Publishing
I am not someone who sits in front of the blank page agonizing trying to think of things to write. My brain is an ADD thought processor on steroids, with more characters and story lines pumping per minute than I could possibly use. The challenge for me is knowing how to shape my unwieldy imagination into a form that is accessible to the reader, one that pulls them in and keeps them in.
Frequently, in listening to editors giving feedback on my work, I hear similar content: I didn’t really connect with the character at first . . . I wasn’t sure where it was going . . . It started too slow, but I loved the middle scenes . . . The climax was great . . . I loved the characters . . . Really gripping scene at the end.
Which leads me to ask the question: Where does a story start?
For me, the story starts as I write it. I don’t preplan a lot of my work, or stick to a strict outline. I know, I know. That would help. Believe me, I’ve tried. But that’s like putting my crazy brain in a car seat on a slow-moving train. Not conducive to the high that I expect with writing. I prefer hurtling through the universe with a jetpack on my back with an unreliable navigation system.
So, my writing can be a bit . . . explorative.
This leads me to the beauty of samurai editing. As a samurai self-editor, when I finish a story, I return the beginning. Do I lop off the first paragraph? Perhaps the first three pages? Are they necessary to the reader, or just my personal warm-up? When does the energy pick up? When does the reader feel the shift from: What is this about? to I need to know what happens to this character?
In my first draft fantasies, the readers are patient with me as I unwind my stories slowly, from a peaceful morning to a climatic afternoon. I can’t always see that a man drinking his coffee in the kitchen isn’t riveting stuff. That’s why I have editors. I know what happens to that man in two pages, how important this peaceful last cup of coffee is. But, a good editor will point out, the reader doesn’t. So the coffee needs to be a quick one. Or to be served by the man’s wife, who is clearly unhinged and carries poison in her pocket. Aha, there’s the story.
Cut, cut, cut. That’s what often needs to happen with the first few pages. Find the bones of the story and bring it forth from the muck of introductions, musings, and setting a tone. All of that can happen fairly quickly or be woven in as you go. But if the story really starts on page three, start on page three.
Here’s a basic test: Look over one of your pieces: an essay, short story, novel chapter. If you started a paragraph later, what would you lose? If you jumped a page in, would the tension rise significantly? Be careful not to get too attached to the beginning of the story. Get attached to the story itself, and tell it well. Which means not beginning too soon.
P.S. Wondering about the beautiful horse in the picture? One of my many inspirations for the stories in my book in progress, Sonoma Stories.
Great post! Love the 'Samurai editing'! I can't go back and look at any of my work (even after professional editing) without a finger hovering over the backspace key! :-)
Right now I'm struggling with this exact problem. I am writing a novel I started four years ago. Since that time I've gotten to 180 pages and then put it aside. Every time I've taken it out again I've written a new first chapter. To date the most powerful opening happens to be about an important character, but not the lead character and from the zillion books I've read on novel structure I know the first chapter needs to introduce the main character and her major story goal and the antagonistic force keeping her from meeting it. I'm having a hard time reconciling this at the moment.
I've found richness doesn't equal 'slow pace' (love Jane Austin). I'm a close reader and writer myself, but I love the 'trick'(if I can call it that) of bringing a scene/character to jump off the page and yet, not have the reader dumped with information or them pulling their teeth to fill in the blanks. Ah! I'll probably be eighty and still be working on this. And 'action' stories are mostly for younger readers who like movement from their characters *smile* though even then, the devil is still in the details. Though, the reader might be taking it for granted.
Hi Joanell,
Oh, I get you. I just wanted to put in a word for close reading and slow writing! I'm happy to kill my darlings (or at least put them in a scrap file for another day) when I think I'm being too discursive and forgetting what is needed. I do think there is a common confusion with readers always wanting 'something' to happen' and editors who pander to laziness. Oooh! I sound like an old curmudgeon! So be it! I do appreciate your points and look forward to your book.
Hi Jan,
I agree that there is a beauty to "slow" writing, and franky no-one ever accuses me of too much action in my writing. I am on the slow side. However, I find my readers/editors want a clear story arc. Even if slow paced. And that is where I've had to be willing to cut, even when I am cutting something inspiring or well written. I've learned to use it in another piece, but not muddle my stories too much. But I am happy to meet another "slow writer" and plorific reader!
Yes, that's how I fly atter too. There is another issue here that you've raised that I'd like to address. I like a slow book and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. I don't need action every second - I'm happy to sit with your character as he drinks his coffee and thinks about his life. If our voices are slow and are style is slow, rich but slow, then so be it. Sometimes I like a snappy read but usually not. I like to take my time and I read many many books over a year - probably close to five hundred. I read fast but I like slow reads. So we must consider that too when we cut and make the action start happening out of the gate. Do we want to ride a race horse or go for a slow canter?
Interesting article! I teach a class called Pen & Sword at Killer Nashville mystery writer's conference every year. Participants wield a four-foot wooden samurai sword and metaphorically 'kill their darlings.’ Of course, the real test is taking this zen lesson in non-attachment to the page and literally cutting away all the flab that doesn’t belong.
Thanks for reading Inge. I think great writing is one part inspiration and three parts editing!
This is so true for me too, I just write this extremely rough draft *cringe* then afterward have to act like I didn't write the manuscript and ask, how necessary my prologue/introduction/witty-thoughts-of-my-heroine are to the story? Can it be added in later? Or is it only for me so I can stay grounded in 'my world? Often than not, it's the latter :) I'm slowly, but surely, learning this as a newbie author.