Thanks for watching! Check out some of these other videos: The Most Compelling Character Dynamic You Can Write: ua-cam.com/video/d39IfGu9olk/v-deo.html The Number 1 Thing Missing With Your Characters: ua-cam.com/video/NA-H5o79Tx0/v-deo.html
@wrestlingwithwords I hate when stories start off in the middle of a conflict though. It feels like every story I see starts like this and it annoys me because I don't know anything about the characters or the world so I don't care about the conflict or it's outcome. Imo, it's akin to the author dangling keys in front of my face to catch my attention first before they get to the point.
1st time viewer. One thing I learned from another UA-cam writer is that, yes, start a story with the conflict but only introduce 2 - 4 characters at the start to not overwhelm the audience
This is a good principle to go by. There are of course exceptions, but yes, immersing the audience and giving them a reason to care should be the primary goal here. Thank you also for watching and for your comment!! I really appreciate it!
Actually, there's a good anecdotal story there. For one, Miura did say that he'd change it if he could, but knowing how much a perfectionist he was, it was better to get the ball rolling. You can also compare/contrast the prototype chapter to get an understanding of how details can drastically change the narrative.
I like how in the Alchemist, the main character buys a big fat book because it makes for a better pillow. But he was complaining that there were too many characters introduced at the start and too many names to remember.
For me. I absolutely LOVE when stories use something drastic or dramatic to keep our attention going. Attack on titan is my favorite anime because of this exact reason. I’m writing a story that starts off in the same style where it’s calm and something unexpected happens that drastically shifts the tension.
I agree with the idea, just make sure if it is a novel your not making something that seems too contemporary or boring. At least with the first sentence. It needs to draw the reader in through to seek answers. Most writers cheat by starting with action. But that's not really necessary. It can be as simple as the first lines in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers stone. I forget how the line fully goes, but it essentially begins with a claim that the dursley's are very proud of the appearance of normality in their life, which gives the implication that there's something going on in their household that's far from normal. In fact even though I didn't like attack on Titan ultimately, with your inspiration being attack on Titan there is an example there of it even though it is a Manga and anime. If it were a novel it would likely create its early intrigue via the walls. Maybe something like, (With let's say Armen being the first perspective character. "Armen lived a life of contentment, Despite knowing what thirsts beyond the walls Sina, Rosa and Maria." Not the best off the top of my head example of an opening line but I think it gives a good idea. Edit: In fact, to anyone who read this far here is a reward. What I just did with attack on Titan is a little to practice my ability at making good intriguing opening lines. I grab something I like such as a manga or anime, and imagine "If this did not exist and I were writing it as a Novel. What would my opening line be." Then with the contacts I know of the story from the thing that I like, coupled with the passion I have for it. I wrote down what I would imagine it's opening line to be, with the intent of making it as intriguing and pulling as possible. It's kind of like the writer's equivalent of fan art. And it gives you a mode for practicing opening lines for stories without already having to have an idea of a story in your head to do so. Nor worrying about the quality of said writing as it is not your own story, your just doing an imagined bit of practice with something you already love and appreciate with no concern for something that's ultimately yours to be liked. (And no I'm not saying rewrite whole stories, this bit of practice is only about openers.)
I always use the tip of finishing the chapter with a different emotion than the emotion which covers the first pages of the chapter. It is interesting to start and end the chapter with the same emotion. I will give it a try. And I usually start my story with the main character having fun and being relaxed before introducing the threat which will force him to go out of their comfort zone. I know that's what nearly all writers do but most of the time they just write the status quo of the character; everyday life instead of giving them the best time of their lives. I think it is way better to start the story with characters having some fun since it will hit harder for them thus their reaction will be more believable, plus the readers are going to be invested in their reaction when the big threat (inciting incident) comes. However, there are also characters who are willing to go through the journey the inciting incident forces them to go. I wonder how can we pull this off? Since there won't be much conflict/tension in such situation for both the character and the reader... (Meaning, "A bear is at my door" won't be the case in that situation)
I think as long as there is a reason for them to go on this journey, that can be your "bear at the door". Keep in mind, that the BatD doesn't have to be something external. It can be an internal drive too. Maybe your character feels like this is their one opportunity to go on this journey. Or maybe it is an embedded feature in their society that adventures must be undertaken... Or the inverse. Maybe the community looks down on this and this makes the character want to go on this adventure despite that. Thank you again for the comment and for sharing your thoughts and your work!
I've been appreciating the pronoun use of 'we' and 'our' in your videos. It has been subconsciously much more engaging and welcoming. Not that the 'you' and 'your' of other instruction videos is at all alienating by any means, but I hadn't realised until I was listening to another one and the 'you could' 'you should' 'your writing' was being used and it struck me how much more pleasant and engaging and inclusive it was to be hearing your use of 'we/our'. So thankyou. I've been working though the videos on this channel after finding them only yesterday and they have already been very helpful. Thanks heaps!
I'm glad people notice this! Yes, this is intentional for all the reasons you listed. A big part of my messaging is that WE are all writers and are in this TOGETHER. I don't pretend to have a vault of esoteric knowledge on story craft, and I don't pretend to be in a position to dictate or proclaim writers must do _these_ things. Language and being intentional with how we address each other (peers and audience members) should play a big role when it comes to this little part of the educational internet corner. I really appreciate you for watching and for your comment! I hope to hear more about your writing and progress!
I'll throw the exact opposite opinion on this matter: I LOATHE when UA-camrs and influencers say "we". "We did it chat!" the streamers yells after he did something super difficult while chat was spamming, trolling, and missing the point the entire stream. The "we" feels parasocial to me, like I'm not just in a community, but in a cult. Because with "we", there is "them". But with "you", there is only "you" or "me". So really: Subjective.
@@jesustyronechrist2330 I understand what you're saying, but when I say we, I am talking about 'we writers'. I don't think I've referred to 'we' the community/chatters. But again, I understand where you're coming from and respect your perspective. That might be the case coming from larger communities/streamers/UA-camrs.
One story I am working on seems to do these fairly well; though my writing of it was bad. I begin with four of the ten or so characters, drop the conflict on my protagonist early, show some fast-paced action, resolve it in an unexpected way (a way in which better exemplifies the overall arc of my lead), and include key details that set up the whole of the rest of the story. I lay the groundwork for the actions of one antagonist, set up some important relationships, give a sense of my protagonist's compass for right/wrong, and highlight specific weaknesses of some characters. These first 4 individuals include my lead, an antagonist, a character who motivates my protagonist's actions even many years later, and an agent of change (even within himself).
"Arguably" the opening is the "most important" is right, that it can be argued, but not that it's fact. It's the most important if you want a reader to read beyond your opening, which they can easily stop if it sucks. But if you want them to read more than just your opening, the rest has to be pretty good too.
Yep. I hope it didn’t come off that I was disagreeing with this. The idea of “came for the opening, but stayed for the rest” is sort of what I am getting at. Thank you for your thoughts and for watching though!
People talk about the ending of a story a lot more too. If it's known for its atrocious ending, people will know it mainly for that, no matter how good the.....first five seasons were or something.
@@jjhh320 this is true, but I doubt people will ever get to that bad (or good) ending if they can’t get past the intro/start! Thank you for your comment and opinion, I appreciate it!
One of the biggest things I took for granted was creating entirely new sets of characters and the dynamic they have with the main characters. So what I’ve learned was to focus on how I want the main characters to respond. What THEY say is more important in knowing what the supporting characters will say. Then it comes into full figure on its own much like how a story will build when you already have an idea of what the beginning, mid point, and end will be like. Basically filling in the blanks to give each point more meaning. The same is done on a smaller scale.
I’m writing a bunch of notes to help me write a fiction novel, and this was a really helpful video! You helped pinpoint my two biggest problems for my intro, and the pacing is already infinitely better; thank you! The few characters thing was the most helpful. My story has 13 core characters, and I was confused on how to do anything. You made me realize that I don’t have to do everything, some characters can have less focus than others, even if they are equally important!
The problem with "The Bear at the Door" is that it feels like a blunt force trauma. Thinking in those terms leads people to think a story should start with a life or death challenge. I think a writer should start with the main character confronting a problem, but I don't need it to be dramatic. My project starts with an orphan girl joining a caravan to reach a distant city where she can find work as a live-in maid. In the first few pages I establish that she's beaten down by recent events and afraid to push herself out. She likes animals but is patronizing toward the goblins (It's a fantasy) and she's nudged into action by the young man who will become her best friend through the rest of the book. The rest of the story is about her growth in confidence and leadership until she leads the effort to stop a goblin uprising.
Thank you for your comment! However, I know I am not advocating for some sort of life-and-death situation. I really only talk about there being a clear problem/source of conflict that needs to be resolved/addressed or solved. I understand that the saying might give off the impression that there needs to be a life-and-death situation, but I don't think that is how the majority of writers interpret this. Again, thank you for your comment and perspective! I really appreciate you watching and sharing your thoughts.
Sounds like an interesting story you're writing. I'm curious---is it middle-grade fiction or YA fiction? I get the vibe it's not quite a romance but could turn into one years in the future so I'm imagining it's middle-grade.
@@isabelbard853 She's 12, turning 13 during the adventure, so it could go either way. I consider it Young Adult. I resolved her problem by the end, but it raised two more issues; her friend and a rival kingdom that was pressing their borders. So it's becoming a trilogy. The second book, when she's 16, is a romance; not just a modern romance with a fight for love, but a classic romance, with heroic deeds and political intrigue. Kind of like Ivanhoe Feeling Sleepless in Seattle. The third is a full on adventure. When she's 18 she leads a goblin army to war against the rival kingdom. It completes her arc, and resolves the goblin problem as well as it can be.
Me watching 5000 videos on how to start a story after having already started my story (I've done everything right and am seeking validation from internet personalities):
I'm not confident that I'm starting correctly. Essentially, I agree with this notion. "Make sure your characters give the impression they're meant to give off by allowing them to express themselves through choices".
Cool bruh. I am Brasilian and i heavvily influenced by Brasilian literature. Over here, our literature was deeply influenced by Realism and Neo - Realism. So its not always about the Conflict and problem solving. Its about the peopl, the chars, most of them greatly based on real life people and the cultural landscape of our country. Here are some classic writhers: Jorge Amado (Romantism) Clarisse Lispector (Modernism) Joao Cabral de Melo Neto (Great Poet, work on a Lot of Romantic novels) All of them teached that the Heart and the Soul need to be present in your story from the beginning. Great video bruh. Cheers. 🎉
You can't recommend Brazilian authors and not include Machado de Assis in the list. Bring everybody into the Capitu argument. Actually, the book Dom Casmurro itself is a great example of this feature, I'd say. The entire "plot" is the narrator telling about his life and getting to his final conclusion, there's no great issues to be solved along the way. And it's considered one of, if not the best masterpiece of Brazilian literature. Can't recommend enough. This is something I struggle with when writing, because I think I've seen too many English-language advice videos, so I constantly think that the story I'm working on is not good because it lingers too much on characters' musings and thoughts, but then I have to remind myself that the average foreign fantasy story is not my goal here.
@@SoRePeSi I don't think there is anything wrong with lingering on a character's internal thoughts. And, to add (as one of those online writing advice educators), not all of our advice will apply to you. A good deal of writing rules, laws, principles, and concepts, is that they are meant to be understood but are not there to be applied without question. Some stories might break every rule there is and still be great--but those rules or principles are first understood and then broken intentionally. At the end of the day, if might not be a YOU problem, but it could be an US problem. Biggest thing to do is to keep writing and make sure you are vetting the advice you hear. I appreciate you watching my videos and for your comment!!
Great video! I agree with your point on a potential negative of arriving late and leaving early and doing it too much. I notice it a lot in television at the moment to the point where it feels very disjointed scene to scene and next thing you know you've wrapped up a season with no in-world idea of how characters got to where they are (be that physically or emotionally)
Thank you so much for watching! Yes, this is something that is really common I. Television and sometimes it can work, while others it just totally has the opposite effect. I remember a Netflix TV series that took place in Venice and followed some of the wealthy merchants. I could not get into it because of this very reason… too much jumping between plot points and conflict without any sort or reflection or buildup. Thank you again for your comment and for watching!
