This is topic Stubborn Story in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.


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Posted by Foste (Member # 8892) on :
 
I have rewritten the beginning of this... stinker four or five times. I am not sure whether I should soldier on or just drop it for now and write something else.

It looks clunky on the page for reasons I cannot explain...

Any advice?
 


Posted by WouldBe (Member # 5682) on :
 
Maybe the story is starting at the wrong time?
 
Posted by Wordcaster (Member # 9183) on :
 
I find it is because I am doing something wrong. Maybe starting in the wrong place or forcing a character down an unnatural path. Just write it out and let it sit.
 
Posted by genevive42 (Member # 8714) on :
 
I agree with both of the above comments. Most likely, you're starting in the wrong place. You might try writing out the scenes you need, just a simple sentence for each, and see if that sets you right. That, or write further in and backtrack to your opening.
 
Posted by JohnColgrove (Member # 9236) on :
 
Ditto to the above. One thing that works for me is I Map out all the characters that are in the beginning. More specifically though, I write how they react to certain questions and what not. From there I usually mold scenery around that beginning.
 
Posted by EVOC (Member # 9381) on :
 
I did this recently myself. It was because I started in the wrong place.

Finish writing the story. You might find the place it should start that way. (As I did.)
 


Posted by Foste (Member # 8892) on :
 
Thanks folks, I'll try that.
 
Posted by Foste (Member # 8892) on :
 
Thanks folks, I'll try that.
 
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
 
If I start to have trouble getting something written, I generally take it as a sign I should be working on something else...but that usually happens for me within a couple of pages, and yours sounds like it's gone further along.

Finding a different place to start is pretty good advice...sometimes the further ahead, the better.
 


Posted by akeenedesign (Member # 7816) on :
 
One of the things I like most about OSC's lesson about "beginnings" ( http://hatrack.com/writingclass/lessons/1998-10-29.shtml ) is how he shared the 3rd attempt of a beginning to Ender's Shadow to his wife. She said "I like it but didn't Ender's Game begin with action?"

He didn't discover the problem on his own, which I think is key when something as important as a beginning isn't working. For him, he changed the character who was telling the story at the beginning, and it began to work because Bean was suddenly a mystery, someone we saw from the outside looking in.

Your story might be that way. You might be starting at the perfect place in the story, but with the wrong tactics.
 


Posted by Foste (Member # 8892) on :
 
I decided to post it in the feedback section. I'll see what I can gather from there.
 
Posted by btharvey (Member # 9497) on :
 
Push comes to shove, put it in your six-month-later pile. Come back to it with fresh eyes.
 


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