the direction it's intended to take. Well, I guess a better understanding of general feedback wouldn't hurt either; to translate that into application. Am I making ANY sense right now?? Anyway, I don't want to keep babbling and I hope that you can get the gyst of what I'm saying through the babble. Any ideas would be most appreciated.
Posts: 62 | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
Post the three you like best in F&F in one thread---we'll try to give you some opinions.
The issue you're talking about is a huge one. To be concise, the best course to take is the course that leaves you most pleased. Remember, you're not writing to garner the attentions of a specific group of people. You're writing for an audience that will find your books and enjoy them---but you have to tell the story that only you can tell.
Trying to please some imagined reader always leads to trouble.
However, to counter that, I'm going to have to say that if your readers are complaining about a lack of clarity, then that's something you should work on. Try to be as concise and clear in your prose as you can be.
posted
There comes a point you have to go with YOUR gut. I had a story that quite a few people commented on. Fifty per cent liked the beginning and fifty per cent advised that I start a different point. I submitted it with the original beginning ( which I preferred) and it sold first try. Does this mean that half the readers were wrong? Not in my opinion, I think there are many possible openings to stories that will work, so at some point the writer has to pick a favorite. I also don't think a final decision on the beginning lines should be made until the entire first or maybe second draft of the story is done. For me, the true first scene is sometimes waiting to be uncovered deeper in the text. Then I simply reorganize the story and I have a satisfying start. Then I post it here, listen to people's advice and am ready to polish something that will work. How's that for an answer and nonanswer?
[This message has been edited by Kickle (edited March 01, 2006).]
posted
There are also many times when I find myself disagreeing with others on what constitutes a hook. As Kickle said, there are many good ways to start a story. Some of them work for me, some of them don't. It's personal, it's got nothing to do with their quality or such.
For one thing, you can't hope to take everyone's suggestions and cram it into 13 lines, as you said. Pick the most important reproach that was made (the one the most people made to you) and try to get rid of that. Then see about the others.
You CAN'T please everyone. Think of books: how many do you enjoy that other people positively hate? We're no different on Hatrack; we all have our quirks. As Kickle said, what works best is not what works for everyone.
posted
Last night, for the first time, my wife actually read the beginnings of a story I'm writing. She liked what I had written, but the story itself didn't interest her because she's not into science fiction.
There are fragments posted here I haven't been hooked by merely because the subject matter didn't interest me.
I just got an email back from arriki today about a critique I did for her where she flat out stated she didn't agreee with some of the things I wrote. Oh well. A critique is my opinion, but it's HER story to write.
Likewise, it's YOUR story, and YOU are more familiar with it than anyone else. As a rule of thumb, sit up and take notice when more than one person points out the same thing, but if you feel strongly about something, stick to it.
posted
You have to begin your story where the story begins, not where it will "hook" the most readers. Because you'll lose all those readers anyway when they realize that the beginning of your text isn't the beginning of the story you're telling.
A good beginning should begin the story you're telling.
posted
I'm curious as to why you are obsessing over the first paragraph. Re-writing and obsessing over editing is simply one more way to procrastinate, and leads to that uncomfortable experience we call "writers block."
My advice is to put it down and get on with the business of writing the rest of the story. Once you get the entire story written, I think the opening paragraph will become obvious to you.
posted
I can obviously see that through all of your answers to my vagueness has shown me what I've been really trying to ask. Probably too concerned with reaching other people than what I feel is truly needed for the story. I guess what I'm really trying to understand are the different reactions to the same story when I try to change it up. I'm probably giving way too much weight to the suggestions to change rather than looking at how to improve the beginning I like. Yes, you're right, if I'm too sidetracked by the beginning then I'll get nothing else done.
Elan, I'm not really obsessing too much but I know I've a tendancy for "perfectionism". It's a very bad disease and I've had it my whole life. :-P Definitely keeps me from producing the stories I have in development because I want it to sit perfectly with me. I mean, if I think it's horrible then someone else who's reading it is going to think it horrible, right? They'll pick up on that vibe in the lack of the story.
I think that all your advice is good. Bottom line: get writing and follow your digestive tract... er... guts, right? Along with taking to heart those critiques that crop up frequently and adjust accordingly. Right?
posted
I always give myself permission -- in first draft -- the write the worse novel ever conceived. I never quite make the "worst" but it keeps me from obsessing over perfection. I know someone who knows the story far better than I, will come along and fix my mistakes. Unfortunately, in second and successive drafts, that person is me. I do have the advantage of the entire written mess before me, though, and can eventually "fix" it.
I try this way to set myself up to succeed no matter how difficult the novel is to write. I feel good about myself and the story.
[This message has been edited by arriki (edited March 02, 2006).]
posted
Constipatron, I used to be a perfectionist on the first draft. I'm not anymore. Well, okay, I do still struggle a little sometimes, but for the most part I don't let it affect me. My secret? Timed writing challenges. It's impossible to be perfect if you only have 90 minutes to come up with an idea and write it from beginning to end. And you know what I discovered? The stuff I wrote in those challenges was definitely first draft stuff, but it wasn't all that bad. I learned a lot. I experimented. I let go and had fun. And now I know that I don't have to find the perfect word on the first try. I'll use whatever comes to mind.
All of the above applies to first drafts. After that, you can be a perfectionist to your heart's content.
Try going back to the beginning and rewrite so that they bookend.
It will give the reader a more satisfying experience and they will want to see more writing from you.
You will feel good about it too because you will feel like you have a process. This will impact your writing--it will be more confident. Readers will pick up on this and they will think you know what you are doing.
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