My book starts dark, literally and figuratively. The introduction. Is a sponge of emotion, imagery and pain the main character is dealing with. His issues are not a combat-action issue immediately however but are slower more heart wrenching. I love this style of advice and generally these principles are great! Thank you for the awesome video.
My story is a fantasy and starts very light and happy, it the mc birthday party For the first chapter my hook was a sense of mystery as to what happened to thier father who is out of the picture and those who talk about him are pretty remorseful abd regretful, but it remains as a side subject, so the opening isnt to filled up but isnt boring and gives readers something to look forward too
I write in all genres and i know how to create good momentum but contemporary is harder for me to judge between fun/funny exposition showcasing my characters perspective contrary to the norm and going overboard.
Totally agree. That humor and 'fun' aspect is something that I found comes out better during revisions. That way you can set yourself up and see the entire narrative from an almost birds-eye view.
Small addendum: the problem can be something the uninitiated may find obscure, as long as the protag explains it asap. You can begin with a lawyer facing a tricky motion provided they succintly explain why it matters to them and their client.
my book starts out diving into two side conflicts one of which was caused by the other. both are rather shallow and i picked this to showcase the protagonist’s immaturity and also the severity and seriousness of the main conflict when it comes to play out. I wanted to subvert the reader while still pulling them in!
Great tips! Writing a circular chapter or scene is a really good idea, I'm going to try to incorporate that into my writing. I also want to give a huge thumbs up for you saying that some of these tips will work for some stories, but it depends or your story. Too many writing gurus on UA-cam insist that All writers Have to follow their tips, and if you don't your writing will be Wrong! And they completely ignore the fact that not all techniques will work for all stories.
@@mccama19 very true. That is a huge part of what I teach (both here and with individual writers). There are tips and rules but you can rind exceptions EVERYWHERE. What works for some might not work for others. Thank you for the comment and for watching! I’m glad you found this video helpful.
Im struggling a lot with just getting started to be honest, I have the skills as an artist for creating manga or comics but everything I write down - or even draw sometimes - just feels wrong or cringe like "who the hell would read this?". That combined with other mental health issues is eating me alive but this video does clear up some things for me in terms of writing - awesome stuff. ❤
I agree with he beginning being important, that being said i'd also like to add how much as important the ending is, if not more important than the beginning. Because most of the time, depending how you execute it, the audience will mostly remember the ending more than the rest of the experience, for better or for worse. In the best scenario you have stories like the original Planet of the apes, Amnesia a machine for pigs and Halo Reach In the worst scenario you have stories like Mass Effect 3, Game of Thrones and Star Wars episode 9
As much as I agree that the end is important, I will say that your reader or audience will never get to the end if they can't get past the beginning. Each part of the story is important to carry a person from one part to the next, but the ending is worthless if they aren't sold on your start. Also, great examples and thank you so much for watching and for your comment! I really appreciate you!
@@wrestlingwithwords I'd like to say that when I heard that advice, it just gave me like a bright idea and I just started writing some drafts today. Cheers!
As a new writer, I find writing in the first person challenging. My story is told from the main character’s point of view, but I struggle to effectively convey the ideas and developments of other characters within this perspective. Additionally, I often receive feedback on issues with pacing. While I see gradual improvement in this area, I am keen to understand the key elements to mastering pacing in my writing.
Very nice video, talking about first chapter, just some days ago I revised and aumented the lenght of my first chapter, from 3 pages to 8. For some reason I had in the feeling that the starting point wasn't good enough. I wrote the original chapter several years ago, and edited it many times (I've been working in my novel for 7 years), and as we know, if you've been working for so long in a project you evolve and change trough time, so the text also evolves. In this case I found better the new modifications, and solved several story telling problems setting some key information from the start. I think we should always open to modfy/change things of the past, writting is an orcanic process, alive and dynamic.
Practice!! Try stuff out. See what works, what doesn't work, and what almost works. Don't be afraid to put your characters in terrible or hard situations. Also, try and notice other stories conflict--books your reading, movies, TV shows.
Im currently outline a graphic novel/traditional novel that ive had the idea for since I was in high school. Your videos are very insightful and you are very entertaining to listen to! Thank you for the videos
@@wrestlingwithwords sure thing man!! I love listening to your videos in the background while I write and absorbing the information through osmosis lol. Have a good day!
Nice to hear that another writer out there likes to do the full circle how of opening/ending with his short stories! I do the same, and I also do that with my novels if possible. :)
I’m starting to get towards working on a series among my friends and my idea for the first pages or chapter is to start off in a conflict of the past that displays the main cast, no words though. Just my idea
The beginning of my story is definitely too slow, but i can't think of another place to start it. So, im thinking of accelerating to the conflict by condensing what would be the first few chapters into one. I've come up with a logical reason to take two separate, but lesser confrontations and make them a singular bigger one. But that also demands my story to bring up one of the main character's (lets call them K) issues with governance, power and police right away. And im just now able to see why thats a blessing in disguise. I had already had the moment K voices this issue planned out for later on. But if i make it more intrinsic to his introduction, i can condense that later interaction and get right to the action and wrestling of ideologies. Im gonna keep doing this as much as i can throughout the story since im an overthinker, and i think that tends to make me come up with more and more information and dressing than i may need to convey to the reader at one given time. Thanks for the video and help structuring my thoughts.
Awesome tips, thanks a lot! I am personally very interested on building good character parties and how they are affecting each other, and the chemistry that is going on between them
Awesome! Characters are oftentimes the first thing an audience falls in love with. I am sure I will visit character chemistry in the future, but you should check out my video on the 'Family of Choice'! Thank you for watching and for your comment!
I haven't actually started writing yet, but im planning to start my story with the protagonist getting drafted to serve as a mage in war. Though im not to sure about it as it removes the protagonist's ability to choose himself to go on the journey, instead it forces him to go which is what im not to sure about. Another option for the begining would be the protagonist's friend getting drafted but after some time the protagonist chooses to go in their place.
I think what you’re referring to is character agency. This first choice won’t make or break a character’s agency. Just make sure they are able to have an impact of their progression and the development of the plot there after. Both can be compelling (conceptually) it will just come down to execution!
That's so crazy, because I'm basically writing the same thing. I have the same issue, where the protagonist accidentally finds herself able to use magic, and she's forced into the military as a result.
Hi, great content as always, I have a suggestion, for new writers it's harder to get a good understanding on different subjects, so I think if you pout more examples in the video, it can help. And even putting examples of movies are more helpful, because most of us seen most movies and you can do a bad start VS good start by showing two different movies, or good dialog VS bad dialog.....
Hello! Thanks for posting this video! It’s exactly what I needed to watch in regard to the story I’ve been wanting to tell. The story will be told in episodes. I was struggling with how I wanted my pilot episode to introduce the audience to my story. I’ve seen MANY pilots on UA-cam and while I enjoy them and the animation, I’ve always found myself only 50% interested in watching the rest of the series or confused… Either too many characters are introduced (and over shadow the main character) or there are so many plots going on at once that you’re confused as to which one is the main one (even better, the sub plots are more interesting than the main one). I don’t want to see this happen to me. I believe this video will help me and many more writers create incredible openings and pilots and keep our audience ensnared. Thanks again for posting it! I look forward to hearing more advice from you!
Interesting, I like to start my stories with a set mood and tone, and end it with a different tone so readers would have something to look forward to next chapter 😅
Lots of information in a brief format - great. I really like the chapter as short story advice, which I fear will be misunderstood (due to different formats) but it is a really good technique for procrastinating writers to help tackle the overwhelming task of a whole book. I haven't seen a posting on the topic. So, it would be a good topic for a future posting. But you know me. The only complaint is you lost the bear. It was a great example. You should have used it throughout as a single sentence examples of each point. Like the bear had something around its neck. Was this a sign it had been in custody or a reminder of a previous adventure? The protagonist or antagonist was too shocked to properly identify the object. It introduces the character of the bear and provides intrigue for a future chapter, while taking up very little space in the first chapter. I can understand your advice because I have been working on this project for a while and thus studying, but I fear that I would not have understood it as well in the beginning of my journey. Concrete examples using the bear would have helped without bulking up the text.
I've been really working on condensing my videos or at least if they are going to be longer, that they are justified in being so. These video 'podcast' episodes I think are a good way for me to reframe my approach and have a more natural flow of information, as opposed to a video essay script. Thanks for the suggestions, I hope you're doing well and I appreciate you watching!
@@wrestlingwithwords With my health, being alive is healthy enough. I have about 5 projects going simultaneously and so getting little done. Since I am an underdescriber, I am trying to improve the visuals in the story, which is like pulling teeth. I am also trying to increase the tension as currently it is more of a language lover's feast than a story with tension for any reader.
I think the biggest thing is, you have to know what you're doing and why. For things like "getting in early," it might be a good principle in general, but I can think of something right off the bat that doesn't do this. "Audition". You completely forget you're watching a horror movie for a long time as it sets up this guy trying to find someone to date. It even comes off almost like a comedy at parts. It brings in the horror element quite late, and by then you're invested in what's going on. I think, especially when you read foreign media, you'll see that they have different ideas about how to set things up and why. For example, you can find the four-act structure in Japan. The main thing is not to follow a certain formula. It's to be aware of what you're doing before you decide whether or not you're going to follow a rule. It's like with art: you want to understand the rules before you break the rules. If Audition started right before the horror elements came into play, it would feel like a very different movie and probably wouldn't be nearly as memorable. Takashi Miike led you down one path before slapping you in the face with, "You went to a horror movie, remember?" Setting up the "normal" part of life first made the horror part stand out even more because it felt much more real. When people have a good grasp of "Why do people do it this way?" they can then decide if that's what their story needs.
I found this video in my recommended and now i realize that my i don't know how to start my story yet. Oops now im freaking out. I'm in the planning and designing phase of it all. I also have a mental outline of the story.
Just as a reminder to new writers, there are NO one-size-fits-all solutions to writing. All writing tips should be considered tools in a toolbox to use whenever they are needed, and not a book of laws that you HAVE to follow. The decisions you make when writing should reflect the tone of your story. If it's a fast-paced exciting novel, then starting in media res can be a good solution. But if you're writing something that is intended as more of a slower burn, something that swells into a crescendo, then it's okay to have a peaceful opener that just explores the lives of your characters. Lord of the Rings didn't start in Helms Deep, it started in the Shire where the conflict couldn't be further away. (I am of course referring to the books; the movies were more action-oriented and decided to begin with the Siege of Barad-dûr. This isn't a "good" or "bad" decision, it just means the intended tone and pace of the movies were different from the books.)
I can see the appeal of closing the circle, but I prefer spirals. The ouroboros of the tale eating its own tail eels for me usually like just a repetition, an eternal pendulum of yin and yang that leads nowhere. I find that very dissatisfying, and looking how the monomyth or the story circle which are so popular usually do not bring real change but are destined to set up just another loop and thus provided us in recent years with hollow myths. But again, it might be popular for a reason, it is just not or me.
I like spirals. There's an analogy in psychiatry that recovery isn't a straight line, it's a spiral; you _will_ revisit the same headspace again and again; but it doesn't need to be a relapse, rather, it's you coming upon the same trauma but seeing it from a higher level above. The pain is still where you left it, but you have more perspective and understanding of it each time you pass over it, until it becomes a neutral aspect of your personality that you step over like it's nothing. This actually tracks onto the "return to the regular world with the elixir" analogy in writing. You're back home, but it's different, you have more perspective and you aren't the same person you were last time you were here.
It's funny because I think the spiral idea and the circle can go together (and is often how I think about it). When one circle is closed, a very common product is a question being answered, with another one(s) being opened up. This video was (somewhat) about structuring a scene, but mostly talking about structuring an opening. In this regard, and on a small scale, the "closing the circle" idea can be really powerful and build trust with your audience. Also, generally, I agree with you in your sentiment. However, in some cases, this sort of structure, or even a mono-myth, can fit perfectly. It all depends on the story being told.
