First Page of Your Book. discussion

How did you decide where to start your story? Did it just come naturally? Was it the first thing that came into your mind? Did you have to fight with the decision, changing your mind several times?

For Dangerous Shift I did change my mind several times. Everyone loved my original beginning but because it was romance they assumed the first guy on the page was the hero. Since he was the police captain and not the hero I rewrote the beginning.

I tend to have the first page written in my head before I ever start. I don't know if that's the same for everyone but that's sort of what happens with me. It's not a fully realized thing, mostly just ideas and concepts, but when I go to write it, it kind of spews out of my head and onto my word processor.

I tend to have the concept in my head before I start writing. In The Witch Guardian I wanted to write about my childhood imaginary friend. Everything magic appeals to me so The Guardian in my story became a metaphysical guardian that only Chelsea (my witch heroine) could see.

I pretty much kept the start the same because it explains the premise of the book. I want fantasy authors to know more about horses & farms so they don't make mistakes that hurt my enjoyment of their novels. There really wasn't any other logical place to start.

My short story, "Bird, White and Running," began with one word that just came into my mind. The word was Renner. For days, I didn't know what the word was. Then it occurred to me that it was a name of a character. Male? Female? Didn't have a clue. I lived with the name in my head for weeks and a character began to emerge: a man who was blind in one eye. The story unraveled slowly and I wrote it out in one streaming week but spent a long time refining it. The story was published by Twilight Times. I've still no idea why this story came to me except that it seemed to have its own energy. I don't even know the name Renner at all. Stories come from mysterious places, I think.

Paula wrote: "My short story, "Bird, White and Running," began with one word that just came into my mind. The word was Renner. For days, I didn't know what the word was. Then it occurred to me that it was a name..."

I agree. My novella, Cat's Paw, came to me when a strange calico cat showed up on my back porch and wouldn't leave for a long time. We called her Chloe.

Paula wrote: "My short story, "Bird, White and Running," began with one word that just came into my mind. The word was Renner. For days, I didn't know what the word was. Then it occurred to me that it was a name..."

I like that! It's a mystery where they come from sometimes.

Rustin wrote: "Paula wrote: "My short story, "Bird, White and Running," began with one word that just came into my mind. The word was Renner. For days, I didn't know what the word was. Then it occurred to me that..."

That's it, isn't it. These people, animals, things, places, events that come into our lives and just trigger something, sometimes combining with another thought or idea.

Horace wrote: "I pretty much kept the start the same because it explains the premise of the book. I want fantasy authors to know more about horses & farms so they don't make mistakes that hurt my enjoyment of th..."

I have your book and can't wait to read it. I think it's a great idea!

Cynthia wrote: "I tend to have the concept in my head before I start writing. In The Witch Guardian I wanted to write about my childhood imaginary friend. Everything magic appeals to me so The Guardian in my sto..."

I think that's true of a lot of writers. You start with a concept, a snippet of dialogue, a name, whatever.

When I was at The Banff Centre Writer's Program summer school (W.O. Mitchell, Alice Munro) they taught us a technique called 'freefall' which is going to the typewriter or word processor or pen 'stone cold'.

You just write words, you don't censor, you don't try to direct and it's an exhilarating exercise. It often starts with 'I don't know what to write I'm just typing words...' and then suddenly a word will trip something in your mind, and, like an electrical connection closing, suddenly you are writing about something and it has the potential to become a story or a novel.

It's quite an interesting process. I used it last year for awhile and a play came out of it called 'The Three Brians', I'm still working on it but I like what's there already.

Jill wrote: "For Dangerous Shift I did change my mind several times. Everyone loved my original beginning but because it was romance they assumed the first guy on the page was the hero. Since he was the police ..."

Ah, yes. It's surprising sometimes, the issues that will come up when we let someone else read our writing. It's sometimes hard to know if we are getting what we want across and not leading readers down the wrong path.

Diane wrote: "Rustin wrote: "Paula wrote: "My short story, "Bird, White and Running," began with one word that just came into my mind. The word was Renner. For days, I didn't know what the word was. Then it occu..."

Yep. That's how almost all of my stories get their beginnings.

Diane wrote: "I have your book and can't wait to read it. I think it's a great idea!"

Thanks! Make sure you have the latest version, 6Oct. If you don't, it's free on Smashwords until 14Nov with coupon, KQ48S

First I get an idea for a character, then I imagine what's going on in that person's life. Then I just sit back and let the caracter and his/her friends and family tell me the story.

Sometimes I wish they didn't feel the need to wake me from a sound sleep to do that, but.....okay, tell me what's going on. : )

Horace wrote: "Diane wrote: "I have your book and can't wait to read it. I think it's a great idea!"

Thanks! Make sure you have the latest version, 6Oct. If you don't, it's free on Smashwords until 14Nov with ..."

Cheers, Horace!

Janet wrote: "First I get an idea for a character, then I imagine what's going on in that person's life. Then I just sit back and let the caracter and his/her friends and family tell me the story.

Sometimes I w..."

Haha, they wake you up in the night, do they? I've had that happen too. It is sort of annoying. Sometimes I can't read what I wrote down in the middle of the night - I tried a recorder - couldn't understand a word I said haha!

I like that you let the characters tell the story - I heard a novelist once say that you try to direct your characters and your book at your own peril. I think that's true.

After many drafts, when you know what the story is about and have a feeling for what needs to be left in and what can be left out, you pick out the line that snaps things to a start. You return to the story the next day and if the line still snaps, then you might have something...