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The 1st Page: How to Start Your Novel

10/19/2016

16 Comments

 
The 1st Page--How to Start Your Novel
There are actually a lot of blog posts across the internet on this topic. It's something a lot of writers have to deal with--how on earth do you start writing on that yawning whiteness that is the blank page? I tend towards two extremes. Either the story just flows perfectly out, and I hardly have time to think about what I'm actually writing. This is the best possible state to be in for me personally. The other side of beginnings, however, is not so pretty. That's the instances where I sit, type a few words, think "Nah..." delete, try again, repeat process at least seven times, then finally force myself into a dissatisfied beginning deciding to edit it later. (That's the messy side of me trumping the perfectionist side of me. It's a constant struggle lol). 

So as I sat down to write up this blog post I couldn't help wondering--what am I going to actually say about this? You either write happily or you write painfully. 

And that's when it hit me. That's exactly the point. However things go, you just. keep. writing. It goes hand in hand with Sunday's post on banishing your inner critic. 

Writing is not about perfection--it never should be. (Editing? Well that's a different story. But even then, 'perfection' is very illusive!). Writing is not about catering to some random, fickle muse. Sometimes the inspiration is running strong and you make your words work for you excellently. Other times you're just going to feel like chucking the novel in a drawer and forgetting it, because it's hard. That's when you have to say "I am a writer, and writers write." 

So if you're having trouble with that book's beginning? Here are a few ideas:
  1. Start in the middle of the action. 
  2. Introduce your character in a creative way.
  3. Stay away from paragraphs of scenic descriptions, someone waking up/looking into a mirror, etc etc. Hard to get those cliches to work. 
  4. Don't give too much backstory in the very beginning. 
  5. Make the reader fall in love with your character. 
  6. Cause the reader to ask "What happens next?"
  7. Establish the voice, tone, and mood of your book right away. 
  8. Don't bother copying other books' styles--do you!
  9. Introduce the conflict of the story.
  10. And if it's just not coming--jump right in and know you can always fix it later! 

So, to have a little fun, I thought I'd share some of my first lines in various books/WIPs etc. Some are alright, and some will definitely need editing later...but I wanted to show you that beginnings are meant to be just that--beginnings-- and they won't always be like what you'd expect to see as a first line in a published book. :). 

  1. The lamp flickered, casting weird shadows across the dying man’s bed. Mrs. Ruth Morley pressed her husband’s hand between hers, glancing up from his face only to exchange a look with one of her stepdaughters. --A Novel 
  2. The table groaned under the weight of fourteen year old Judah Green, and the boys below gazed up at the spectacle with unhidden curiosity. It wasn’t strange, actually, for Judah Green to be standing on a table. Nor was it strange that he had a crowd of onlookers. In fact, nothing was strange when one was speaking of Judah Green. --Judah Green, Book One.
  3. “Stop the car!” I leaned out the window, the wind blowing my long dark hair into my face. I pushed it away. “Dad, please stop the car! Look at all those wildflowers! It’s beautiful!” --Kind Heart
  4. Beatrix had never seen so much gold around her, not in all her twelve years. She wanted to squint, almost, in the brightness of it all, but there was so much to see that she felt it would be a crime to do so. --New Landing Series, Book One
  5. A baseball came whizzing through the air. Eighteen year old Leo Nakano’s hand shot into the air and snagged it from the sidewalk. “Watch it!” He yelled cheerfully as he jogged onto the nearby vacant lot. “You nearly took my head off, Dennis.” --Two-Faced Man
  6. “Most of all, she simply wants to live again.” Mrs. Lundell dropped back against the velvet cushions of the train seat and placed a gloved hand up to her perspiring brow. “My, but it is hot.” -- A Novel
  7. Melinda almost couldn't distinguish the sound of the baby's cry from the howling of the wind outside. It whistled in through the cracks in the cabin, swirling in tiny eddies of snow. -- Melinda/Further Courage 2nd Draft 
  8. Melinda Hamilton could not imagine how such two very different lives could have been twisted so unexplainably together. --Melinda/Further Courage 3rd Draft
  9. The lamplight cast an odd, flickering glow across the wet cobblestones. “Hurry,” Midwife Hester Donahue whispered from a few steps ahead of her. Melinda took a leaping step over a puddle and slipped, clutching at Hester’s black Quaker cloak as she reeled backwards. --Melinda/Further Courage  Draft #3 and 1/2 
  10. It was dark when Kit Lawler stepped out of his shabby front door praying for a cool, pure breeze. No lamplighter came down the streets in this part of London, and so the street was swamped with shadows--the kind that gather on such hot and smoggy evenings that you feel as though you might choke. --The Needlemaker


Whew! A good deal of editing needed there--that's for sure! lol. Leave me a comment below sharing one of your opening lines, or let me know if you ever struggle with beginnings. 

