(Previously published on my last blog as Where to Begin?)
Here it is the blank page. You’ve taken the time to open
your notebook and the pen is ready and waiting. Now what? You procrastinate. You begin to
do other things and the blank page stays blank. All those wonderful thoughts,
little snippets of dialogue and traces of a possible story stay in your head
and eventually die out. Believe me; I’ve been through this too many times. What
can we do about this? Here are a couple of suggestions that I picked up on my
course:
·
Keep a notebook: anyone who is serious about
writing should keep one. I know a writer who keeps three notebooks in her bag!
Jot down any random bits of dialogue, thoughts, descriptions etc, and when you
come to do some writing, go through your notebook and pick something that
strikes you the most. Then see where you go from there.
·
Learn from others: If you already have a story
in mind but not sure how to start then pick four books. One that opens with a
description, one that opens with a statement, one that opens with dialogue and
one that opens with action. Think of your story and write four openings, each
one of them corresponding to the different styles. See which one of the four
openings feels right and go on from there.
·
Think of your genre: sometimes knowing your
genre can help where to begin. For example if you’re writing a crime story you
can start with the actual crime or maybe start with the perpetrator about to
commit a crime. That way you hit the ground running and pull the readers in. So
think about your genre.
Have a go...
