Writing An Interesting Beginning

Hi!! Your tips really helps me out very much and im thankful for that and your hard work :)) Do you have any ideas on how I can begin my story without making it boring for the readers? Like make it more intressting when you read the first pagragh, etc.

Writing an Interesting Beginning

Thank you so much for your kind words! ♥

There are three things that are especially helpful for creating an interesting beginning:

finding the right place to start your story

beginning when something interesting is happening

beginning when things are in motion

Let's Start with Basic Story Structure

Before we get started, it's worthwhile to revisit basic story structure. Although there are a variety of different story structures, most stories more or less fit this basic structure:

Hi!! Your Tips Really Helps Me Out Very Much And Im Thankful For That And Your Hard Work :)) Do You Have

The rising action of your story is set off by the "inciting incident," or in other words, the thing that happens that turns your character's life upside down or sets them off on a new path. Everything before that is setup, introducing the protagonist, the world and setting, anyone who is important to the protagonist at the start of the story, and moving the pieces into place for the inciting incident to occur.

Finding the Right Place to Start Your Story

The first thing you might want to do here is make a list of the things you need to accomplish before the inciting incident. Which characters need to be introduced? What parts of the world and setting need to be setup? What does the reader need to know about the character's situation? What else do they need to know before the inciting incident happens?

The next thing you want to do is think about your character's normal life, before the inciting incident. What does an average day look like for them? Do they do anything unusual, like play a sport, sing in a band, or work at an amusement park?

Beginning When Something Interesting is Happening

Your goal is to look at their everyday life and find something interesting that could be happening. Ultimately, you're looking for something that:

provides an overview of the protagonist and their normal life

introduces the setting and story world

introduces any other characters important at the beginning

introduces the protagonist's internal conflict

illustrates something about protagonist's life that needs to change

highlights any existing traits or skills that will be important later

introduces important back story details

starts laying the foundation for the inciting incident

is so interesting it hooks the reader's attention instantly

Beginning When Things Are in Motion

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater begins with horses racing along a beach. The first chapter of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman starts with a girl running through tunnels, finally finding a hiding place. L.M. Montgomery opened Anne of Green Gables by describing the course of the brook that runs past the home of Mrs. Rachel Lynde. The Road by Cormac McCarthy begins with a father reaching out in the night to check on his sleeping son, to make sure he's still safe. Movement draws your reader into the story. It's like opening a play with a dance number rather than a narrator standing on stage, rattling off a bunch of information.

Even if your story has to open in a moment where there's not anything really exciting going on, finding a way to add movement is still helpful. In The Road, the man and his son are asleep and nothing of particular interest is happening in that moment, but the man reaching into the darkness to make sure his son is still there--that's still movement, and the desperation of that moment is interesting in and of itself.

Other Helpful Posts:

Tips for Writing a Strong First Chapter Starting the Story with Exposition Writing Great Beginnings and Endings Figuring Out Where to Start a Story Deciding How to Open Your Book

Good luck with your story!

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3 years ago

For historical fic writers

For Historical Fic Writers

This chair is called a GALLINERA

It was a furniture often seen on the porch, gate, or balconaje of the rich. Farmers and servants sit on this chair to wait for the their Masters when they're giving payments for using the farmland. The payments are usually chickens. The space with the sliding door underneath is where they keep the chickens. The chair is made from heavy wood and is adorned in inticate design. It is a status symbol, and the prettier your Gallinera is, the richer and kinder you are (Imagine buying expensive chair for the peasants).

Ideas to use the Gallinera:

1. Rich neigbors with rivalry - compete by beautifying the Gallinera.

2. A Señorito who said he's living on his own - lives under the Gallinera instead and he's never found out.

3. A Señorita lying down under the Gallinera to practice being dead inside a casket.

4. Poetic cinema - showing the status of the family by the cobwebs accumulating around the Gallinera.

3 years ago

Reading all 19 days chapters in two days, I actually got to understand the plot a bit better. At first I didn’t understand why Old Xian was giving us less and less zhanyi content, I used to think it was because they were the characters she started the story with, so she needed more time to make us appreciate the other two boys (Mo Guan Shan and He Tian). Then I understood that there seemed to be less strips focused on Zhan Zheng Xi and Jian Yi only because I didn’t see much of a progress in their relationship, while tianshan were constantly growing.

Well, of course they were.