Well said! That "revisitation" is a narrative element I LOVE to include. And, it can find a place in all kinds of arcs. Deeper Understanding/Actualization=(can be) positive arcs... Reinforced Position/Belief=Flat Arc... Madness/Obsession/Degredation=Negative Arc.
See the Unknown is one of the best releases, including its power.... IF, in future they add more skins, and add a crawler mode to its power. Doesnt need to add stealth, just lowers how fast survivors lose weakened
6:30 Would it be possible to elaborate on this point you make about continuing the flow in another video? You do explain it here briefly but it’s something I am trying to wrap my head around. Also thanks for sharing all of these tips! It’s a great video and I’ll be checking out your other videos here now!
Yes! I have been thinking of forming another video on structure/conflict structure. The number one example I can think of (and the one I was alluding to in the video) is A Song of Ice and Fire. GRRM does an amazing job building tension and then cutting right at the climax of one character before changing to the POV of another. TV does a good job of this too with mini cliffhangers or moments of revelation towards the end of an episode. I also talked a little bit about this in a livestream a few weeks ago. Thank you for the comment and for watching. I am so happy you found this video helpful!
I’m wrestling with my fist few chapters because I was too focused on getting to the action in an environment that did not welcome action. The story starts weakly with the protagonist monologuing to himself about his life for exposition. It’s not an info dump, it’s basically just “I’m Yuen Vigil, I was born into slavery on a farmstead, I live here with my family”, but that’s still weak. I guess it was mainly an outline for myself, but I need to fix that. Second, the pacing is all over the place, and it’s not even structured all that well. For a first draft, it is definitely a first draft. I will need to fix it, and this gave me a lot of ideas on how to do so.
Since you're still on the first draft I would suggest just getting those words on the page, no matter how info-dumpy or how wacky the pacing is. Just get those words on the page so that way the story is there. Writing is all about revisions!
WTW already gave you the best advice. an experiment you could do is write a one page prologue that acts as the story hook depicting the tension right before your first action scene. then you contrast it with the opening chapter about Yuen's life. There is a lot of tension in characters born into slavery, i know it's been repeated to death but you could focus on showing not telling parts of Yuen's life that made him who he is now, traumatic things. fortunate things, etc. And show us how he responded to them. Then you don't have so much exposition as well.
@@wrestlingwithwords that’s what I was originally planning to do, but I feel so bad leaving the first three chapters as bad as they are. And that’s not the classic “an artist hates their art” mentality, it was quite objectively badly written. I will make it better before it gets published, no worries there. Thanks for the help. 👍
@@lethaldream50 I do have a prologue, but it isn’t about Yuen, it’s about his predecessor. Little bit of exposition, the main cause of the events of the story is the soul of the founder of Magic who lived in ancient times who reincarnates every 1,000 years. He does not replace the soul of the individual he inhabits, but their souls do fuse into one soul, granting the “host” the same powers as the founder of Magic. The prologue is about what the previous host did to set in motion events that caused the events of the main story. But still, I might have to change that. I don’t need to use the prologue to convey that information, so I could use it instead to introduce Yuen, his family, and explain his lack of father figure at the start of the story. Thanks for the advice.
@@Iso20227 honestly i think that's a really cool idea for a story, it's the type of trope i love to read in books cause i'm really into a variety of magic and fantasy genres. the core idea is great but presentation order is something i also have been struggling with and practicing in constructing my stories, it feels like sometimes you need to swap around parts like puzzle pieces to get the correct flow and pace. although i think all writers should take joy in writing for themselves however they like sometimes, to make something readable and interesting to others, we have to reassess what we thought were the core important things and often take them apart, rearrange them, and put them back together again. you should experiment with changing the prologue! after all if you don't like the change you can go back to the old draft or try a new approach. good luck!
So taking up writing after a long break for learning how to code to...publish my writings (so meta!); I think the hard force is POV. I used to write in Third Person Limited, because of how it is somewhat the standard for 'Epic Fantasy', adjacent stories. I however am experimenting with Omni for this project, so uhh 'fingers crossed'! It is because this version of the world looks like a parallel of the Americas but 'sideways', and culturally is Mesoamerican/Native-adjacent. Alot of languages, cultural norms and expressions. I also can be somewhat of an underwriter although that was before I medicated my depression/anxiety. Since this would be my first published work, going to try and keep chapters under 3k. Subscribed, look forward to sharing this as well! 💜
That is awesome to hear! Thank you for sharing some details about your work, it sounds very interesting. Also, thank you for watching and subscribing :).
@@JudysProductionCompany1994 that is a great idea to share! I used to have a list of books on my website but have taken it down because it was a little janky. I’ll definitely consider putting together another list at some point. Also, thank you for watching :).
This might seem hard for the Romance writers so what I tend to do is have a very drastic and dramatic moment in the being like "A breakup" or "You want to leave me? Can't if you're dead" or "Look at that our damanation...our death...the one armed swordsman." And then slowly introduce the characters then the budding romance blossoms
I think even when it comes to romance it doesn't have to be a HUGE conflict. It could even be something that is outside of the main plot like being skipped over a promotion or being in an argument with parents/friends... Thank you for your examples though and for watching!
I think the first advice is good, but it does depend on a few things. Most of the time introducing the conflict in the beginning can be compelling, but sometimes (most notably in the horror genre) buildup is more important than an instant hook. A good way to remedy this while still introducing a conflict is to have the first page be separate from the main character, and introduce the villain or conflict first without them. Idk tho, to me introducing the conflict immediately doesn't feel like necessary advice, as plenty of good books don't do it
@@the_real_boogeyman there are always going to be exceptions and amendments. Conflict doesn’t have to be something big and dramatic. Keep in mind that it just has to be a vehicle to get the audience invested in what is happening to the characters and getting the story started. Thank you for the comment!
I'm so glad I found your channel @wrestlingwithwords I really need to get my novel written I have a problem with my novel where I know the beginning and the ending but the journey is what I'm struggling with really can you perhaps do a video in how you muster the confidence to tackle slow-pacing or or something to do with figuring out your journey in writing a story from beginning to end that would really be helpful I have subscribed and I look forward to more of your content soon 👍😊
Thank you for your comment and for subscribing! Pacing is something that I am working on a script for now, actually! If you check out my video on intros/story beginnings, I do (kind of) talk about this, but I plan to go into more depth soon! Thank you again for watching and for talking about your writing process.
Ive written a bunch of short stories and have tried to write longer ones. Honestly ive lost thise stories to times and accidental deletes or account changes. Im about to do a jeff the killer rewrite in hopes to make that character more accepted and liked in the modern era. Hopefully this helps!
So I'm writing a cyberpunk story and I start it with what I hope is a smooth introduction to the world. I'm going for a wider audience and every time I talk cyberpunk with people who aren't already fans of it, they complain that it doesn't make sense to them how the world came to be a dystopia, what the tech does, etc. My protagonist is woken up by holographic cartoons, smoothly showing the tech level and availability, then he goes to make breakfast for his baby sister whose legal guardian he is. During this he listens to a pirate radio which succintly shows the corporate dystopia the future has become. The baby sister comes in and the hero advises her on her history test, allowing for a brief rundown of how the dystopian world of the future came to be, and then they have some bratty interactions, as a result of which I get to expo the fact that he is a hacker and that his hacking society/confederation communicates with codes hidden in common, everyday things. (this bit is actually hidden foreshadowing of a major plot point later on, but it works smoothly as exposition) It's only after I spend a dozen pages on this introduction, that the inciting incident comes crashing through the front door - a cop hellbent on recruiting the hacker into taking down a corporate executive that's running a human trafficking ring and has corrupted the local security corporation (police) to the point that they will not go after him and his goons at all. And the cop has dirt on the hacker, making it an offer he can't refuse. Does this sound good to you, or would you cut some of the intro and move it to later in the story? The hero kinda needs to be distracted by the sister's bratty behavior and the secret code to allow the cop to barge in, otherwise the hero's maxim is "it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you".
Usually what I normally suggest is to start with that cop breaking down the door (kind of). Only give us enough information to CARE about the main character/protagonist for the intro. Try to withhold those worldbuilding element at the start. I know some of the feedback you’ve gotten has been that people don’t understand the world/tech, but I would argue/suggest is that the audience just needs to be interested, rather than understand. This is of course me suggesting something without reading your pages and your work haha, so take it with a grain of salt. I hope this is helpful!! And really good question!
So one day I decided to create 5 series of different 5 main characters with each different stories in the same world of magic/fantasy, and then they'll be conflicting with each other's problem at some important point. Some main character has no magic power but is so skillful and is immortal, some had a trauma on cold and ice but have a curse to unconsciously switch her personality, some had the power to controls illusion and reality but is mentally unstable, some had a really great power of one type magic power but he lost some part of his memories and personality, and some main character had a really unique power. I've decided the end of their stories, and all I have to do is to create a bridge from the start until the end of each story. Funny thing is I've thought of this probably like 1 or 2 years ago, but it was just recently I've made a lot of advances for the plot. I was thinking about making it like toaru series but my friend said I should've just make them into one, so I can probably make a use of that method of slowing down the pace of the story. Ironically, one thing I'm worried about this was the fact that this was basically made from 5 main characters at first lol
What is your opinion on a game of thrones style intro, where we follow a side character that builds up the world while also allows for the main themes and story to be fleshed out through their eyes before the main characters' pov begins. I wrote a first chapter like this, or maybe it's better as a prologue, where the storybis set up, the main characters are introduced, but we have immediate action, intrigue and worldbuilding in the first few pages. Great video
When you first start writing how do you plan to write a trilogy (if you think you have a big enough story for it) without knowing it would go anywhere with publishers? I think I’m scaring myself before I even start but it’s a big commitment and I think I have a trilogy in me!
Focus first on the complete arc/progression of the first book. You want to make sure the first story is fulfilling and can stand on its own. Then, if you want to (or think the narrative has the legs for it) start looking at where the story might go and what the bigger arc might be. Trilogies are tough to tackle, but really good question! I might cover this in the future!
love reading all the comments. I wish I could talk to some of you guys about our current book projects. I want us to inspire and motivate eachother and would really appreciate if someone wants a groupchat?
I'm wrestling with 2 intros to my story right now im making a comic the world is around 1930's technology, but in a light fantasy setting the idea for the beginning of the story is the characters on the run from a criminal organization The story follows 3 characters, and the 3rd is a drifter who met them randomly and has no idea why they are traveling but just goes with the flow and decides to tag along Im wondering if i should start with with the perspective the 2 charaters who are on the run because its kinda messed up and could serve as a good hook but i kind of want the story to be more whimsical at the start and build into the messed up stuff Or i could have it be more from the perspective of the drifter who will end up being put into a hard position once he figures out what's going on If its from the drifters pov it would be like chapter 2 or 3 before that comes to a head and with the nature of comics it would take me a while to get there But if its the 2 runaways pov i would have immediate shock value at the very start Do you think its just better for the reader to immediately know why they are on the run? Or build it up to be a reveal to both the drifter and the reader
@@thecultofcaged I would go with the intro that has the best hook. Also, consider which character you find the most compelling. Who is the audience going to relate to and empathize with most, at the start? You can also write it both ways and then have a beta reader(s) give you feedback on which they like more and why. Thank you for watching and your specific question! Keep me updated on how it is going with your story.
BOOK 1 of my trilogy: Though mischance, my main character has been left as an infant with a family who know nothings about him. He will begin to develop certain mental powers at a very young age which, over time, will affect his siblings. No one knows what is happening or even that anything particularly unusual is happening until the effects become problematic. At which point it is too late. The true conflict in book 1 is between the main character and this mental power he has been saddled with. It ultimately leads to the suicide of his youngest sibling and nearly destroys his family. My problem: a. The conflict sneaks up on the MC. b. My story is told through more than one 1st person viewpoint. No one really knows what is going on at first; yet I need to show this. Any hints?