Have a lovely day! 
<3
Victoria

16 Comments
Bethany W
10/20/2016 12:26:21 am

I always struggle with the first sentence of any of my books, so this article was really helpful :) Thanks!

One of my more 'successful' opening lines would probably be:

“It’s ridiculous!” complained private detective Julia Warrick to her best friend. “All people think I do is sit around at home, day after day, waiting for a case to come along! And they seem to think it their duty to provide me with the most stupid cases, if I can even call them cases, just so that I can do something!! It’s driving me mad!”

But I'm still going to work on it! XD

Reply
Victoria Minks
10/21/2016 03:55:14 pm

I like your opening lines, Bethany! Sounds like something I would read. :)

Reply
CutePolarBear
10/20/2016 02:17:42 am

Improving on first sentences, and even just writing in general, requires practice. One of my brother's statements, which was intended for the practice of instruments, applies to writing, also. He basically said, "Keep practicing- sometimes you'll have good days, sometimes you'll have bad days. But the more you practice, your bad days will be better and your good days will be even better than that." I certainly think that's true. The more you practice writing, the easier it will become, even though you might not see it. You'll still have bad days, but the bad days will be better than the current standard of bad days.

CutePolarBear

Reply
Victoria Minks
10/21/2016 03:56:35 pm

So true, CutePolarBear! I definitely agree with that. Thanks for commenting! :)

Reply
Faith Potts
10/20/2016 06:01:46 am

This is a great post, Victoria!! :D I don't have such a time *starting* books (I usually start somewhere in the middle of the book and write in which ever direction :P), but I have an awful time actually writing the beginning.

This is from my WIP that I'm pouring most of my time into, a novel set in WWII. :)
The warm rays of the sun beat down as the mother led her young son through the tall, swaying grasses to the rope swing that hung from the old oak tree.
“Do you love me, Momma?” The tow-headed boy inquired of the pretty young woman as she set his rope swing in motion.
“You know I do. You're my special boy.” She smiled down at the child who reminded her so much of his father.

Ehh. It could use some work. ;)

Reply
Victoria Minks
10/21/2016 03:58:42 pm

Wow, that's impressive, Faith! I don't know if I could write scenes out of order--my brain would probably freak out, lol. Thank you for sharing your opening lines! I really enjoyed the imagery it created in my mind. :)

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Olivia R.
10/20/2016 09:44:31 pm

First lines can be hard at times! My biggest pet peeves in books I read is when they give all the backstory on the first page :P I liked how you started your one book with the amazing title-(second) A Novel. Intrigued me right off.

I have two favorite first lines from my finished books:

"Never trust a German, Sophie." -Duty by Love

"Any other day the smell of book leather, the whispers between readers, the turning of pages, the quiet laughter of children, and the shelves upon shelves of books in the library would have calmed Millie Hoffman." -Housebound

Reply
Victoria Minks
10/21/2016 04:04:53 pm

Yes, that's one of my pet-peeves too, Olivia! I like it better when you find things out along the way. ;) Thank you for sharing your opening lines-- I loved both of them! Haha, yes, when I don't have a title yet they're called "A Novel" or after the main character. It's a problem lol.

Reply
Katja L.
10/22/2016 05:24:46 am

Thanks for that post, Vee! I think I will use it! :) I loved seeing your opening words. Here are mine from the 7 stories of TP&S. They need working on, some of them! :) *Really embarrassing note about ‘Charis'* I read that in your first chapter you shouldn't have a flashback. I was stubborn, and. . . when the first person read it she was all confused. LOL.

“Charis leaned her head wearily against the cool stone. How she missed Eliphaz! How well she remembered his last words.” —Charis: A Girl of the Arena.

“I rested my eyes upon the shinning billows. They seemed to mirror the peace and content within me. How much my life had change since I had come from Godeland to Grøntland!” — Sólveig: A Girl of the Longboat.

“The early morning sun warmed my small, hunched shoulders as I disconsolately stirred my gruel. Dye had already left, and I was alone. I set my elbow upon the table, leaned my chin upon my palm, and sighed deeply.” —Molle: A Girl of the Castle.

