We’ve made it out of the prologue, and here we are in Act One, Chapter One, Page One.
It's okay to be nervous or excited, and it's also okay to make mistakes and realize you have to change things later.
A lot of times when I had an idea I loved, I got a little ways down the road and realized that maybe some things needed to change before I could get off to the races.
But what I learned from that was that usually the better idea didn't come along unless the idea I came up with first didn't work. And that's part of the fun, if you let yourself just play and use your imagination and be open to ideas you never would have come up with on your own.
You have a secret weapon: each other.
You each have your own histories and stories and ideas to bring to this, and part of creativity is mashing them up together to create something new.
Something else to consider is that for a first outing on storytelling, it might be a good idea for some of these characters to share at least some similarities to the two of you.
For instance in our first series that I'm writing with my oldest kiddo, the main character is the oldest child, and those similarities help us to explore those relationships and sometimes work through issues in a creative way.
I'm getting ahead of myself.
Let's talk about the opening scene.
As I mentioned in the Prologue, the opening scene is often a way to set up all of the promises you're going to make to the audience. They should be able to quickly figure out what kind of story this is. Are there spaceships? Elves and dragons? A normal kid routine?
Now, sometimes those special elements don't come in until the Inciting Incident which we will get to in a little bit. The Pevensie children didn't start Page 1 in Narnia, but by seeing a Lion on the cover and the description on the back of the book, you get an idea that there will be some fantastical elements coming up. Meanwhile, Harry Potter starts off with a bit of magic from the beginning.
Either way, we need to meet the person we will be going on a journey with, and we need to be able to get an idea of what kind of life they lead.
A lot of the challenges that they face in the beginning of the story give the opportunity for the very end to mirror their situation, but show how much they have grown by going through the events of the story.
So, let's try and figure out where your main character is, and for the ease of this maybe being your first book, let's put them somewhere that is familiar to you. It could be a home, a school, a place that you're used to going to often and feels comfortable to you.
If I could ask for one thing... don't start with a dream sequence. It can be done well, but it has been done so many times and it kind of breaks the trust with the reader since what they've been reading has turned out to not be real and then it usually gets interrupted by an alarm clock and starting their day.
Just because waking up is a way to start something, it doesn't mean your story needs to start that way too.
The opening section of your story is an opportunity to show what is at stake for the whole story, and with our hero having a problem, it's a way to show what life might be like if nothing changes or they fail at what needs to happen.
Activity: Who and Where?
So, here's today's challenge. First, try to lock down WHO this story is going to be about. It's hard to start a book without that. We'll get into more about how to make them more likable or have the reader rooting for them later this week, but let's at least pick out a name and some general features.
Let's ask the questions:
Do they have a family?
Who is in that family?
Do they get along?
Do they have any close friends?
What might be on the walls of their room?
Lastly, let's pick a place where this story starts off.
If it's the main character’s home, what might be happening in the house that would make the story interesting?
Do we start it a place that shows what is going on in their life, like maybe a school classroom or a birthday party or they have to perform on stage? It's up to you, but do remember that the opening of a book has to be interesting and keep the reader's attention.
Now, you can change this to whatever you want later. In fact, you may get to the very end of your outline and say, 'this ending is great, but it would be even better if the beginning mirrored it in this specific way.'
Before we go, I'll let you in on a quick writing secret.
You know how sometimes in a story there will be a big plot twist or mind blowing revelation? Usually a writer has that in mind and is working toward it... but sometimes the idea comes along and is so awesome that the writer decides to go back and add in little details that hint toward that thing earlier in the book that wasn't originally there!
But we as readers have no idea at what point in the writing process that idea came, so the pressure is off for you to come up with fun ideas and put them wherever make sense. The reader will never know and won't even stop to think about it as long as they're having a good time reading.
This is also why we are doing the Snowflake method and keeping these sections to one sentence. If you need to change something later, it's easy and you don't have to throw away thousands of words.
Again, welcome to Act One. Our foot is out the door and there is no turning back!
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