I think my favorite way of introducing a story is to have a small problem that gets solved in that first chapter, but introduces the audience to the main cast, world and hints at a larger problem that will soon be the leading conflit. Not too related to the video, but please feel free to use this idea if you are reading this comment.
Here a question for writing fantasy novellas; is it better to introduce the main character first and then provide world-building, or to open with some world-building and then introduce the main character?
Usually, you want to introduce the characters first. One thing to think about is this: What would you relate to first? A person or a place? This is a very simplified question, but most readers/audience members initially come for the characters and then end up staying for the world when it comes to fantasy. (there are exceptions of course)
This video is extremely helpful, so thank you for that, but I'm relatively new to writing for anything other than fun, so how do you or should you get into contact with an editor and/or a publisher?
@@M4dniss finish your book/story first. Then do a round or two of revisions. Save your money for an editor only if you are truly stuck or think your story needs a professional opinion/critique. If your story is as good as you think you can write it and is as polished as you think you can edit it, then reach out to agents. Thank you for your comment!
for me i have no problem in writing characters and their philosophy and getting new unique ideas is easy for me even the world building/history/lore and stuff rn i have over 75 pages of ideas/characters and their effect of the world and each other/the world itself but when i start i get stuck yeah here's the idea but when i start writing in order like page 1 to 2 to 3 i can't do that at all i could be wrong in this but for me i think it's the lack of experience bc i don't read much and i haven't wrote any story as a teacher what do you think my problem is is it the lack of experience or something else and how o fix it and thank you
Start with reading and consuming stories from the perspective of a writer/storyteller. See if you can identify the essence of a character, a flaw, an arc, and other storytelling elements. However, if you're looking for something to start doing and to continue doing that WILL make you a better writer, start with reading more and writing more. Keep learning and looking for opportunities to learn! Thank you for the question and for watching.
I'm not a professional writer, not at all (and sorry for my English in advance its not my first language) and I find myself stuck in a limbo of reading books about writing, watching videos and etc and when I sit to write...my head simply blank. Is it because I just overwhelmed myself with all this information or I simply not build as a writer..? I want my stories to be good, but I know that its almost impossible to do without making couple that really sucks, or kinda sucks... I just don't know how to break this circle and not just dream about writing a story and actually write it P.s. thank you for your video!
I would recommend thinking up a story you fall in love with before you try to sit down and write anything. As for the more practical part of writing, try to consume less writing advice and more of the types of prose you would like to write in. Trying to somewhat copy some other author's style is a way to build yours. Read slowly, pay attention to the language. If your genre requires worldbuilding, do it, but do-initially-only what's enough for a story to sprout from it. Think up characters, their wishes, and their opinions. There's much more, especially corcerning them, but it will come naturally as time goes by.
I have the bad habit of creating way too many characters and growing so attached to them I never want to ditch them. That's how the main group around the character only was originally comprised of a whopping ten characters and my mistake is I wanted to give them equal importance. Now I know that if I don't want to eliminate them I simply have to 1. introduce them slowly 2. giving them only the importance given by what my mind built around them so far 3. not all at the same time, for the sake of realism. Other characters appearing in the future will be organized in different arcs. It does help that in one of the very first drafts when I had this cluster of characters altogether I already planned who the founders of the crew were, four characters I had more development of at the time and will be relevant for the future, the main character being part of the quartet. I have a question though. I wanted to start the story with the introduction of the mc and his internal conflict, why he is torn between choosing one side of society or the other one (which has implications on how the world behaves with you), while he ran away from it so far and it didn't touch him yet. The question is: even if the title does not talk about the struggle the mc has to face, but the name of the crew founded by those four people, does it make sense or does it give a sense of confusion to a potential reader? Additional informations: the sides to choose are rebellion or repression (he chooses the former) and the crew is about dancing, a big passion of the protagonist that will spark his conflict. There will be a lot of hip hop culture which repression does not like
I think it is important that your main character (or protagonist) has a clear goal or problem that they are trying to overcome. Now, this does not have to be flat-out stated, but it should be clear on its implication. What you can do with your cast is give them all a shared goal (or want). This way, you can play around with how the group chooses/debates/agrees/argues over how to tackle this problem. This is just a suggestion that I oftentimes give as a way to re-think the source of your story's tension (at least during one point or another. This doesn't need to be the main source for the whole story). Having there be tension and conflict within the group, coupled with an external threat can be a useful way to build a sense of urgency in your narrative. Really good question and I hope this helped! Thank you for watching and for your comment. I really appreciate it.
@@wrestlingwithwords thank you so much for the kind response! Yes, I actually planned a main theme that would be repeated throughout the story through the different characters and their choices. The villain has good intent, but uses unacceptable methods to reach that goal, as much as the protagonist is convinced sticking to a side would make him have to protect it at every cost and be his main objective in life, distracting him from what he likes the most. The project is mainly about self-realization prevailing on being constricted by what your side says, because stressing that too much would only lead to extremism, destruction or forgetting about self realization. I would also explore how a rightful dream of perfect peace and coexistence cannot exist as long as people have their own views. Those who stick so much to that dream will want that at every cost, because they think it's the right thing, it is perfection. Ironically, they will end up wanting to destroy that side who doesn't agree with their methods.
Similar challenge with my project about 9 android sisters trying to get their lives under control. Basically how I'm going about it is the story is in 3 major sections; Arc 1 has the middle sisters super active driving the story, while the eldest and youngest trios are sort of in the background just being set up low key, representing the status quo of the group that the active characters are contrasted against. Then in Arc 2, the middle sisters get lost in action and suddenly the youngest trio realize they're gonna have to take things seriously and think for themselves. Then the last section is the eldest trio being brought to task and needing to answer all the questions that have been lingering all story. So at different points, each group of characters is either the main character in their own story, or serve as the foil / setup to someone else's story, and it's shifting back and forth as each character improves / relapses into bad habits. And even then, they're not all equal; two of them only have like 3 big scenes in the whole story, and the story really centers around the one middle sister (whether that's the plot being driven by her action, or the other plots being motivated to look for her/help her). Even though 9 characters is a lot, hopefully by breaking them up into sub-groups, (the elders VS the middles VS the little ones), giving each of them varied focus throughout the story, and making sure each one serves a unique purpose in the story, even if it's only 2 scenes; hopefully its all readable enough and adding more than it takes.
@@samwallaceart288 true. You read really well into my intentions. Maybe I could set up a mini-arc that is relevant to the plot, with a character in need for help, and different personalities / wants /needs might shine. As you said, different characters come with different "screentimes" so obviously someone would be less shown
@@gabrieleriva_bboykappside I think the challenge with the big ensemble sort of stories is figuring out what type of story you want it to be. The 5 formats I notice are 1. The Squad Mission; 1~3 main characters lead a larger group of eclectic side-characters on a shared goal (Saving Private Ryan, Ocean's Eleven) 2. Branching Quest; starts as 1~3 characters who fan out and recruit new POV characters, who further fan out into more POVs until you have 12+ main characters (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars) 3. Converging Storm; starts as 12+ disparate POVs with their own goals who collapse into each other one by one until in the end there's only a handful of main characters on one conflict and everyone else is either submissive or killed off (Song of Ice and Fire, Shōgun) 4. True Anthology; 3+ completely separate main characters on equal plotlines that happen to coexist in the same world and cameo in each other's stories. (Love Actually, Pulp Fiction) 5. True Ensemble Situational; follows the same cast of characters from start to finish, centered on an internal conflict with each character dynamic being its own ground to unpack and explore (Little Miss Sunshine, The Family Stone) Basically, if it's more that 4 main characters and they're all introduced at the same time as one big group, it's probably a chick-flick that doesn't know it's a chick-flick. Low-key having the whole Ensemble on one internal conflict is the hardest format to nail; a good chick-flick is quite a work.
While the following chapters are written from the POV of some good guys, I start the story with a villain. He seems to be the main antagonist until the middle of the book, visiting a filthy tavern and hiring a bunch of lowlifes, to commit a crime not described at this point. This first chapter is mostly written from his POV, alternating with the POV of a sloppy kitchen maid. (She is the first person mentioned in the story and turns out to be the most important figure at the end. Until the middle, she seems to be just a supporting character though.)
I think that, as long as it makes sense in the context of your story, themes, plot, or characters it can work. Of course it can come off as cliche, but that can be the case with anything.
Thanks for watching! Check out some of these other videos:
The Most Compelling Character Dynamic You Can Write: ua-cam.com/video/d39IfGu9olk/v-deo.html
The Number 1 Thing Missing With Your Characters: ua-cam.com/video/NA-H5o79Tx0/v-deo.html
@wrestlingwithwords I hate when stories start off in the middle of a conflict though. It feels like every story I see starts like this and it annoys me because I don't know anything about the characters or the world so I don't care about the conflict or it's outcome.
Imo, it's akin to the author dangling keys in front of my face to catch my attention first before they get to the point.
Does this video contain spoilers?
@@wrestlingwithwords does it?
Does it?
1st time viewer. One thing I learned from another UA-cam writer is that, yes, start a story with the conflict but only introduce 2 - 4 characters at the start to not overwhelm the audience
This is a good principle to go by. There are of course exceptions, but yes, immersing the audience and giving them a reason to care should be the primary goal here. Thank you also for watching and for your comment!! I really appreciate it!
Or you go full Frank Herbert style and introduce all your characters in the first 3 chapters 🤣
@@darius_Pk you can do anything 😂😂
I like the idea of introducing 20 faces but 4 names/characters. Have the faces represent something then bring them back much later.
Thanks!
we don't talk about the first page of berserk manga
Actually, there's a good anecdotal story there. For one, Miura did say that he'd change it if he could, but knowing how much a perfectionist he was, it was better to get the ball rolling. You can also compare/contrast the prototype chapter to get an understanding of how details can drastically change the narrative.
@@TheAsylumCattrue
No it was perfect as is. I mean, it was an interesting choice, but hey it got you reading didn't it.
@@lizxu322 is kind of weird in a first reading but the more you know about guts the more that scene feels out of character
Beginning of anime is great though.
I like how in the Alchemist, the main character buys a big fat book because it makes for a better pillow. But he was complaining that there were too many characters introduced at the start and too many names to remember.
I'm glad someone brought that up!
For me. I absolutely LOVE when stories use something drastic or dramatic to keep our attention going. Attack on titan is my favorite anime because of this exact reason. I’m writing a story that starts off in the same style where it’s calm and something unexpected happens that drastically shifts the tension.
Awesome! Thank you for watching and sharing a bit about your work!
I was about to type a comment exactly like this!
Agreed 100%. Best show ever.
I agree with the idea, just make sure if it is a novel your not making something that seems too contemporary or boring. At least with the first sentence. It needs to draw the reader in through to seek answers. Most writers cheat by starting with action. But that's not really necessary. It can be as simple as the first lines in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers stone. I forget how the line fully goes, but it essentially begins with a claim that the dursley's are very proud of the appearance of normality in their life, which gives the implication that there's something going on in their household that's far from normal.
In fact even though I didn't like attack on Titan ultimately, with your inspiration being attack on Titan there is an example there of it even though it is a Manga and anime. If it were a novel it would likely create its early intrigue via the walls. Maybe something like, (With let's say Armen being the first perspective character. "Armen lived a life of contentment, Despite knowing what thirsts beyond the walls Sina, Rosa and Maria." Not the best off the top of my head example of an opening line but I think it gives a good idea.
Edit: In fact, to anyone who read this far here is a reward. What I just did with attack on Titan is a little to practice my ability at making good intriguing opening lines. I grab something I like such as a manga or anime, and imagine "If this did not exist and I were writing it as a Novel. What would my opening line be." Then with the contacts I know of the story from the thing that I like, coupled with the passion I have for it. I wrote down what I would imagine it's opening line to be, with the intent of making it as intriguing and pulling as possible. It's kind of like the writer's equivalent of fan art. And it gives you a mode for practicing opening lines for stories without already having to have an idea of a story in your head to do so. Nor worrying about the quality of said writing as it is not your own story, your just doing an imagined bit of practice with something you already love and appreciate with no concern for something that's ultimately yours to be liked. (And no I'm not saying rewrite whole stories, this bit of practice is only about openers.)
