Writing Rants: Beginnings
December 9th 2008 18:56
Back onto my fantasy rants... shall be fun. (For me, at least.) I've been wandering Critique Circle of late (critiquecircle.com) and have read a couple first chapters of novels. This is what I've noticed that they've done wrong, and how to do it right. This one applies to all novels but is specifically focused on fantasy, because that's the genre I write and thus know the most about.
Exposition I read one first/second chapter story in which the very first sentence was great, as was the story idea. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of exposition; it read slowly, all in overly detailed sentences and paragraphs. It drove me almost crazy, but I finished the crit and the chapters.
Don't do this. Yes, we should discover a few things right away. No, we don't need your character's life story; it can be more evenly spread out through the story, brought up when something that brings back memories or is otherwise significant to your character's past. Save it for later! We want action at the beginning-an action scene that shows us a few things about the lives of the characters and the world in which they live.
The first paragraph The first paragraph is especially important for drawing a character in-even the first sentence is incredibly important. You want something that will lure readers in-exposition doesn't cut it 95% of the time. Again, save the introspection and exposition for later on, when the readers are already deep into the story.
You want short, efficient sentences. Not scenes of sunrises over oceans, not a long description of your character's appearance. You're looking for something that's going to bring a reader in and instantly make them want to learn more. There are plenty of good ways to start your story. I'm probably going to do something examining opening lines of various books sometime in the near future.
Empathy You want to, in your first paragraph and definitely your first page, give your readers a reason to empathize with your characters. You want to identify something about them, something about the way they feel; even if you're only saying that they're running from something, or that they have a dark past. You want to reveal just enough about your characters that they want to read more, that they empathize.
You may be writing in a world entirely unlike our own, and we know you want to show off this pretty world; but we need to be drawn into the story, and most of the time people are drawn into the story by the characters in it. So you need to establish those, with hints of the world around them.
Reading Material If you want to read some great openings, here are a few books I would recommend:
-The Ordinary Princess, if you can find it; a great book with an amusing opening.
-A Series of Unfortunate Events, the entire series so far as I've read is quite amusing. I really like it. And each book has its own great opening.
-Anything by Terry Pratchett, but specifically 'Wee Free Men' or 'Thief of Time' (which are on my bookshelf.)
-Sidney Sheldon Tell Me Your Dreams (or anything by him)
-And Lois Lowry, The Giver or Gathering Blue.
For the next one, you get to pick from the following:
-True Love rant
-Festivals Rant (in honor of Christmas)
I'm also contemplating doing a series on mythological creatures, the first of which would be about either Elves or Vampires.
Exposition I read one first/second chapter story in which the very first sentence was great, as was the story idea. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of exposition; it read slowly, all in overly detailed sentences and paragraphs. It drove me almost crazy, but I finished the crit and the chapters.
Don't do this. Yes, we should discover a few things right away. No, we don't need your character's life story; it can be more evenly spread out through the story, brought up when something that brings back memories or is otherwise significant to your character's past. Save it for later! We want action at the beginning-an action scene that shows us a few things about the lives of the characters and the world in which they live.
The first paragraph The first paragraph is especially important for drawing a character in-even the first sentence is incredibly important. You want something that will lure readers in-exposition doesn't cut it 95% of the time. Again, save the introspection and exposition for later on, when the readers are already deep into the story.
You want short, efficient sentences. Not scenes of sunrises over oceans, not a long description of your character's appearance. You're looking for something that's going to bring a reader in and instantly make them want to learn more. There are plenty of good ways to start your story. I'm probably going to do something examining opening lines of various books sometime in the near future.
Empathy You want to, in your first paragraph and definitely your first page, give your readers a reason to empathize with your characters. You want to identify something about them, something about the way they feel; even if you're only saying that they're running from something, or that they have a dark past. You want to reveal just enough about your characters that they want to read more, that they empathize.
You may be writing in a world entirely unlike our own, and we know you want to show off this pretty world; but we need to be drawn into the story, and most of the time people are drawn into the story by the characters in it. So you need to establish those, with hints of the world around them.
Reading Material If you want to read some great openings, here are a few books I would recommend:
-The Ordinary Princess, if you can find it; a great book with an amusing opening.
-A Series of Unfortunate Events, the entire series so far as I've read is quite amusing. I really like it. And each book has its own great opening.
-Anything by Terry Pratchett, but specifically 'Wee Free Men' or 'Thief of Time' (which are on my bookshelf.)
-Sidney Sheldon Tell Me Your Dreams (or anything by him)
-And Lois Lowry, The Giver or Gathering Blue.
For the next one, you get to pick from the following:
-True Love rant
-Festivals Rant (in honor of Christmas)
I'm also contemplating doing a series on mythological creatures, the first of which would be about either Elves or Vampires.
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Comment by Edie
Once Upon A Writer
I was excited because for the first time ever.. my novel has a tick from all your points...usually I have to re-think and go back and change something.
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
Thanks
It takes time, practice and a lot of reading to get really good at writing; it isn't one of those things you just automatically have. Some of us have a natural talent, yes, but even for those people it takes practice.
I'm glad to see you're making progress.
~Dianna
Comment by Captain-Kid
My chapter can be found at Really Long Link
I'd be happy to review something of yours in return. Sounds like you know fantasy pretty well.
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
I'll definitely take a look at it
I am harsh with my critiques, however, so be forewarned about that.
Thanks for the comment
~Dianna
Comment by Captain-Kid
Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
That's what I understand as well. I just make sure to warn people before critiquing their work. It may also take a day or two as I have quite a lot of work to do tonight and will be busy all weekend with the way things are looking now.
I'll have it done either this weekend or at the latest sometime Monday night though.
~Dianna