Story How to start a book.

[ReadingTheRunes]

Hello all I would love to start writing a book and have a few ideas in mind. However, I cannot get started.

Please any tips and advice would be appreciated!!

 

[Hall Kervean]

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

 

[Kloudy]

https://m.fictionpress.com/u/1063429/

Pick a story and see if the way I've started mine is any good. Don't mean to butt into your thread with my stuff, but I think it could actually help you. : )

 

[j-i]

I'd say outline what you want to happen in the book, then break it up into chapters. This will help with writer's block and not knowing what to do. Also making a list of what you want in the book, and meshing it into your own world helps.

 

[Hall Kervean]

I'd say kinda do what j-i just said.
Outline your beginning and your end.
Then outline the major events along the way that you want to have happen.
Develop your characters, the events they'll go through, etc.
Then fill the middle bits with whatever seems logical.
Except do it better than me.
I gave up.
My characters are currently forever stuck eating Olive Garden.

 

[j-i]

My characters are currently forever stuck eating Olive Garden.

Don't see what's wrong with eating Olive Garden for an eternity, though you might meet Caesar.

To add on to what Hall Kervean said about the middle try to make build up to it, not some sudden vampire-werewolf war that Twillight did. Make sure it strengthens the beginning, and helps pave the way towards your conclusion.

 

[Hall Kervean]

Don't see what's wrong with eating Olive Garden for an eternity, though you might meet Caesar.

To add on to what Hall Kervean said about the middle try to make build up to it, not some sudden vampire-werewolf war that Twillight did. Make sure it strengthens the beginning, and helps pave the way towards your conclusion.

Yeah. I ended up writing mine out like a TV show, and it's terrible. I'll probably rewrite it later.

 

[j-i]

Yeah. I ended up writing mine out like a TV show, and it's terrible. I'll probably rewrite it later.

I wish the best of luck to your rewriting of the Olive Garden TV show!

 

[Hall Kervean]

I wish the best of luck to your rewriting of the Olive Garden TV show!

Aw thanks! It, unfortunately, had absolutely nothing to do with olive garden. eeeyeee... it sucks.
Like SAO, the premise sounds pretty slick.
A quartet of upper-class teenagers in 2217 get caught up in events beyond their control, being kidnapped by a worldwide rebellion against a communist USA, which pretty much rules the world at this point. After being rescued from their clutches, the quartet learn that the military is fed up with the communist government's restrictions on fighting the rebellion, so they stage a coup to try and overthrow Murica. One of the boy's dad is a general who happens to lead the SpecOps, so he's a part of the coup. The rebels, in a swift move, manage to decapitate the military's leadership and effectively leave a power vacuum. One of the boys' dad (this is a recurring theme) ends up trying to fill the power vacuum with other businessmen, but their plans for the future would end up collapsing the entire world into anarchy. Enemy of my enemy is my friend kinda thing, and the quartet has to ally with the rebellion to take out the businessmen. After the deed is done, unsurprisingly, the rebels kidnap the quartet again and the rebel leader reveals that they orchestrated pretty much everything to kill off all their fathers and to run the U.S. and the world, by extension. The quartet, who all have non-mary sue excuses for knowing how to kill people, end up defeating the rebel leader. There is then absolutely no legitimate claim to the U.S. presidency, so one of the teens is asked to step in and run the U.S. by the other nations, since he had been able to defeat a rebellion that had plagued the world for over 30 years and the four had shown the capability to run it.
And it was all supposed to literally be backstory for an even bigger story I had planned down the line.

But I have... poor creativity, so the transition points between these plot points are awful. Again, they're currently eating at Olive Garden.
And no, nothing constructive is going on at Olive Garden. They're just eating.