The Berserk thumbnail shows how well you know your craft. 😊
I always use the tip of finishing the chapter with a different emotion than the emotion which covers the first pages of the chapter. It is interesting to start and end the chapter with the same emotion. I will give it a try.
And I usually start my story with the main character having fun and being relaxed before introducing the threat which will force him to go out of their comfort zone. I know that's what nearly all writers do but most of the time they just write the status quo of the character; everyday life instead of giving them the best time of their lives. I think it is way better to start the story with characters having some fun since it will hit harder for them thus their reaction will be more believable, plus the readers are going to be invested in their reaction when the big threat (inciting incident) comes.
However, there are also characters who are willing to go through the journey the inciting incident forces them to go. I wonder how can we pull this off? Since there won't be much conflict/tension in such situation for both the character and the reader... (Meaning, "A bear is at my door" won't be the case in that situation)
I think as long as there is a reason for them to go on this journey, that can be your "bear at the door". Keep in mind, that the BatD doesn't have to be something external. It can be an internal drive too. Maybe your character feels like this is their one opportunity to go on this journey. Or maybe it is an embedded feature in their society that adventures must be undertaken... Or the inverse. Maybe the community looks down on this and this makes the character want to go on this adventure despite that. Thank you again for the comment and for sharing your thoughts and your work!
I've been appreciating the pronoun use of 'we' and 'our' in your videos. It has been subconsciously much more engaging and welcoming. Not that the 'you' and 'your' of other instruction videos is at all alienating by any means, but I hadn't realised until I was listening to another one and the 'you could' 'you should' 'your writing' was being used and it struck me how much more pleasant and engaging and inclusive it was to be hearing your use of 'we/our'. So thankyou. I've been working though the videos on this channel after finding them only yesterday and they have already been very helpful. Thanks heaps!
I'm glad people notice this! Yes, this is intentional for all the reasons you listed. A big part of my messaging is that WE are all writers and are in this TOGETHER. I don't pretend to have a vault of esoteric knowledge on story craft, and I don't pretend to be in a position to dictate or proclaim writers must do _these_ things. Language and being intentional with how we address each other (peers and audience members) should play a big role when it comes to this little part of the educational internet corner.
I really appreciate you for watching and for your comment! I hope to hear more about your writing and progress!
I'll throw the exact opposite opinion on this matter: I LOATHE when UA-camrs and influencers say "we". "We did it chat!" the streamers yells after he did something super difficult while chat was spamming, trolling, and missing the point the entire stream.
The "we" feels parasocial to me, like I'm not just in a community, but in a cult. Because with "we", there is "them". But with "you", there is only "you" or "me".
So really: Subjective.
@@jesustyronechrist2330 I understand what you're saying, but when I say we, I am talking about 'we writers'. I don't think I've referred to 'we' the community/chatters.
But again, I understand where you're coming from and respect your perspective. That might be the case coming from larger communities/streamers/UA-camrs.
One story I am working on seems to do these fairly well; though my writing of it was bad. I begin with four of the ten or so characters, drop the conflict on my protagonist early, show some fast-paced action, resolve it in an unexpected way (a way in which better exemplifies the overall arc of my lead), and include key details that set up the whole of the rest of the story. I lay the groundwork for the actions of one antagonist, set up some important relationships, give a sense of my protagonist's compass for right/wrong, and highlight specific weaknesses of some characters. These first 4 individuals include my lead, an antagonist, a character who motivates my protagonist's actions even many years later, and an agent of change (even within himself).
That’s great!! This shows a really good understanding of taking control of your story and its start!
I have never taken more notes in a writing video than now. Honestly, its very helpful!
I'm so glad! Thank you for watching!!
"Arguably" the opening is the "most important" is right, that it can be argued, but not that it's fact. It's the most important if you want a reader to read beyond your opening, which they can easily stop if it sucks. But if you want them to read more than just your opening, the rest has to be pretty good too.
Yep. I hope it didn’t come off that I was disagreeing with this. The idea of “came for the opening, but stayed for the rest” is sort of what I am getting at. Thank you for your thoughts and for watching though!
People talk about the ending of a story a lot more too. If it's known for its atrocious ending, people will know it mainly for that, no matter how good the.....first five seasons were or something.
@@jjhh320 this is true, but I doubt people will ever get to that bad (or good) ending if they can’t get past the intro/start! Thank you for your comment and opinion, I appreciate it!
As I heard from a dear friend, "The Beginning sells this book, and your Ending sells your next book."
@@keithg460 Exactly!
The bear at the door is an great analogy.
Isn’t it! If I ever feel like a scene is kinda dragging or I don’t know where the plot is going I try to think of this.
One of the biggest things I took for granted was creating entirely new sets of characters and the dynamic they have with the main characters. So what I’ve learned was to focus on how I want the main characters to respond. What THEY say is more important in knowing what the supporting characters will say. Then it comes into full figure on its own much like how a story will build when you already have an idea of what the beginning, mid point, and end will be like. Basically filling in the blanks to give each point more meaning. The same is done on a smaller scale.
That is really interesting. I think that will give your prose and your style a very unique feel. Thank you for watching and your comment!
I’m writing a bunch of notes to help me write a fiction novel, and this was a really helpful video!
You helped pinpoint my two biggest problems for my intro, and the pacing is already infinitely better; thank you!
The few characters thing was the most helpful. My story has 13 core characters, and I was confused on how to do anything. You made me realize that I don’t have to do everything, some characters can have less focus than others, even if they are equally important!
@@noahsmethers9339 I’m so glad to hear that!
The problem with "The Bear at the Door" is that it feels like a blunt force trauma. Thinking in those terms leads people to think a story should start with a life or death challenge.
I think a writer should start with the main character confronting a problem, but I don't need it to be dramatic.
My project starts with an orphan girl joining a caravan to reach a distant city where she can find work as a live-in maid. In the first few pages I establish that she's beaten down by recent events and afraid to push herself out. She likes animals but is patronizing toward the goblins (It's a fantasy) and she's nudged into action by the young man who will become her best friend through the rest of the book.
The rest of the story is about her growth in confidence and leadership until she leads the effort to stop a goblin uprising.
Thank you for your comment! However, I know I am not advocating for some sort of life-and-death situation. I really only talk about there being a clear problem/source of conflict that needs to be resolved/addressed or solved. I understand that the saying might give off the impression that there needs to be a life-and-death situation, but I don't think that is how the majority of writers interpret this.
Again, thank you for your comment and perspective! I really appreciate you watching and sharing your thoughts.
Sounds like an interesting story you're writing. I'm curious---is it middle-grade fiction or YA fiction? I get the vibe it's not quite a romance but could turn into one years in the future so I'm imagining it's middle-grade.
@@isabelbard853
She's 12, turning 13 during the adventure, so it could go either way. I consider it Young Adult.
I resolved her problem by the end, but it raised two more issues; her friend and a rival kingdom that was pressing their borders. So it's becoming a trilogy.
The second book, when she's 16, is a romance; not just a modern romance with a fight for love, but a classic romance, with heroic deeds and political intrigue. Kind of like Ivanhoe Feeling Sleepless in Seattle.
The third is a full on adventure. When she's 18 she leads a goblin army to war against the rival kingdom. It completes her arc, and resolves the goblin problem as well as it can be.
Me watching 5000 videos on how to start a story after having already started my story (I've done everything right and am seeking validation from internet personalities):
:)
Literally what I’m doing now😭
I'm not confident that I'm starting correctly. Essentially, I agree with this notion. "Make sure your characters give the impression they're meant to give off by allowing them to express themselves through choices".
The important thing is not how you start but to start at all I feel
You all are amazing. Thank you for the love and positivity!
Cool bruh. I am Brasilian and i heavvily influenced by Brasilian literature. Over here, our literature was deeply influenced by Realism and Neo - Realism. So its not always about the Conflict and problem solving. Its about the peopl, the chars, most of them greatly based on real life people and the cultural landscape of our country.
Here are some classic writhers:
Jorge Amado (Romantism)
Clarisse Lispector (Modernism)
Joao Cabral de Melo Neto (Great Poet, work on a Lot of Romantic novels)
All of them teached that the Heart and the Soul need to be present in your story from the beginning. Great video bruh. Cheers. 🎉
Thanks for watching and for the information! I really appreciate it!
You can't recommend Brazilian authors and not include Machado de Assis in the list. Bring everybody into the Capitu argument.
Actually, the book Dom Casmurro itself is a great example of this feature, I'd say. The entire "plot" is the narrator telling about his life and getting to his final conclusion, there's no great issues to be solved along the way. And it's considered one of, if not the best masterpiece of Brazilian literature. Can't recommend enough.
This is something I struggle with when writing, because I think I've seen too many English-language advice videos, so I constantly think that the story I'm working on is not good because it lingers too much on characters' musings and thoughts, but then I have to remind myself that the average foreign fantasy story is not my goal here.
@@SoRePeSi Damm. I actually forgot those classics while writhing this comment. Thanks Bruh.
@@SoRePeSi I don't think there is anything wrong with lingering on a character's internal thoughts. And, to add (as one of those online writing advice educators), not all of our advice will apply to you. A good deal of writing rules, laws, principles, and concepts, is that they are meant to be understood but are not there to be applied without question. Some stories might break every rule there is and still be great--but those rules or principles are first understood and then broken intentionally.
At the end of the day, if might not be a YOU problem, but it could be an US problem. Biggest thing to do is to keep writing and make sure you are vetting the advice you hear. I appreciate you watching my videos and for your comment!!
Great video! I agree with your point on a potential negative of arriving late and leaving early and doing it too much. I notice it a lot in television at the moment to the point where it feels very disjointed scene to scene and next thing you know you've wrapped up a season with no in-world idea of how characters got to where they are (be that physically or emotionally)
Thank you so much for watching!
Yes, this is something that is really common I. Television and sometimes it can work, while others it just totally has the opposite effect. I remember a Netflix TV series that took place in Venice and followed some of the wealthy merchants. I could not get into it because of this very reason… too much jumping between plot points and conflict without any sort or reflection or buildup.
Thank you again for your comment and for watching!
My book starts dark, literally and figuratively. The introduction. Is a sponge of emotion, imagery and pain the main character is dealing with. His issues are not a combat-action issue immediately however but are slower more heart wrenching. I love this style of advice and generally these principles are great! Thank you for the awesome video.
Thank you so much for saying so! I am really happy that these videos are helpful. Thank you for your comment and for watching!
My story is a fantasy and starts very light and happy, it the mc birthday party
For the first chapter my hook was a sense of mystery as to what happened to thier father who is out of the picture and those who talk about him are pretty remorseful abd regretful, but it remains as a side subject, so the opening isnt to filled up but isnt boring and gives readers something to look forward too
Sounds interesting! Thanks for the comment and for watching.
I write in all genres and i know how to create good momentum but contemporary is harder for me to judge between fun/funny exposition showcasing my characters perspective contrary to the norm and going overboard.
Totally agree. That humor and 'fun' aspect is something that I found comes out better during revisions. That way you can set yourself up and see the entire narrative from an almost birds-eye view.
Point 2 caused me to go back and add a completely new scene to the very first pages and I feel the story is all the better for it. So thanks
Great! Thank you for watching, I am glad my video was helpful :).
Small addendum: the problem can be something the uninitiated may find obscure, as long as the protag explains it asap. You can begin with a lawyer facing a tricky motion provided they succintly explain why it matters to them and their client.
Yeah, that can be the case too.
