The first paragraph, or the last?
Posted by Shawshank (Member # 2729) on :
I've never made it to the last one, but even still I would have to say the first one.
Posted by pixydust (Member # 2311) on :
They're both difficult but for different reasons. (How's that for being ambiguous?)
Actually, I like both. The middle is where I fall all to pieces.
Posted by Miriel (Member # 2719) on :
Last paragraph. For me, anyway. The first paragraph just has to hook a reader. Not too hard. Just have to work it a little. The last has to tie everything up, leave a good, last impression, and yet not come off as cheesey. A last paragraph has to be a certain, special something that leaves the reader satsified. A reader might continue reading even if the first paragraph isn't brilliant. But if your last paragraph is off, or doesn't feel right, they'll hate the story despite all the good stuff that came before. Endings are definetly the things that give me headaches.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
First for me. By the time I get to the last paragraph I am working with much more information than I had at first, and it is relatively easy to tie things together.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
oh, I don't usually write the beginning until I'm halfway through or so, and know where it's going, and what the voice sounds like. Then I can write an opening.
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
The last paragraph is always the hardest for me.
And it shows. I don't know how many stories I've written in which my readers say, "That's it?" I always tend to leave the ending too open, and struggle with a paragarph that wraps everything up in a neat little bow.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I once wrote a story that took a year and a half, and ended exactly as I had originally planned it to end---but almost everything I'd planned to go in between had completely changed.
Posted by DavidGill (Member # 1688) on :
...the middle...
Posted by Doc Brown (Member # 1118) on :
Last paragraphs are easy for me. First paragraphs are super hard, at least in science fiction. It's very hard to set a good hook when the reader doesn't understand how the world works yet.
Posted by Ray (Member # 2415) on :
The first, for me. I can write my first paragraph in a minute, but going beyond that is such a problem, so I have to write it again, and see if I can get further in the story. Seriously irritating, but it's worth it when I finally do it right.
[This message has been edited by Ray (edited August 09, 2005).]
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I keep thinking of this whenever it comes up, and I still can't understand why any given paragraph would be harder to write than any other. I must be missing something.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
It's not the paragraph, it's the idea. The first and last paragraphs are the most important in a story, so they are unforgiving when it comes to mistakes. A profound statement is often one or two words away from being an assinine statement.
Posted by pixydust (Member # 2311) on :
How very true...
Posted by Warbric (Member # 2178) on :
I find there's no appreciable difference for me in writing beginnings and endings. One is simply the place I start and the other is my destination. I can write them both at the same sitting. What I have the most trouble with is that there's just so many different ways of getting there, and so much neat and tempting stuff to see and explore along the way. It's what happens in my middles that muddles my beginnings and endings.
Posted by Miriel (Member # 2719) on :
This thread reminds me very much of an excellent book by Nancy Kress called Beginings, Middles, and Ends. There aren't a lot of books on writing that I enjoy, but this one is delightful to read and very useful. It's more than worth the time to find it at the library and read, especially if you have troubles with beginings, or middles, or ends.
Posted by reid (Member # 1425) on :
quote:I keep thinking of this whenever it comes up, and I still can't understand why any given paragraph would be harder to write than any other. I must be missing something.
I remember an interview with Connie Willis on Hour25 where she said that people often asked her how hard it was to craft some really dramatic scene. She said that the "big death scene" is actually the easist part to write - after all, "it's the big death scene!". She said the hardest parts to write are the in between parts - I think she called that "directing traffic".
If productivity is any indication of difficulty, then I totally agree with her. I can pound out my "big death scenes" at a rate of ~500 words/hour. The in between stuff flows like cold maple syrup at a rate of ~200 words/hour.
Brian
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Ah. I see. It's a matter of identifying the purpose of a given paragraph, not of just writing it.
If you're trying to put profoundities into your opening and closing paragraphs, then of course writing them will be impossible. Those just aren't the places for that. The opening paragraph opens the story. The closing paragraph ends it. Keep that in mind and writing either will be fairly simple.
Posted by NMgal (Member # 2769) on :
I agree with you, Survivor.
I used to think the last paragraph was the hardest to write. Then I tried a trick I read about. I began by writing the last paragraph of the story, then the rest of it (an outline anyway) fell into place. Now I think all paragraphs are equally difficult.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
That's not it. It's not just writing the opening and closing paragraph, it's finding the right opening and ending to the story that makes it hard. Writing it is easy after you know it.
Posted by BuffySquirrel (Member # 2780) on :
Definitely the last. I don't want to write the last! I often want to keep on writing and writing, probably long past the point where the reader wants to keep on reading...
Posted by Shendülféa (Member # 2408) on :
The last is hardest for me. I want to make a huge impact on the reader with that final paragraph and I can never find the exact words that'll let me do so!
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
OSC's discussion of the structure of stories, based on his MICE story categories, in HOW TO WRITE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY is a great way to help figure out what the ending of the story needs to be in order to fulfill the promise made to the reader by the beginning of the story.
Once you know what category your story is (mainly), you can refer to the above discussion to get an idea of what the beginning should do and what the ending should do.
Posted by Mechwarrior (Member # 2796) on :
I feel like an apple-polisher agreeing with Kathleen's post about OSC's book, especially on Hatrack of all places. However, I own a first edition of the book and after reading it I threw out almost every other writing book I owned and let my subscription to a writer's magazine run out. It's the best 120 pages on writing I have found so far. I recently picked up Characters and Viewpoint and when I finish it the remainder of the books I have will end up in the trash heap as well.
My on topic comment, I find the first and last paragraph are easiest to write, as long as I stew on an idea rather than try to pound out the story in one setting.
Posted by Phrasingsmith (Member # 2773) on :
Great! I'm glad to hear your glowing recommendations since I just picked up both of those books
Posted by Mystic (Member # 2673) on :
The first paragraph is hard for me. I'll write and go on, but five minutes think it is garbage, delete it all, and go sit in a corner and sulk for five minutes over my ineptitude. If I can get to page ten, as in Microsoft Word 12-font pages, I'm able to finish the story, but anything less than that and I can quickly scan the pages and see what crap it all is, unless it is a short story, then it is just a matter of relativity.