My otp in this manhua is zhanyi and I think that’s clear to everyone read my previous posts, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy tianshan’s dynamics. Still, the reason why I just absolutely adore zhanyi is that they alreayd have a solid bond. They communicate, they talk about their feelings, they are open with each other, they are comfortable with each other’s touch. Zhan Zheng Xi is often compared to Mo Guan Shan in terms of couples members, but he shows love and affection toward Jian Yi in almost every strip. He cuddles him, he doesn’t mind Jian Yi sleeping over him, he hugs him, he smiles often when they are together and he says things like “I want to get stronger so that I can protect you”, which is a proper declaration of love. Honestly it’s not like they need anything else to be an actual couple rather than just come in terms with their feelings. Jian Yi may seem fine with the fact that he’s gay but may I remember you the scene where he asked Zhan Zheng Xi if he was to be considered abnormal? Or all of the times he clearly showed to think that being gay was something shameful, something his friends and Xixi himself would have probably found weird and absurd. At the same time Zhan Zheng Xi is the one who told him that no, he was not abnormal, the one who hugged him when he was crying for the shame he felt after kissing him, the one who asked him straight (lol) if he liked him, if it was that kind of like. Zhan Zheng Xi seems fine with the idea of homosexuality, insofar as a fourteen year old Chinese guy can be. What he has not come in terms with are his own feelings. When he talks to Xiao Hui, he asks her “Must there be only like and dislike in human emotions?”. I’m not sure what he meant, but I personally think that he hasn’t understood what loving someone means and all the ways you can love a person: he loves his little sister and his parents, he loves his friends and he loves Jian Yi. All these relationships are different, but how can you say which one is romantic love? How is it different? Maybe because you want to have sex with that special someone? He may be asexual (he probably is? I don’t know). So what? When and why do his feelings toward Jian become different from the one he feels toward his family and friends?

So the point now is for them to understand their selves and each other completely. It’s a slow process, especially if we consider the one-year-gap when Jian Yi got kidnapped.

He Tian and Mo GuanShan are a different story. Of course Mo Guan Shan is not ready to admit to himself he’s attracted to guys (or at least to He Tian), but that is not the main problem at all. Their relationship didn’t start as a relationship, it started as a gross blackmailing in which the victim got at least payed for his service. I’m sorry to say this, but if I didn’t I would be disrespecting all the people who have been in a toxic and violent relationship and are now reading this. I know that He Tian cares for Mo Guan Shan and fell in love with him as the time passed, he even apologised for his attitude, but their dynamics are still far from heatlhy. They came to trust each other, Mo even managed to confide in him and finding his presence something reassuring and He Tian showed us he would do anything for him and to protect him. I also understand that for someone who grew up the way He Tian did it is not easy to become a saint all at once, just like that. Mo Guan Shan isn’t a saint either by the way. We can’t just ignore He Tian’s creepy background (besides, he still lives a pretty savage family situation). He changed if we consider how he used to behave in the earlier times but I still would not recommend a long-term romantic relationship with someone like that. At the same time I know that if sometimes he pushes way too much is also because he knows that Mo doesn’t always mean everything he says and does. He proved to care about him and to have a huge crush on him and even to feel attraction to him, but he still would deny everything at any time.

So of course the later strips are more focused on the two of them: they are the ones who need to grow up the most.

4 years ago

land spirits

in cities and towns, you won’t really have to worry about this but it’s important to be careful and respectful of the land you plan to cross, especially if it’s your first time visiting and especially if it’s in a forest. land spirits like duwende live in trees, rocks, dirt mounds, caves, and pretty much everywhere else. duwende can be playful but will get angry if you destroy/disrespect their home, so always ask permission before you pass through and don’t spit, urinate, or even run around ((be really careful not to crush mounds))

4 years ago
Been Looking Into Filipino Mythology Again Cause I’m Working On Ocs And I Thought I’d Share Some
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Been looking into filipino mythology again cause I’m working on ocs and I thought I’d share some moon deities

4 years ago
My Old Doodles With Winter Sengen ❄️
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my old doodles with winter sengen ❄️

3 years ago

Two-point Perspective of a Tausug Stilt House on Water

Two-point Perspective Of A Tausug Stilt House On Water

-Luna


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4 years ago

Why is this so disconcerting....give me back ugly dokja im begging you

Why Is This So Disconcerting....give Me Back Ugly Dokja Im Begging You
Why Is This So Disconcerting....give Me Back Ugly Dokja Im Begging You
Why Is This So Disconcerting....give Me Back Ugly Dokja Im Begging You
Why Is This So Disconcerting....give Me Back Ugly Dokja Im Begging You
Why Is This So Disconcerting....give Me Back Ugly Dokja Im Begging You
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3 years ago

HEAR ME OUT - I am a POC, a Filipino who realized a bit too late about how cool my country is.

I’m so sick of just sitting back and seeing my pre-colonial culture fade into obscurity like this.

I’ve been thinking of making literally any media-related thing for Bikol / Bicol mythology to maybe help it become more known cause I really think it’s super decent and was highly impressed when I first learned bits about it on the internet years ago.

This is why I made that post about Bulan a few months/years back cause i’m just… so passionate abt this alright?

Every time I remember that Bikol myths could be mainstream if only the right pieces of media was published by now, i just…. feel so bad

I just want to produce something memorable and will make the internet go nuts over it.

I just want to make our culture, like, mainstream.

No more Philippines as just an outsourcing country that’s used for manpower and left to fade into obscurity.

It doesn’t even have to be me, but if you want something done, sometimes you yourself have to work on it.

So I want to do this.

If any of you folks want to help bring an idea to life, I’ll be all ears.

We could do a book, a webcomic, a game, an album, literally anything. I’m technically still just a young adult with no money and no job but I want to work on something I can be proud of, even if there’s no pay.