Thank you for your comment and for watching!
my book starts out diving into two side conflicts one of which was caused by the other. both are rather shallow and i picked this to showcase the protagonist’s immaturity and also the severity and seriousness of the main conflict when it comes to play out. I wanted to subvert the reader while still pulling them in!
Great tips! Writing a circular chapter or scene is a really good idea, I'm going to try to incorporate that into my writing. I also want to give a huge thumbs up for you saying that some of these tips will work for some stories, but it depends or your story. Too many writing gurus on UA-cam insist that All writers Have to follow their tips, and if you don't your writing will be Wrong! And they completely ignore the fact that not all techniques will work for all stories.
@@mccama19 very true. That is a huge part of what I teach (both here and with individual writers). There are tips and rules but you can rind exceptions EVERYWHERE. What works for some might not work for others.
Thank you for the comment and for watching! I’m glad you found this video helpful.
Im struggling a lot with just getting started to be honest, I have the skills as an artist for creating manga or comics but everything I write down - or even draw sometimes - just feels wrong or cringe like "who the hell would read this?". That combined with other mental health issues is eating me alive but this video does clear up some things for me in terms of writing - awesome stuff. ❤
I agree with he beginning being important, that being said i'd also like to add how much as important the ending is, if not more important than the beginning. Because most of the time, depending how you execute it, the audience will mostly remember the ending more than the rest of the experience, for better or for worse.
In the best scenario you have stories like the original Planet of the apes, Amnesia a machine for pigs and Halo Reach
In the worst scenario you have stories like Mass Effect 3, Game of Thrones and Star Wars episode 9
As much as I agree that the end is important, I will say that your reader or audience will never get to the end if they can't get past the beginning. Each part of the story is important to carry a person from one part to the next, but the ending is worthless if they aren't sold on your start.
Also, great examples and thank you so much for watching and for your comment! I really appreciate you!
Thank you for this. I was scared of just dramatically opening a scene but I think it works really well in my story
5:12 "...start the story the moment right before that conflict is first going to kick off."
🙌
@@wrestlingwithwords I'd like to say that when I heard that advice, it just gave me like a bright idea and I just started writing some drafts today. Cheers!
@@SGTIvan921 that’s awesome!! ❤️
Wow this might've been the most insightful video on writing I've seen, I've been taking notes twice for this one once on Google Docs once by hand lol
I am so grateful you said so! Thank you for watching and for your comment! I’m glad this was helpful.
As a new writer, I find writing in the first person challenging. My story is told from the main character’s point of view, but I struggle to effectively convey the ideas and developments of other characters within this perspective. Additionally, I often receive feedback on issues with pacing. While I see gradual improvement in this area, I am keen to understand the key elements to mastering pacing in my writing.
@@celestialtiger17 keep writing and keep reading! If 1st person is tough, try writing in 3rd limited. Writing takes time and practice!
Very nice video, talking about first chapter, just some days ago I revised and aumented the lenght of my first chapter, from 3 pages to 8. For some reason I had in the feeling that the starting point wasn't good enough. I wrote the original chapter several years ago, and edited it many times (I've been working in my novel for 7 years), and as we know, if you've been working for so long in a project you evolve and change trough time, so the text also evolves. In this case I found better the new modifications, and solved several story telling problems setting some key information from the start. I think we should always open to modfy/change things of the past, writting is an orcanic process, alive and dynamic.
Thank you for the comment and for sharing a bit about your story!
Not even finished with the video yet but I can see how amazing the advice is! Definitely learning a lot from your videos!
Thank you! I really appreciate you watching and commenting. I'm glad you found these helpful!
I truly struggle with creating conflicts. Or choosing the right conflict for my story
Practice!! Try stuff out. See what works, what doesn't work, and what almost works. Don't be afraid to put your characters in terrible or hard situations. Also, try and notice other stories conflict--books your reading, movies, TV shows.
Im currently outline a graphic novel/traditional novel that ive had the idea for since I was in high school. Your videos are very insightful and you are very entertaining to listen to! Thank you for the videos
Thank you so much for watching and for your comment. Keep us posted on your progress!
@@wrestlingwithwords sure thing man!! I love listening to your videos in the background while I write and absorbing the information through osmosis lol. Have a good day!
I'm so glad to hear that! Well, there should be a new video coming out tonight or tomorrow! Thank you for watching (or listening) :)!
@@wrestlingwithwords will be tuning in
This is great! Subbed and looking forward to more
@@indianastoned8234 thank you for watching! I’m glad it was helpful!
This video helps as I'm trying to make a game of thrones story and a medieval story.
I personally still love an Prologue out of Antagonist POV or close to the Antagonist POV (like in asoiaf or Eragon).
I'm curious to hear why that is? What about those prologues do you like most? Also, thank you for the comment and for watching!
Nice to hear that another writer out there likes to do the full circle how of opening/ending with his short stories!
I do the same, and I also do that with my novels if possible. :)
Yes! It is a technique I love to use for scenes, short stories, and on books as a whole!
I’m starting to get towards working on a series among my friends and my idea for the first pages or chapter is to start off in a conflict of the past that displays the main cast, no words though. Just my idea
I am committed to doing it
, i am starting today
The beginning of my story is definitely too slow, but i can't think of another place to start it.
So, im thinking of accelerating to the conflict by condensing what would be the first few chapters into one. I've come up with a logical reason to take two separate, but lesser confrontations and make them a singular bigger one.
But that also demands my story to bring up one of the main character's (lets call them K) issues with governance, power and police right away. And im just now able to see why thats a blessing in disguise. I had already had the moment K voices this issue planned out for later on. But if i make it more intrinsic to his introduction, i can condense that later interaction and get right to the action and wrestling of ideologies.
Im gonna keep doing this as much as i can throughout the story since im an overthinker, and i think that tends to make me come up with more and more information and dressing than i may need to convey to the reader at one given time.
Thanks for the video and help structuring my thoughts.
Awesome tips, thanks a lot!
I am personally very interested on building good character parties and how they are affecting each other, and the chemistry that is going on between them
Awesome! Characters are oftentimes the first thing an audience falls in love with. I am sure I will visit character chemistry in the future, but you should check out my video on the 'Family of Choice'! Thank you for watching and for your comment!
I haven't actually started writing yet, but im planning to start my story with the protagonist getting drafted to serve as a mage in war. Though im not to sure about it as it removes the protagonist's ability to choose himself to go on the journey, instead it forces him to go which is what im not to sure about. Another option for the begining would be the protagonist's friend getting drafted but after some time the protagonist chooses to go in their place.
I think what you’re referring to is character agency. This first choice won’t make or break a character’s agency. Just make sure they are able to have an impact of their progression and the development of the plot there after. Both can be compelling (conceptually) it will just come down to execution!
That's so crazy, because I'm basically writing the same thing. I have the same issue, where the protagonist accidentally finds herself able to use magic, and she's forced into the military as a result.
The last bit of this video genuinely opened my 3rd eye. Thank you!
Thank you for saying so!! I’m glad it was helpful :)
Hi, great content as always, I have a suggestion, for new writers it's harder to get a good understanding on different subjects, so I think if you pout more examples in the video, it can help.
And even putting examples of movies are more helpful, because most of us seen most movies and you can do a bad start VS good start by showing two different movies, or good dialog VS bad dialog.....
Yep. Good suggestion. Thank you for the feedback and for watching!!
Hello! Thanks for posting this video! It’s exactly what I needed to watch in regard to the story I’ve been wanting to tell.
The story will be told in episodes. I was struggling with how I wanted my pilot episode to introduce the audience to my story.
I’ve seen MANY pilots on UA-cam and while I enjoy them and the animation, I’ve always found myself only 50% interested in watching the rest of the series or confused… Either too many characters are introduced (and over shadow the main character) or there are so many plots going on at once that you’re confused as to which one is the main one (even better, the sub plots are more interesting than the main one).
I don’t want to see this happen to me. I believe this video will help me and many more writers create incredible openings and pilots and keep our audience ensnared. Thanks again for posting it! I look forward to hearing more advice from you!
Good luck with your pilot! And Thank you for watching. I am so glad that you found it helpful.
Thanks for this video! I think this advice is also perfect for writing a short story.
You’re welcome! Thank you for watching!
Interesting, I like to start my stories with a set mood and tone, and end it with a different tone so readers would have something to look forward to next chapter 😅
Alright i started writing my first chapter after spending months thinking about it, and i think im on a pretty good track based on what i heard here.
That’s Awesome! Thank you so much for watching and for your comment.
Lots of information in a brief format - great. I really like the chapter as short story advice, which I fear will be misunderstood (due to different formats) but it is a really good technique for procrastinating writers to help tackle the overwhelming task of a whole book. I haven't seen a posting on the topic. So, it would be a good topic for a future posting.
But you know me. The only complaint is you lost the bear. It was a great example. You should have used it throughout as a single sentence examples of each point. Like the bear had something around its neck. Was this a sign it had been in custody or a reminder of a previous adventure? The protagonist or antagonist was too shocked to properly identify the object. It introduces the character of the bear and provides intrigue for a future chapter, while taking up very little space in the first chapter. I can understand your advice because I have been working on this project for a while and thus studying, but I fear that I would not have understood it as well in the beginning of my journey. Concrete examples using the bear would have helped without bulking up the text.
I've been really working on condensing my videos or at least if they are going to be longer, that they are justified in being so. These video 'podcast' episodes I think are a good way for me to reframe my approach and have a more natural flow of information, as opposed to a video essay script. Thanks for the suggestions, I hope you're doing well and I appreciate you watching!
@@wrestlingwithwords With my health, being alive is healthy enough. I have about 5 projects going simultaneously and so getting little done. Since I am an underdescriber, I am trying to improve the visuals in the story, which is like pulling teeth. I am also trying to increase the tension as currently it is more of a language lover's feast than a story with tension for any reader.
I think the biggest thing is, you have to know what you're doing and why.
For things like "getting in early," it might be a good principle in general, but I can think of something right off the bat that doesn't do this. "Audition". You completely forget you're watching a horror movie for a long time as it sets up this guy trying to find someone to date. It even comes off almost like a comedy at parts.
It brings in the horror element quite late, and by then you're invested in what's going on.
I think, especially when you read foreign media, you'll see that they have different ideas about how to set things up and why. For example, you can find the four-act structure in Japan.
The main thing is not to follow a certain formula. It's to be aware of what you're doing before you decide whether or not you're going to follow a rule. It's like with art: you want to understand the rules before you break the rules. If Audition started right before the horror elements came into play, it would feel like a very different movie and probably wouldn't be nearly as memorable. Takashi Miike led you down one path before slapping you in the face with, "You went to a horror movie, remember?" Setting up the "normal" part of life first made the horror part stand out even more because it felt much more real.
When people have a good grasp of "Why do people do it this way?" they can then decide if that's what their story needs.
I found this video in my recommended and now i realize that my i don't know how to start my story yet. Oops now im freaking out. I'm in the planning and designing phase of it all. I also have a mental outline of the story.
That's not a bad realization! I'm glad that this was helpful though and thank you for watching. I appreciate your comment!
I'm so glad I stumbled upon your channel, this is solid content right here! Really helpful, ex-specially for beginner writers like myself 😅
Thank you for finding me and ex-specially for the kind comment! :)
Just as a reminder to new writers, there are NO one-size-fits-all solutions to writing. All writing tips should be considered tools in a toolbox to use whenever they are needed, and not a book of laws that you HAVE to follow. The decisions you make when writing should reflect the tone of your story. If it's a fast-paced exciting novel, then starting in media res can be a good solution. But if you're writing something that is intended as more of a slower burn, something that swells into a crescendo, then it's okay to have a peaceful opener that just explores the lives of your characters. Lord of the Rings didn't start in Helms Deep, it started in the Shire where the conflict couldn't be further away. (I am of course referring to the books; the movies were more action-oriented and decided to begin with the Siege of Barad-dûr. This isn't a "good" or "bad" decision, it just means the intended tone and pace of the movies were different from the books.)
