Turning a New Leaf

Starting on a new novel... and it's difficult!   I forgot how hard it was to begin a novel, and now I'm reliving the experience. Laugh-out-hardie-har-har-laugh.

I'm the kind of writers who LOVE endings and it seems that the closer I'm to the denouement, the better I write. It's like a roller-coaster ride and it just goes faster and faster and faster toward the end.

The beginning, though, should be just as thrilling, especially with the anticipation. The first dip, the slow and steady climb to the first big drop... but in the realm of novel writing, I find it very difficult, and often can't decide on exactly how to begin a novel, and where it should be. Is it too far off the first dip? Is the climb too slow and long? Is it even the right track?

I really like the roller-coaster analogy, by the way. Often people would describe my stories as roller-coaster rides; I suppose that's a good thing. And there certainly are plenty of similarities.

Yesterday I wrote about 500 words of mostly exposition, backgrounds, etc. While they were good words, they were not the beginning of the book. No sir. So, I think I'm going to just plunge my characters into a scene and get things rolling.  I can always add or subtract later in rewrites, as I did with novel #2.

Now, the big question is: WHICH SCENE?   You mean I have to decide again?

Rats.

Comments

Starting a new novel already? You're a machine! (and I mean that in a good way)
Ray Wong said…
I have to! I have to wait a few weeks on the WIP for the betas to get back to me. I can't just sit on my hands and do nothing. :)

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