Saturday, January 26, 2008

On Starting Stories

Since I made this blog to talk about writing, I figure I might as well try and do that a little bit...so! Right now, I'm starting a story. It's an old story that I've tried to write several times, but it tends to change enough that it feels new. Always blindsides me, though, this story--today I was just sitting at home, looking over my sister's shoulder while she played Phoenix Wright (off-topic: AWESOME GAME), and I get up to get a glass of milk and all of a sudden the main character in this story starts blabbing at me. I haven't worked on it in months! But there he goes. I find that's usually the way story beginnings work for me. I can never control where the first scene comes from, or when it comes. (To be fair, my brain is geared towards ideas that are shiny and new, so finding starting scenes usually isn't very hard--at least compared to finding middle scenes, end scenes, etc.)

And I'm always tempted to outline when I get a new story idea--I think it's because I'm such a perfectionist, and there's a childish part of me that still thinks if I just outline ENOUGH, I really will "get it right" the first time through.

However, I also find that outlining too much kind of strangles the story. I might feel a little more secure about it, if I have an outline, but when I actually start working on something I've already outlined, a lot of it feels lifeless and forced. I think, possibly, I need to be a little scared when I'm writing, a little unprepared for it: else I don't pay enough attention.

But everyone's different. So for my first writing-related post, a question for ya'll! How do YOU start stories? What inspires you--real life events? songs? random bits of dialogue? other stories you've read? How much do you think about/worldbuild/outline/plan the new story before you write, and why? And how easy do you find starting stories, as compared to continuing/finishing them?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmm... various things inspire me. It could be music (usually a soundtrack or Celtic music), watching a movie, reading a book, etc... I remember one time a misty Sunday when some of the kids at church went to the pretty-much abandoned church next door to explore the graveyard. This inspired me, I think, in two ways for people getting lost in a graveyard and something happening in the foggy graveyard. Sometimes researching a random subject like calderas or cryptzoology can spark off an idea or two.

Legolos13 said...

Nice post Var, really good, keep up the good work :D

as for the question... well I usually get the idea for my stories from one of the following: a setting(say a vast plain with vulture flying above the remains of a battle, or whatever... ya know) or a character... sometimes I just see a character in my head, and the story evolves from that image... also sometimes from history, video games... and other stuff... now lets see... about plotting... its different for all my stories, but all the stories I have started with out a plot I am still working on, and all the ones with a plot have fallen away... so yeah thats pretty clear... and easy... well no... its not easy to complete a story, its easy to start.... heck anyone can start a story, but its the finishing that really gives you a sense of accomplishment... if it was easy everyone would do it :D

hope this helps...