 

[j-i]

Aw thanks! It, unfortunately, had absolutely nothing to do with olive garden. eeeyeee... it sucks.
Like SAO, the premise sounds pretty slick.
A quartet of upper-class teenagers in 2217 get caught up in events beyond their control, being kidnapped by a worldwide rebellion against a communist USA, which pretty much rules the world at this point. After being rescued from their clutches, the quartet learn that the military is fed up with the communist government's restrictions on fighting the rebellion, so they stage a coup to try and overthrow Murica. One of the boy's dad is a general who happens to lead the SpecOps, so he's a part of the coup. The rebels, in a swift move, manage to decapitate the military's leadership and effectively leave a power vacuum. One of the boys' dad (this is a recurring theme) ends up trying to fill the power vacuum with other businessmen, but their plans for the future would end up collapsing the entire world into anarchy. Enemy of my enemy is my friend kinda thing, and the quartet has to ally with the rebellion to take out the businessmen. After the deed is done, unsurprisingly, the rebels kidnap the quartet again and the rebel leader reveals that they orchestrated pretty much everything to kill off all their fathers and to run the U.S. and the world, by extension. The quartet, who all have non-mary sue excuses for knowing how to kill people, end up defeating the rebel leader. There is then absolutely no legitimate claim to the U.S. presidency, so one of the teens is asked to step in and run the U.S. by the other nations, since he had been able to defeat a rebellion that had plagued the world for over 30 years and the four had shown the capability to run it.
And it was all supposed to literally be backstory for an even bigger story I had planned down the line.

But I have... poor creativity, so the transition points between these plot points are awful. Again, they're currently eating at Olive Garden.
And no, nothing constructive is going on at Olive Garden. They're just eating.

I'd be happy to help you with your book! Likewise, before making a huge novel, I recommend doing a couple short stories of 5 to 20 pages because that'll help you how to solve conflict in short, chapter-sized lengths. Again, that's just what helps me, but I believe that doing one short story helps with mini-conflict resolve.
Transitions can just be character development, like them hanging out at the base for a chapter or two, building on the world, and plot! It could be a nice little break from the action too. But maybe at Olive Garden one of the waiters is one of the rebels in disguise? Cliché, but when used properly, it simply draws in the reader!

Maybe you should think about doing a TV sitcom at Olive Garden? That'd be hilarious!

 

[Kloudy]

Aw thanks! It, unfortunately, had absolutely nothing to do with olive garden. eeeyeee... it sucks.
Like SAO, the premise sounds pretty slick.
A quartet of upper-class teenagers in 2217 get caught up in events beyond their control, being kidnapped by a worldwide rebellion against a communist USA, which pretty much rules the world at this point. After being rescued from their clutches, the quartet learn that the military is fed up with the communist government's restrictions on fighting the rebellion, so they stage a coup to try and overthrow Murica. One of the boy's dad is a general who happens to lead the SpecOps, so he's a part of the coup. The rebels, in a swift move, manage to decapitate the military's leadership and effectively leave a power vacuum. One of the boys' dad (this is a recurring theme) ends up trying to fill the power vacuum with other businessmen, but their plans for the future would end up collapsing the entire world into anarchy. Enemy of my enemy is my friend kinda thing, and the quartet has to ally with the rebellion to take out the businessmen. After the deed is done, unsurprisingly, the rebels kidnap the quartet again and the rebel leader reveals that they orchestrated pretty much everything to kill off all their fathers and to run the U.S. and the world, by extension. The quartet, who all have non-mary sue excuses for knowing how to kill people, end up defeating the rebel leader. There is then absolutely no legitimate claim to the U.S. presidency, so one of the teens is asked to step in and run the U.S. by the other nations, since he had been able to defeat a rebellion that had plagued the world for over 30 years and the four had shown the capability to run it.
And it was all supposed to literally be backstory for an even bigger story I had planned down the line.

But I have... poor creativity, so the transition points between these plot points are awful. Again, they're currently eating at Olive Garden.
And no, nothing constructive is going on at Olive Garden. They're just eating.

That is not the premise of SAO.

 

[Hall Kervean]

That is not the premise of SAO.

I know.
I'm saying that, like SAO, the premise is cool.
And like (in my opinion) SAO, the execution is lackluster.