“That will suffice, Isabel. I will not brook another word. Below my roof we are one and all our noble King Edward’s loyal retainers. There are no exceptions. As for this rebel dog and his mob, they shall not long be in a position to claim your ludicrous allegiance. They shall be scattered before our men as rats are scattered before the hounds.” —Isobel: A Girl of the Claymore.

“Tabitha screamed as the boulder crashed by her head, passing her by merely half-an-inch. She flattened herself against the rock, her breath harsh and ragged in her chest. Her perspiring hands shook and her legs trembled so that the former could hardly seize the rock and the latter could scarcely support her. Her hair stuck to her sweaty, pale face and hung in her eyes.” —Tabitha: A Girl of the Holy Writ.

“Although it was but early in the morning, the little market square was already crowded with stalls, wares, animals, vendors, and buyers. The cackling of the geese, the lowing of the cattle, the grunting of the pigs, the bleating of the sheep, the clucking of the poultry, the baying of the dogs, the honking of the ducks, the miauling of the cats, the whinnying of the horses, the braying of the donkeys and mules, the peeping of the ducklings, chicks, and goslings, the clatter of the wooden stalls, the rumbling of the wagons, the calls of the vendors, the chatter of the women, the shouts of the boys, the cracking of the whips, all mingled together to form an almost deafening babel. Perspiring men shouted to one another and to their jiggling horses. Peasant women clattered to and fro with baskets of fruits, eggs, and chickens. Oxen plodded slowly through, bellowing and ruminating. Lively girls and boys ran about, escaping death in seemingly miraculous manners. Birds fluttered and sang overhead. Dogs raced and fought all about. And flies settled on everything.” —Esperanza: A Girl of the Dungeon.

*OK, here you have the two first lines*
“‘You will repent this business!’
The wind shook the trees with a fierce roar. The thunder growled deeply, menacingly, and lurid lighting-bolts flashed fitfully through the black, ominous clouds. The very air was still, seeming to wait tremblingly for the relief of the storm.” —Marguerite: A Girl of the Tomahawk.

Really critical feedback, please? I have my doubts about Esp. :/

Reply
Katja
10/22/2016 05:45:48 am

P.S. I really like "Judah Green's" lines. And BTW I see that you've tagged your last posts NaNoWriMo. Maybe you could add a small "NaNo" on your graphics? Then it would tell NaNoers that it's about NaNo. Just an idea. :) And I think it'd be really helpful if we could see what your posts are tagged. Just another idea. :) <3

Reply
Victoria Minks
10/23/2016 09:48:01 pm

Thanks for sharing your first lines, Katja! I enjoyed reading them! :) I'm hoping people will use these blog posts even outside of NaNoWriMo season so I don't want to brand them too much as NaNo or people might not pay attention to it say in June, haha. Thank you for you suggestions--I'll see what I can do about the tags!

Christina Alexandra link
10/25/2016 01:33:39 pm

I am rather fond of my first line, but I'm not sure if it's going to last through all my revisions...

"The crack of the billiard balls hitting each other was followed by the quick plop,plop as they landed in the leather pockets."

This is fun seeing everyone else's first lines. :)

Reply
Victoria Minks
10/29/2016 08:27:02 am

Wow, great imagery, Christina! :) Thanks for sharing!

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Abigail P.
10/27/2016 11:17:04 pm

"Maria! Maria!"
The owner of the boyish cries burst through the door to our tiny apartment nearly flinging himself unto the bed where I was reclining. I sat up straight, swiveling my head to my brother of seven years.
"What? What is it, William?" Was it Momma or Papa? My worrisome ways were an annoyance to my entire family, but when you have been traveling in cramped quarters on a cramped boat with many strangers and many sick while traveling to a virtually unknown world for religious freedom-let's just say anxiety wasn't a strange occurrence. Just then the boat lurched...

This whole story needs a lot of work. LOL. Hope you liked it, though. :) Beginnings can be so difficult! Ugh. :) But other times it just comes to you and it works. Thanks so much for sharing, Miss Victoria! I loved reading the beginnings to your stories!

Reply
Victoria Minks
10/29/2016 08:28:26 am

Aw, I would totally read your story, Abigail! ;) I loved the part about 'My worrisome ways'. Thank you for sharing your first lines! :)

Reply
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    Victoria Minks is a bookbug and writer, with oodles of daydreams and ideas. She loves historical fiction, chocolate, music, horses, and old books, and firmly believes that there is whimsy and beauty in any day. She was saved at age 5 and desires to write for God's glory.
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