The Open Sequence: How To Stat An Epic?

So I have this long epic worked and planned out in my head, I have the characters all figured out, I know where I want the plot to go when and how, I even have large swaths written out from various places along the timeline, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to open it.

My first attempt was an Action Prolog where each of the three-to-four (the number fluctuates over the series) main characters is introduced fighting or doing something to showcase their skills in separate scenes before introducing the actual plot and having them begin to interact with one another.

I didn't like the result (which was disjointed and difficult to fallow, since without an Info Dump of backstory making sense of each of the scenes was impossible) so I scrapped that plan and instead decided to go with a How We Got Here type opening, where it starts in the distant future with two characters (that for most of the story proper are sworn enemies) talking to each other and reminiscing to each other in their old age, basically retelling the story to one another. But this ran in to two problems.

The first was that these two are far from the only Po V characters I;m using, and one in fact doesn't become a Po V character until near the second half the story, so I'm not sure this opening would make sense in the grand scheme of things without employing a kind of How I Met Your Mother third-person I would rather like to avoid, since there are key dream sequences by other characters and/or lengthy parts that take place inside a character's mind. The other problem was that, this opening I realized reveals way to much of the ending, it makes guessing what the conflict will be/was laughably easy to infer and establishes the resolution of it, only the exact specifics are missing. I was originally banking on the prolog being so far removed from the start of the story that it would imply a feel of "anything can happen to get us from point A to B" that would draw the reader in, but I'm less sure of that.

So...Does anyone have any advice for me? How would you recommend starting an epic? Do you think there is a method I haven't considered that could be useful?

edited 30th Jul '12 6:00:18 AM by LMage

Start with the event that gets the plot ball rolling?

I considered that, but each character's story arch starts essentially completely isolated from the other's, in fact until Act 3 basically none of them have combined plots, they occasionally weave in and out of each other's stories, but until the final conflict starts to emerge there's nothing really tying them together that I could use as a kick-off point for all of them at the same time.

edited 30th Jul '12 3:55:45 AM by LMage

I'd say pick the one you most feel like writing, write to the end and then go back and edit. If it's a long story, you should just try and get it all out of your head first, not get bogged down by eternal re-writes. I speak from experience.

Also, the great thing about writing an epic is that readers will be more forgiving of multiple viewpoints that don't necessarily connect to each other right away- in fact, some consider that a hallmark of an epic story. It makes the story feel bigger and more complex.

Given that I plan to write my own epic someday (assuming I live that long), I've thought about how to start as well. I can see the appeal of an Action Prologue, and it can certainly be done well (or...not), but it's good that you're considering your options.

In my case — and because I'm one a "slow-starter" type of writer — I'd like to ease in the reader to the story at large. I'd try starting with a poignant image that sets up the theme/major elements of the story, like a Field of Blades, then move to a different scene that sets up the main character and a few qualities of the world. Not everything at once, of course; just enough to show how this world is different from our own, and to a hefty extent other stories. I like to think of it as sort of a "tutorial level" — a first mission that shows you the ropes, and gives a foundation to build on.

I don't know how applicable that would be for your story, but there may very well be ways to do so. If you're so willing, you can tweak your story as needed to create a "tutorial level" that will get you set up for the long haul. It'd likely give you a chance to develop your characters and your world under calmer circumstances (though to be fair, what a person does on a battlefield says just as much about their personalities), and keep you from spoiling too much too quickly. And you can keep your biggest guns — i.e. the action/twists you have planned — a surprise to be experienced in full in one go.

Speaking from experience, I'll admit there are problems with a slow start — making sure you get readers hooked, balancing setup and plot progression, etc. I'll leave you to decide what to do, but I'll ask you a question as well: if you could only write a story with one scene, what would you write? Think carefully about what you want to show the most, and perhaps that can help you find your opening.

Hope that helps you out. Good luck to you.

I'd say that if the characters' stories don't converge for some time, you should start by introducing all of the separate stories and switch between them frequently in the first few chapters to let readers get a feel for the characters. Then you can have a longer focus on each character's story before they meet.

Well, if you're aiming for an Epic in the Greek sense of the word, take a page from Homer's Odyssey and start in medias res after the characters have all met, then lead into each of them telling their story to get all of the others caught up on what's going on.