I'd be happy to help you with your book! Likewise, before making a huge novel, I recommend doing a couple short stories of 5 to 20 pages because that'll help you how to solve conflict in short, chapter-sized lengths. Again, that's just what helps me, but I believe that doing one short story helps with mini-conflict resolve.
Transitions can just be character development, like them hanging out at the base for a chapter or two, building on the world, and plot! It could be a nice little break from the action too. But maybe at Olive Garden one of the waiters is one of the rebels in disguise? Cliché, but when used properly, it simply draws in the reader!

Maybe you should think about doing a TV sitcom at Olive Garden? That'd be hilarious!

I'll try my best. I'm working on some smaller stuff, but ye.
Unfortunately, I'm lazy, so most of my conflicts are finished rather... quickly.
Somebody dies.
The Olive Garden thing had another purpose that I don't think I want to execute anymore.

Sounds genius. Let's talk in small font so nobody can steal the idea.

 

[j-i]

I'll try my best. I'm working on some smaller stuff, but ye.
Unfortunately, I'm lazy, so most of my conflicts are finished rather... quickly.
Somebody dies.
The Olive Garden thing had another purpose that I don't think I want to execute anymore.

Sounds genius. Let's talk in small font so nobody can steal the idea.

I'm lazy as well. I usually just end up dropping the story because it doesn't interest me anymore. I lose interest in a lot of stuff very quickly, which is something that I'm trying to work on. At least you actually finish the conflicts in a way! Usually restaurants in action stories are a bit of a cliché in my opinion, but an great example is in the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson! (forgot which book, probably the first one.)

Is this small enough? How about the waitress is an magical fairy who thrives on politeness, but has to deal with rude customers, and this causes her to faint frequently on her shifts!

 

[Windsock]

If you don't start with a murder, nuclear or gas attack, a sniper, or somebody being strangled to death in a noodle shop, you're doing it wrong.

 

[Hall Kervean]

I'm lazy as well. I usually just end up dropping the story because it doesn't interest me anymore. I lose interest in a lot of stuff very quickly, which is something that I'm trying to work on. At least you actually finish the conflicts in a way! Usually restaurants in action stories are a bit of a cliché in my opinion, but an great example is in the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson! (forgot which book, probably the first one.)

Is this small enough? How about the waitress is an magical fairy who thrives on politeness, but has to deal with rude customers, and this causes her to faint frequently on her shifts!

Yeah I get bored too.
I have like a ton of stories.
One is done but needs editing. I'm just too lazy to go do it.
Usually, if I get super tired of a story and want it to end quickly, I'll figure out a plausible way to kill the characters off.
Yeah, it was just cliche. There was no originality in it. I just... needed to burn literally hours of time in the story, so...

Yes. Maybe. Or the employees are all from different anime. Light Yagami is god of the third street Olive Garden (manager). Eren is a chef, brutally slicing through all of the food. Gon and Killua are waiters. Kirito is one of the people at the entrance asking people to wait their turn and sign in.

If you don't start with a murder, nuclear or gas attack, a sniper, or somebody being strangled to death in a noodle shop, you're doing it wrong.

What about an armed kidnapping followed shortly after by a mass murder/terrorist attack at a white elephant?
Cuz... that's what I did.

 

[Windsock]

Yeah I get bored too.
I have like a ton of stories.
One is done but needs editing. I'm just too lazy to go do it.
Usually, if I get super tired of a story and want it to end quickly, I'll figure out a plausible way to kill the characters off.
Yeah, it was just cliche. There was no originality in it. I just... needed to burn literally hours of time in the story, so...

Yes. Maybe. Or the employees are all from different anime. Light Yagami is god of the third street Olive Garden (manager). Eren is a chef, brutally slicing through all of the food. Gon and Killua are waiters. Kirito is one of the people at the entrance asking people to wait their turn and sign in.


What about an armed kidnapping followed shortly after by a mass murder/terrorist attack at a white elephant?
Cuz... that's what I did.

hmm, maybe?

 

[Elephantom]

If you don't start with a murder, nuclear or gas attack, a sniper, or somebody being strangled to death in a noodle shop, you're doing it wrong.