I can see the appeal of closing the circle, but I prefer spirals. The ouroboros of the tale eating its own tail eels for me usually like just a repetition, an eternal pendulum of yin and yang that leads nowhere. I find that very dissatisfying, and looking how the monomyth or the story circle which are so popular usually do not bring real change but are destined to set up just another loop and thus provided us in recent years with hollow myths. But again, it might be popular for a reason, it is just not or me.
Time is a flat circle ⭕.
I like spirals. There's an analogy in psychiatry that recovery isn't a straight line, it's a spiral; you _will_ revisit the same headspace again and again; but it doesn't need to be a relapse, rather, it's you coming upon the same trauma but seeing it from a higher level above. The pain is still where you left it, but you have more perspective and understanding of it each time you pass over it, until it becomes a neutral aspect of your personality that you step over like it's nothing.
This actually tracks onto the "return to the regular world with the elixir" analogy in writing. You're back home, but it's different, you have more perspective and you aren't the same person you were last time you were here.
@iron-Bridge Alright-alright-alright.
It's funny because I think the spiral idea and the circle can go together (and is often how I think about it). When one circle is closed, a very common product is a question being answered, with another one(s) being opened up. This video was (somewhat) about structuring a scene, but mostly talking about structuring an opening. In this regard, and on a small scale, the "closing the circle" idea can be really powerful and build trust with your audience.
Also, generally, I agree with you in your sentiment. However, in some cases, this sort of structure, or even a mono-myth, can fit perfectly. It all depends on the story being told.
Well said! That "revisitation" is a narrative element I LOVE to include. And, it can find a place in all kinds of arcs. Deeper Understanding/Actualization=(can be) positive arcs... Reinforced Position/Belief=Flat Arc... Madness/Obsession/Degredation=Negative Arc.
See the Unknown is one of the best releases, including its power.... IF, in future they add more skins, and add a crawler mode to its power. Doesnt need to add stealth, just lowers how fast survivors lose weakened
6:30 Would it be possible to elaborate on this point you make about continuing the flow in another video? You do explain it here briefly but it’s something I am trying to wrap my head around.
Also thanks for sharing all of these tips! It’s a great video and I’ll be checking out your other videos here now!
For example, do you have any stories that do this?
Yes! I have been thinking of forming another video on structure/conflict structure. The number one example I can think of (and the one I was alluding to in the video) is A Song of Ice and Fire. GRRM does an amazing job building tension and then cutting right at the climax of one character before changing to the POV of another.
TV does a good job of this too with mini cliffhangers or moments of revelation towards the end of an episode. I also talked a little bit about this in a livestream a few weeks ago.
Thank you for the comment and for watching. I am so happy you found this video helpful!
I just found your channel and been loving all your tips so far
Thank you for finding me! I am so grateful they are helping and that you are watching!
i have so many trials and errors improvement and changes but i still can't start of my story that could be impactful.
Some can explain in simple worlds. I understand the concept what fundamental he use,but i wanna see if I understand it well
I’m wrestling with my fist few chapters because I was too focused on getting to the action in an environment that did not welcome action.
The story starts weakly with the protagonist monologuing to himself about his life for exposition.
It’s not an info dump, it’s basically just “I’m Yuen Vigil, I was born into slavery on a farmstead, I live here with my family”, but that’s still weak.
I guess it was mainly an outline for myself, but I need to fix that.
Second, the pacing is all over the place, and it’s not even structured all that well.
For a first draft, it is definitely a first draft.
I will need to fix it, and this gave me a lot of ideas on how to do so.
Since you're still on the first draft I would suggest just getting those words on the page, no matter how info-dumpy or how wacky the pacing is. Just get those words on the page so that way the story is there. Writing is all about revisions!
WTW already gave you the best advice. an experiment you could do is write a one page prologue that acts as the story hook depicting the tension right before your first action scene. then you contrast it with the opening chapter about Yuen's life. There is a lot of tension in characters born into slavery, i know it's been repeated to death but you could focus on showing not telling parts of Yuen's life that made him who he is now, traumatic things. fortunate things, etc. And show us how he responded to them. Then you don't have so much exposition as well.
@@wrestlingwithwords that’s what I was originally planning to do, but I feel so bad leaving the first three chapters as bad as they are.
And that’s not the classic “an artist hates their art” mentality, it was quite objectively badly written.
I will make it better before it gets published, no worries there.
Thanks for the help. 👍
@@lethaldream50 I do have a prologue, but it isn’t about Yuen, it’s about his predecessor.
Little bit of exposition, the main cause of the events of the story is the soul of the founder of Magic who lived in ancient times who reincarnates every 1,000 years. He does not replace the soul of the individual he inhabits, but their souls do fuse into one soul, granting the “host” the same powers as the founder of Magic.
The prologue is about what the previous host did to set in motion events that caused the events of the main story.
But still, I might have to change that. I don’t need to use the prologue to convey that information, so I could use it instead to introduce Yuen, his family, and explain his lack of father figure at the start of the story.
Thanks for the advice.
@@Iso20227 honestly i think that's a really cool idea for a story, it's the type of trope i love to read in books cause i'm really into a variety of magic and fantasy genres.
the core idea is great but presentation order is something i also have been struggling with and practicing in constructing my stories, it feels like sometimes you need to swap around parts like puzzle pieces to get the correct flow and pace. although i think all writers should take joy in writing for themselves however they like sometimes, to make something readable and interesting to others, we have to reassess what we thought were the core important things and often take them apart, rearrange them, and put them back together again.
you should experiment with changing the prologue! after all if you don't like the change you can go back to the old draft or try a new approach.
good luck!
So taking up writing after a long break for learning how to code to...publish my writings (so meta!); I think the hard force is POV.
I used to write in Third Person Limited, because of how it is somewhat the standard for 'Epic Fantasy', adjacent stories. I however am experimenting with Omni for this project, so uhh 'fingers crossed'!
It is because this version of the world looks like a parallel of the Americas but 'sideways', and culturally is Mesoamerican/Native-adjacent. Alot of languages, cultural norms and expressions. I also can be somewhat of an underwriter although that was before I medicated my depression/anxiety. Since this would be my first published work, going to try and keep chapters under 3k. Subscribed, look forward to sharing this as well! 💜
That is awesome to hear! Thank you for sharing some details about your work, it sounds very interesting. Also, thank you for watching and subscribing :).
1st time viewing happy you popped up on my feed. Subbed and liked . Would love to see what books you would recommend reading to new writers ✍️
@@JudysProductionCompany1994 that is a great idea to share! I used to have a list of books on my website but have taken it down because it was a little janky. I’ll definitely consider putting together another list at some point.
Also, thank you for watching :).
Thank you for this useful video❤ Now, I have some knowledge to rewrite for gripping opening 😊😊
Thank you for watching and for your comment! Good luck with your story, and happy writing!
This might seem hard for the Romance writers so what I tend to do is have a very drastic and dramatic moment in the being like "A breakup" or "You want to leave me? Can't if you're dead" or "Look at that our damanation...our death...the one armed swordsman." And then slowly introduce the characters then the budding romance blossoms
I think even when it comes to romance it doesn't have to be a HUGE conflict. It could even be something that is outside of the main plot like being skipped over a promotion or being in an argument with parents/friends... Thank you for your examples though and for watching!
I think the first advice is good, but it does depend on a few things. Most of the time introducing the conflict in the beginning can be compelling, but sometimes (most notably in the horror genre) buildup is more important than an instant hook. A good way to remedy this while still introducing a conflict is to have the first page be separate from the main character, and introduce the villain or conflict first without them. Idk tho, to me introducing the conflict immediately doesn't feel like necessary advice, as plenty of good books don't do it
@@the_real_boogeyman there are always going to be exceptions and amendments. Conflict doesn’t have to be something big and dramatic. Keep in mind that it just has to be a vehicle to get the audience invested in what is happening to the characters and getting the story started.
Thank you for the comment!
I'm so glad I found your channel @wrestlingwithwords I really need to get my novel written I have a problem with my novel where I know the beginning and the ending but the journey is what I'm struggling with really can you perhaps do a video in how you muster the confidence to tackle slow-pacing or or something to do with figuring out your journey in writing a story from beginning to end that would really be helpful I have subscribed and I look forward to more of your content soon 👍😊
Thank you for your comment and for subscribing!
Pacing is something that I am working on a script for now, actually! If you check out my video on intros/story beginnings, I do (kind of) talk about this, but I plan to go into more depth soon! Thank you again for watching and for talking about your writing process.
This is extremely helping
Great video many thanks🤟🏽👍🏽
Of course! Thanks for watching!
Ive written a bunch of short stories and have tried to write longer ones. Honestly ive lost thise stories to times and accidental deletes or account changes. Im about to do a jeff the killer rewrite in hopes to make that character more accepted and liked in the modern era. Hopefully this helps!
So I'm writing a cyberpunk story and I start it with what I hope is a smooth introduction to the world. I'm going for a wider audience and every time I talk cyberpunk with people who aren't already fans of it, they complain that it doesn't make sense to them how the world came to be a dystopia, what the tech does, etc.
My protagonist is woken up by holographic cartoons, smoothly showing the tech level and availability, then he goes to make breakfast for his baby sister whose legal guardian he is. During this he listens to a pirate radio which succintly shows the corporate dystopia the future has become. The baby sister comes in and the hero advises her on her history test, allowing for a brief rundown of how the dystopian world of the future came to be, and then they have some bratty interactions, as a result of which I get to expo the fact that he is a hacker and that his hacking society/confederation communicates with codes hidden in common, everyday things. (this bit is actually hidden foreshadowing of a major plot point later on, but it works smoothly as exposition)
It's only after I spend a dozen pages on this introduction, that the inciting incident comes crashing through the front door - a cop hellbent on recruiting the hacker into taking down a corporate executive that's running a human trafficking ring and has corrupted the local security corporation (police) to the point that they will not go after him and his goons at all.
And the cop has dirt on the hacker, making it an offer he can't refuse.
Does this sound good to you, or would you cut some of the intro and move it to later in the story?
The hero kinda needs to be distracted by the sister's bratty behavior and the secret code to allow the cop to barge in, otherwise the hero's maxim is "it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you".
Usually what I normally suggest is to start with that cop breaking down the door (kind of). Only give us enough information to CARE about the main character/protagonist for the intro. Try to withhold those worldbuilding element at the start. I know some of the feedback you’ve gotten has been that people don’t understand the world/tech, but I would argue/suggest is that the audience just needs to be interested, rather than understand.
This is of course me suggesting something without reading your pages and your work haha, so take it with a grain of salt. I hope this is helpful!! And really good question!
@@wrestlingwithwords thanks for your advice, I'll take it into consideration!
Fantastic video brother 😊
Incredibly helpful video!
Thank you for watching! I’m so glad it was helpful!
"Avoid too many characters at the start"
not me introducing almost the entire main cast in one chapter
Damn your writing skills are horrible
@@swoopify2044 it happens 🫠😅
So one day I decided to create 5 series of different 5 main characters with each different stories in the same world of magic/fantasy, and then they'll be conflicting with each other's problem at some important point.
Some main character has no magic power but is so skillful and is immortal, some had a trauma on cold and ice but have a curse to unconsciously switch her personality, some had the power to controls illusion and reality but is mentally unstable, some had a really great power of one type magic power but he lost some part of his memories and personality, and some main character had a really unique power.
I've decided the end of their stories, and all I have to do is to create a bridge from the start until the end of each story. Funny thing is I've thought of this probably like 1 or 2 years ago, but it was just recently I've made a lot of advances for the plot. I was thinking about making it like toaru series but my friend said I should've just make them into one, so I can probably make a use of that method of slowing down the pace of the story. Ironically, one thing I'm worried about this was the fact that this was basically made from 5 main characters at first lol
Static Love is amazing wow
Thank you so much for reading it!! You have no idea how much I appreciate that!
awesome video!! this helped so much 😊
Thank you for watching and for your comment!
What is your opinion on a game of thrones style intro, where we follow a side character that builds up the world while also allows for the main themes and story to be fleshed out through their eyes before the main characters' pov begins.
