Starting a new story can be a daunting task. When you’re not sure of what to write about, you must pause for a moment and search for an idea that will be the catalyst for your story. But if you’ve chosen an idea already, then starting a story is all about doing. Once you get a rhythm going, everything else flows from it.
Before I begin a story, I will go through numerous ideas in search of the one that will be the core of the plot. Even if I don’t have all the details worked out, that’s okay, so long as the idea holds my interest and sparks my imagination.
The story usually begins as a scene. If the scene is clear enough, I can build off of it, make something out of it that will progress the story. But if that scene is too vague, or if I don’t know what the characters are supposed to do, I will struggle to start the story–even go back to the drawing board to see what went wrong or why I can’t start it.
Once the story starts, it can feel exhilarating, like you’re starting a new adventure. Things are slowly beginning to take shape–take on a life of its own. The next challenge is to keep writing that story, keep building on it day after day. If you do that long enough, you’ll have a finished work in your hands.
Fallton Havenstonne 