Yeah, then add orange juice, lots of doves, and boom! You go all John Woo on punks!!!

 

[Elephantom]

What about an armed kidnapping followed shortly after by a mass murder/terrorist attack at a white elephant?
Cuz... that's what I did.

Eh, meh. Do it John Woo style.

 

[j-i]

Yeah I get bored too.
I have like a ton of stories.
One is done but needs editing. I'm just too lazy to go do it.
Usually, if I get super tired of a story and want it to end quickly, I'll figure out a plausible way to kill the characters off.
Yeah, it was just cliche. There was no originality in it. I just... needed to burn literally hours of time in the story, so...

Yes. Maybe. Or the employees are all from different anime. Light Yagami is god of the third street Olive Garden (manager). Eren is a chef, brutally slicing through all of the food. Gon and Killua are waiters. Kirito is one of the people at the entrance asking people to wait their turn and sign in.

Editing is all my writer's friend's worst enemy, so they usually make me do it. And clichés are master tools with the gods, so...just study how J.K. Rowling and John Green used them to their advantage.

Oooh. I like that idea. Eren accidentally slices too hard on some lettuce, and it gets stuck in the cutting board, like King Arthur's sword, and they're forced to go find Chuck Norris to pull it out. (is that sitcom-y cliché enough?)

If you don't start with a murder, nuclear or gas attack, a sniper, or somebody being strangled to death in a noodle shop, you're doing it wrong.

The best stories always start with the main protagonist getting offed in a noodle shop by a nuclear sniper bullet, and gas flooding the shop! The unlikely dorkish friend who was just going to appear for a sentence has to take their role!

 

[Elephantom]

And for the love of God, start out with a grizzled old man. Not some funky wannabe coolguy teenager.

 

[Hall Kervean]

Editing is all my writer's friend's worst enemy, so they usually make me do it. And clichés are master tools with the gods, so...just study how J.K. Rowling and John Green used them to their advantage.

Oooh. I like that idea. Eren accidentally slices too hard on some lettuce, and it gets stuck in the cutting board, like King Arthur's sword, and they're forced to go find Chuck Norris to pull it out. (is that sitcom-y cliché enough?)

I can edit pretty well, actually. I feel like I can come up with ideas and edit better than I can actually write.
Uvogin needs to be called. Or Eren bites himself to transform into a titan for that sole purpose.

 

[j-i]

I can edit pretty well, actually. I feel like I can come up with ideas and edit better than I can actually write.
Uvogin needs to be called. Or Eren bites himself to transform into a titan for that sole purpose.

Well, giving advice to others is better than giving advice to yourself! That's what I'm told, at least. jk.

And then Eren breaks the roof, which costs millions of dollars to fix!

 

[Kloudy]

I know.
I'm saying that, like SAO, the premise is cool.
And like (in my opinion) SAO, the execution is lackluster.


I'll try my best. I'm working on some smaller stuff, but ye.
Unfortunately, I'm lazy, so most of my conflicts are finished rather... quickly.
Somebody dies.
The Olive Garden thing had another purpose that I don't think I want to execute anymore.

Sounds genius. Let's talk in small font so nobody can steal the idea.

lol I know xD I was just kidding. : P

And yes, SAO was indeed lacklustre.

 

[Hall Kervean]

Well, giving advice to others is better than giving advice to yourself! That's what I'm told, at least. jk.

And then Eren breaks the roof, which costs millions of dollars to fix!

I guess.
Let's stop typing in small fonts now.
He could maybe just, like, have the power of a titan and fill the room.
Maybe L can come in and request the manager and be like "There's a 17% chance that you are the murderer known as Kira." and Killua has to serve him poison.

 

[j-i]

I guess.
Let's stop typing in small fonts now.
He could maybe just, like, have the power of a titan and fill the room.
Maybe L can come in and request the manager and be like "There's a 17% chance that you are the murderer known as Kira." and Killua has to serve him poison.

Classic. But the poison turns out to be something that enhances L's thinking and logic processes further than it already is.