And while exactly zero people will probably respond, just let this be my promise to myself, and also a message to hold accountability. I’m putting this out on the internet (granted, the deeper parts, but still) so I convince myself better to do this.

As a side note, someone has actually written a book Percy Jackson-style about this, I’ve read it and while there’s a lot to criticise about it and stuff to improve upon, it was still a step in the right direction!

The book is entitled The Seventh Moon by Jeremiah Cordial. Check it out and support the author if you can.

TLDR:

I wanna create a piece of media regarding Bicolano mythology as a passion project, so if you have a similar drive, don’t hesitate to hit me up and we could work on one! Or don’t lmao, either way i’m doing smth!

4 years ago

I think we should separate the two salute in 132 and 139. This is totally two different things.

The salute in 139 is a whole SC thing, (we still have Hange in the centre and she was the only one who has a different facial expression) Anyway it is hard to tell Hange was stand out from the other (we know it is kinda focus on her). Also “are you guys watching” thing, I think it is more refer to Hange in 132 “do you think our comrades are watching us?” And Levi in 136 “the hearts you guys dedicated”

I Think We Should Separate The Two Salute In 132 And 139. This Is Totally Two Different Things.
I Think We Should Separate The Two Salute In 132 And 139. This Is Totally Two Different Things.

It’s give me a strong SC vibe (with low-key Levihan). Levi saluted to them and they saluted back means the duty of SC is done, and Levi gave the meaning to all his comrade.

I would be mad if we only get this. But no, the Levihan is in the FINAL panel of levi.

The shinzouwosasageyo in 132 was definitely an ONLY Levihan thing, because if it was a normal salute, Isayama would just concluded in the SC scene. (Maybe will let Levi mentioned Hange in that scene). So other than a normal salute, it’s more like Levi confessed his feeling to Hange with the salute, and only Hange can understand it.

Therefore we can exclude the normal meaning of the salute: sacrifice yourself to the mankind . Which Levi definitely means more than that and this is not the main purpose.

Remember the Levihan bird, they complete each other, and they really are. The 132 sasageyo was more like, take my heart with you and I will keep your heart with me. Hange will live inside Levi. (*Over interpretation: Don’t be scared Hange, I will be with you, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it I will live for you, as long as I’m alive, you will live inside me, with yours and our dreams)

I Think We Should Separate The Two Salute In 132 And 139. This Is Totally Two Different Things.

I saw some Levihans said Levi didn’t wear an eyepatch because he think Hange will be seeing from his right eye (prefect explanation👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻) This more like the answer of 132 sasageyo to me, Levi and Hange literally became Levihan.

I Think We Should Separate The Two Salute In 132 And 139. This Is Totally Two Different Things.

OK then talk about Hange’s dream and Levi’s dream, actually they shared the same dream, “the dream world” in 136

I Think We Should Separate The Two Salute In 132 And 139. This Is Totally Two Different Things.

Hey it’s only the mf ZOË talking shit in 136. We don’t know the others, but we knew Levi remembered EVERY SINGLE WORD Hange Zoe said and would took her daily shitty talk seriously (He just love her...) , from that moment Hange’s dream also became Levi’s dream. And what did Levi do in the post war? Travel! Maybe not exactly is, but he is exploring a new world that could be their dream world, they shared the same dream, and mf Hange Zoe will do the same, to travel around with him if she was alive....

I Think We Should Separate The Two Salute In 132 And 139. This Is Totally Two Different Things.

And finally the plane was the answer to 132 “keep watching me Hange”

The reason I don’t think the 139 SC scene is refer to this because 132 means more to Levihan, Levi wanted Hange to look at him even though their duty was done (which is the SC scene, and literally everybody were really watching from the path lol)

The plane scene is somehow confirmed that Levi wanted more from Hange, he wanted her to stay with him, just Hange and just Levi, but not the member of SC or commander and captain, their true feeling was acknowledged by a non SC member, Onyankopon. (It seem a little bit far-fetched, but I feel it means after Levi left SC, he will not remember Hange as a part of his SC duty or SC promise, I can see when Levi and Onyankopon talk about Hange, Levi was always talk about the stupid and funny thing Hange did other than her SC career and achievement, he cared and respect it but Levi just loved to remember the bright side and funny stupid side of Hange.

I Think We Should Separate The Two Salute In 132 And 139. This Is Totally Two Different Things.

Sadly Hange can’t control the plane like Eren lol, but thanks for the parallel we know that plane was 100% symboling Hange, Hange was keep watching Levi. The look on Levi when he look at the plane and Onyankopon Levihan shipper stare confirmed Levi was also keep thinking about Hange.

Which means HANGE LOVE LEVI and LEVI LOVE HANGE

=CANON

I Think We Should Separate The Two Salute In 132 And 139. This Is Totally Two Different Things.
I Think We Should Separate The Two Salute In 132 And 139. This Is Totally Two Different Things.

The moment I think Levi started to realise his feeling towards Hange was probably here:

I Think We Should Separate The Two Salute In 132 And 139. This Is Totally Two Different Things.

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