I fucking hate openings.

So, like, anyone know how to get the ball rolling on a narrative?

I'm stuck on the first scene of the second chapter, I know where my characters need to go but I have no idea how to get them there.

Anyone else have this problem, where the first few chapters are the hardest to write?

What about an In Medias Res opening? That is, skip straight to the action.

I think I might be missing the point though, you mean in a motivational kind of way? Tricking yourself might be an option, write something else (another scene, background vignette, etc.) and come back the opening.

If you want more advice, I'm probably going to need at least some broad idea of what you already have decided.

I tend to have more problems with middles myself. Know how things start, know how they finish, rarely know how to get from one to the other.

edited 6th Jan '11 10:07:59 PM by Luthen

Yep.

Also, I had a post but the previous one ninja'd it. Writing all the "exciting scenes" first is a good tactic and it gets you out of the "OMG THIS IS GOING TO BE AWESOME" mode, but sometimes you just need to sit yourself down and write. If it turns out like shit, you'll know what to avoid in the next draft.

Writing isn't always fun.

edited 6th Jan '11 10:11:52 PM by Sharysa

What I do is make myself stop caring about the beginning paragraphs and just write any dumb thing for my opening, as long as it leads to the story. I can always go back and change it later—in the beginning, I think it's more important to get the initial momentum going than to create the perfect opening. Or even a good opening. Just forget about it until you go back and edit.

I had trouble at first with opening my story until I said, "Fuck it!" and opened up with a scene featuring the heroine in all her sexy glory lying prone on her belly, filling out a job application.

^^Yeah, you could always write what first comes to mind and revise it out later. Sometimes the first sentence, or the first chapter will not end up being the beginning of the final draft.

Also, if a transitional scene or any scene bothers you, try skipping it. Just skip to the first thing that feels fun to write. Then, later you can look back and decide if what you skipped was really important or not. You'll have a better idea of why the missing scene is important and you'll know what needs to happen, instead of flailing aimlessly about.

Depends on the genre if you want In Media Res. If you're writing thriller or action or murder, well, yes.

You want to write to hook the reader in. Read it as if you were someone in a bookstore, reading the first few paragraphs.

If you don't know how to write the first scene, just skip it and write what you know. First law of writing is You WILL have to rewrite your opening. No exceptions. So you have three options: 1) skip right to the action and write the opening later, 2) write some crappy placeholder text and rewrite it eloquently later, 3) spend another three days painfully coming up with a good opening, only to have to rewrite it from scratch later. You decide. ^^

Personal anecdote: In my last short story, I've spent a couple of hours writing the first introductory paragraph. When I showed the story to my editor, the first thing he said was "The first paragraph sucks." So I removed it altogether and the story instantly became more engaging and faster paced.

edited 7th Jan '11 4:05:36 AM by Koveras

When I can't do the opening I don't even bother with it: just write out the scene that I want to write. The opening can wait - I've wasted time doing a rubbish opening only to forget the perfect wording for the scene I had in mind. The opening will come in time.

Of course this is for a person who doesn't write on a chapter by chapter basis - which works for me.

If it doesn't work that way for you then there's plenty of great advice on the page

I use the old trick of having a character discuss something without a fourth wall for a starting introduction, which gives a sense of characterization and allows a strong piece of the story to grab the reader's attention.

Like this.

Just write the beginning. Even if it's barebones prose, you can edit it later. "Jason walks into the kitchen and smiles when he smells his mom's blueberry pancakes."

Hell, try practicing the start of stories and write a few first sentences.