They say the beginning is an excellent place to start...

But what happens when you have two? One of my longest running projects has been a fairytale -The Good King Mistletoe- that I hope to make into a webcomic someday. The story is about a boy who was born from the bud of a mistletoe, raised by peasants and became King by his own hand. The story is largely centred around the Boy King and the trials and tribulations he faces as he becomes a man.

This is my problem; I have essentially written two stories as to Mistletoe's origins.

One that focuses on his parents, the peasants who faced their own adversities and were thus rewarded with a child to call their own, and another that focuses on Mistletoe proper and his rise from pauper to King.

This is my question; which one do I open with? The way I see it, I either open with his parents and try to build up to his eventual presence (which I'm unsure I'll be able to sustain without the readers to think I'm either stalling or meandering) or I open with Mistletoe himself and try to pull a Star Wars: Episode One (establish a prequel somewhere in the story) and risk alienating the readers who will probably wonder why we arent focusing on Mistletoe.

I admit, i'm probably putting a little too much thought into this and exagerating the problem to the point of hyperbole, but I would appreciate some insights and opinions.

edited 8th Jan '14 11:40:40 PM by AtomJames

Split the difference. Mistletoe is the main character, and the story's about him, so you focus on him. Maybe cut in some scenes or extended subplots focusing on how other characters react to his progress.

A lot of myths start with the heroes birth/discovery then sort of skip to when he's older (with maybe an anecdote or two about growing up thrown in along the way). It might work to do something similar, make the story of his parents a first chapter/prologue and make his rise the focus of the story proper. Perhaps include a flashback or two from his childhood where it would strengthen the story.

I guess it sort of depends on how much 'story' is in his growing up. If you have an arc developed for his younger years that could be worth reading then I'd suggest looking at starting there -at the very beginning. But if its just an incident or two it might feel like filler while we wait for the 'real' story to begin.

Have him tell people both stories (via flashback) at various points in the story. Leave it ambiguous as to which one is actually true, ala all of the Joker's backstories in The Dark Knight.