I wrote a first chapter like this, or maybe it's better as a prologue, where the storybis set up, the main characters are introduced, but we have immediate action, intrigue and worldbuilding in the first few pages.
Great video
When you first start writing how do you plan to write a trilogy (if you think you have a big enough story for it) without knowing it would go anywhere with publishers?
I think I’m scaring myself before I even start but it’s a big commitment and I think I have a trilogy in me!
Focus first on the complete arc/progression of the first book. You want to make sure the first story is fulfilling and can stand on its own. Then, if you want to (or think the narrative has the legs for it) start looking at where the story might go and what the bigger arc might be. Trilogies are tough to tackle, but really good question! I might cover this in the future!
love reading all the comments. I wish I could talk to some of you guys about our current book projects. I want us to inspire and motivate eachother and would really appreciate if someone wants a groupchat?
I’m down
I would love to see others join in on this!
Thank you for this!
Thank you for watching!
I'm wrestling with 2 intros to my story right now
im making a comic the world is around 1930's technology, but in a light fantasy setting
the idea for the beginning of the story is the characters on the run from a criminal organization
The story follows 3 characters, and the 3rd is a drifter who met them randomly and has no idea why they are traveling but just goes with the flow and decides to tag along
Im wondering if i should start with with the perspective the 2 charaters who are on the run because its kinda messed up and could serve as a good hook but i kind of want the story to be more whimsical at the start and build into the messed up stuff
Or i could have it be more from the perspective of the drifter who will end up being put into a hard position once he figures out what's going on
If its from the drifters pov it would be like chapter 2 or 3 before that comes to a head and with the nature of comics it would take me a while to get there
But if its the 2 runaways pov i would have immediate shock value at the very start
Do you think its just better for the reader to immediately know why they are on the run?
Or build it up to be a reveal to both the drifter and the reader
@@thecultofcaged I would go with the intro that has the best hook. Also, consider which character you find the most compelling. Who is the audience going to relate to and empathize with most, at the start? You can also write it both ways and then have a beta reader(s) give you feedback on which they like more and why.
Thank you for watching and your specific question! Keep me updated on how it is going with your story.
Nice video. I appreciate the content👍
Thank you for the comment and for watching!
Thank You.
BOOK 1 of my trilogy: Though mischance, my main character has been left as an infant with a family who know nothings about him. He will begin to develop certain mental powers at a very young age which, over time, will affect his siblings. No one knows what is happening or even that anything particularly unusual is happening until the effects become problematic. At which point it is too late. The true conflict in book 1 is between the main character and this mental power he has been saddled with. It ultimately leads to the suicide of his youngest sibling and nearly destroys his family.
My problem: a. The conflict sneaks up on the MC. b. My story is told through more than one 1st person viewpoint. No one really knows what is going on at first; yet I need to show this. Any hints?
I think my favorite way of introducing a story is to have a small problem that gets solved in that first chapter, but introduces the audience to the main cast, world and hints at a larger problem that will soon be the leading conflit. Not too related to the video, but please feel free to use this idea if you are reading this comment.
@@TOTU yes! This also is establishing the promise that “yes, these characters will do something…”. Thank you for your comment and for watching!
Great advice!
Thank you! And thanks for watching!
Here a question for writing fantasy novellas; is it better to introduce the main character first and then provide world-building, or to open with some world-building and then introduce the main character?
Usually, you want to introduce the characters first. One thing to think about is this: What would you relate to first? A person or a place? This is a very simplified question, but most readers/audience members initially come for the characters and then end up staying for the world when it comes to fantasy. (there are exceptions of course)
@@wrestlingwithwords Thanks a bunch! That is really good advice, I’ll remember it when I write.
This video is extremely helpful, so thank you for that, but I'm relatively new to writing for anything other than fun, so how do you or should you get into contact with an editor and/or a publisher?
@@M4dniss finish your book/story first. Then do a round or two of revisions. Save your money for an editor only if you are truly stuck or think your story needs a professional opinion/critique. If your story is as good as you think you can write it and is as polished as you think you can edit it, then reach out to agents.
Thank you for your comment!
for me i have no problem in writing characters and their philosophy and getting new unique ideas is easy for me even the world building/history/lore and stuff rn i have over 75 pages of ideas/characters and their effect of the world and each other/the world itself
but when i start i get stuck yeah here's the idea but when i start writing in order like page 1 to 2 to 3 i can't do that at all
i could be wrong in this but for me i think it's the lack of experience bc i don't read much and i haven't wrote any story as a teacher what do you think my problem is is it the lack of experience or something else and how o fix it
and thank you
Start with reading and consuming stories from the perspective of a writer/storyteller. See if you can identify the essence of a character, a flaw, an arc, and other storytelling elements. However, if you're looking for something to start doing and to continue doing that WILL make you a better writer, start with reading more and writing more. Keep learning and looking for opportunities to learn!
Thank you for the question and for watching.
I'm not a professional writer, not at all (and sorry for my English in advance its not my first language) and I find myself stuck in a limbo of reading books about writing, watching videos and etc and when I sit to write...my head simply blank. Is it because I just overwhelmed myself with all this information or I simply not build as a writer..? I want my stories to be good, but I know that its almost impossible to do without making couple that really sucks, or kinda sucks... I just don't know how to break this circle and not just dream about writing a story and actually write it
P.s. thank you for your video!
I would recommend thinking up a story you fall in love with before you try to sit down and write anything. As for the more practical part of writing, try to consume less writing advice and more of the types of prose you would like to write in. Trying to somewhat copy some other author's style is a way to build yours. Read slowly, pay attention to the language. If your genre requires worldbuilding, do it, but do-initially-only what's enough for a story to sprout from it. Think up characters, their wishes, and their opinions. There's much more, especially corcerning them, but it will come naturally as time goes by.
I have the bad habit of creating way too many characters and growing so attached to them I never want to ditch them.
That's how the main group around the character only was originally comprised of a whopping ten characters and my mistake is I wanted to give them equal importance. Now I know that if I don't want to eliminate them I simply have to 1. introduce them slowly 2. giving them only the importance given by what my mind built around them so far 3. not all at the same time, for the sake of realism. Other characters appearing in the future will be organized in different arcs.
It does help that in one of the very first drafts when I had this cluster of characters altogether I already planned who the founders of the crew were, four characters I had more development of at the time and will be relevant for the future, the main character being part of the quartet.
I have a question though. I wanted to start the story with the introduction of the mc and his internal conflict, why he is torn between choosing one side of society or the other one (which has implications on how the world behaves with you), while he ran away from it so far and it didn't touch him yet.
The question is: even if the title does not talk about the struggle the mc has to face, but the name of the crew founded by those four people, does it make sense or does it give a sense of confusion to a potential reader?
Additional informations: the sides to choose are rebellion or repression (he chooses the former) and the crew is about dancing, a big passion of the protagonist that will spark his conflict. There will be a lot of hip hop culture which repression does not like
I think it is important that your main character (or protagonist) has a clear goal or problem that they are trying to overcome. Now, this does not have to be flat-out stated, but it should be clear on its implication. What you can do with your cast is give them all a shared goal (or want). This way, you can play around with how the group chooses/debates/agrees/argues over how to tackle this problem. This is just a suggestion that I oftentimes give as a way to re-think the source of your story's tension (at least during one point or another. This doesn't need to be the main source for the whole story). Having there be tension and conflict within the group, coupled with an external threat can be a useful way to build a sense of urgency in your narrative.
Really good question and I hope this helped! Thank you for watching and for your comment. I really appreciate it.
@@wrestlingwithwords thank you so much for the kind response! Yes, I actually planned a main theme that would be repeated throughout the story through the different characters and their choices. The villain has good intent, but uses unacceptable methods to reach that goal, as much as the protagonist is convinced sticking to a side would make him have to protect it at every cost and be his main objective in life, distracting him from what he likes the most.
The project is mainly about self-realization prevailing on being constricted by what your side says, because stressing that too much would only lead to extremism, destruction or forgetting about self realization.
I would also explore how a rightful dream of perfect peace and coexistence cannot exist as long as people have their own views. Those who stick so much to that dream will want that at every cost, because they think it's the right thing, it is perfection.
Ironically, they will end up wanting to destroy that side who doesn't agree with their methods.
Similar challenge with my project about 9 android sisters trying to get their lives under control. Basically how I'm going about it is the story is in 3 major sections; Arc 1 has the middle sisters super active driving the story, while the eldest and youngest trios are sort of in the background just being set up low key, representing the status quo of the group that the active characters are contrasted against. Then in Arc 2, the middle sisters get lost in action and suddenly the youngest trio realize they're gonna have to take things seriously and think for themselves.
Then the last section is the eldest trio being brought to task and needing to answer all the questions that have been lingering all story.
So at different points, each group of characters is either the main character in their own story, or serve as the foil / setup to someone else's story, and it's shifting back and forth as each character improves / relapses into bad habits.
And even then, they're not all equal; two of them only have like 3 big scenes in the whole story, and the story really centers around the one middle sister (whether that's the plot being driven by her action, or the other plots being motivated to look for her/help her).
Even though 9 characters is a lot, hopefully by breaking them up into sub-groups, (the elders VS the middles VS the little ones), giving each of them varied focus throughout the story, and making sure each one serves a unique purpose in the story, even if it's only 2 scenes; hopefully its all readable enough and adding more than it takes.
@@samwallaceart288 true. You read really well into my intentions. Maybe I could set up a mini-arc that is relevant to the plot, with a character in need for help, and different personalities / wants /needs might shine.
As you said, different characters come with different "screentimes" so obviously someone would be less shown
@@gabrieleriva_bboykappside I think the challenge with the big ensemble sort of stories is figuring out what type of story you want it to be.
The 5 formats I notice are
1. The Squad Mission; 1~3 main characters lead a larger group of eclectic side-characters on a shared goal (Saving Private Ryan, Ocean's Eleven)
2. Branching Quest; starts as 1~3 characters who fan out and recruit new POV characters, who further fan out into more POVs until you have 12+ main characters (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars)
3. Converging Storm; starts as 12+ disparate POVs with their own goals who collapse into each other one by one until in the end there's only a handful of main characters on one conflict and everyone else is either submissive or killed off (Song of Ice and Fire, Shōgun)
4. True Anthology; 3+ completely separate main characters on equal plotlines that happen to coexist in the same world and cameo in each other's stories. (Love Actually, Pulp Fiction)
5. True Ensemble Situational; follows the same cast of characters from start to finish, centered on an internal conflict with each character dynamic being its own ground to unpack and explore (Little Miss Sunshine, The Family Stone)
Basically, if it's more that 4 main characters and they're all introduced at the same time as one big group, it's probably a chick-flick that doesn't know it's a chick-flick. Low-key having the whole Ensemble on one internal conflict is the hardest format to nail; a good chick-flick is quite a work.
I wanna know who to implement a theme throughout the story without forcing it
its my first time watching your videos and i cant focus because u look like robert pattison :))))
Haha well I haven’t heard that before, but thank you for at least attempting to watch them!
Literally your 1000th like...
Love that! Thank you!
@@wrestlingwithwords hey be honest alot of these mainstream shonen animes arent really written too technically or good for that matter...
While the following chapters are written from the POV of some good guys, I start the story with a villain. He seems to be the main antagonist until the middle of the book, visiting a filthy tavern and hiring a bunch of lowlifes, to commit a crime not described at this point. This first chapter is mostly written from his POV, alternating with the POV of a sloppy kitchen maid. (She is the first person mentioned in the story and turns out to be the most important figure at the end. Until the middle, she seems to be just a supporting character though.)
Using the first sentence of your first chapter as the last sentence of your final chapter. Is this cliché'd or can sometimes be done elegantly?
I think that, as long as it makes sense in the context of your story, themes, plot, or characters it can work. Of course it can come off as cliche, but that can be the case with anything.
I'm learning how to write while writing..😅
Best way to learn is by doing, failing, and then doing again!