4 Tips on Writing the Beginning of Your Story (So It Doesn't Suck)

In this video, we cover 4 tips for writing the beginning of your story so that the first chapters will hook your readers and keep your audience engaged!

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Chapters:
00:00 Importance of The Beginning
02:38 A BEAR IS AT MY DOOR!!!
04:13 Intermission
04:28 Get IN LATE and Get OUT EARLY
08:43 Closing the Circle
12:24 3 Things to Avoid

#writing #writingadvice #Wrestlingwithwordspodcast

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#authortube #writers #writingtips #motivation

[wrestlingwithwords]

Thanks for watching! Check out some of these other videos:

[Alexindiegamedev]

1st time viewer. One thing I learned from another Youtube writer is that, yes, start a story with the conflict but only introduce 2 - 4 characters at the start to not overwhelm the audience

[heeza-wr]

we don't talk about the first page of berserk manga

[mehakverma]

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.

[drquacker]

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.

[eyesack]

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):

[trikebeatstrexnodiff]

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)

[lauragranger]

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!

[heatherkline]

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).

[capuchinosofia]

I have never taken more notes in a writing video than now. Honestly, its very helpful!

[beebuzz]

"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.

[proalvinyt]

The Berserk thumbnail shows how well you know your craft. 😊

[JustClaude]

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.

[EmmaBennetAuthor]

The bear at the door is an great analogy.

[JoaoVictor-rgix]

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. 🎉

[ChaseBuck]

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)

[friedfish]

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.

[mccama]

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 Youtube 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.

[bricebutler]

Not even finished with the video yet but I can see how amazing the advice is! Definitely learning a lot from your videos!

[drewhalcro]

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