How to start writing?
Want to write but don’t know how? Do you also write, delete, write again, and delete again your first line? Are you too skeptical of the first chapter you’ve written or don’t know the theme of your book is good enough to engage the reader? Well, we UNDERSTAND. Writing that first line or first chapter is indeed the most challenging part of writing the whole book. It is difficult to comprehend the how, what, when, and where of initiating your book narrative.
So, what if I say I can help you with that? Excited. Relief. You must have taken a sigh of relief. Well, if you have not then you’ll by the time you’ll the end of the blog post. For we have got you some guidelines on how to start your book.
Who says you have to follow the chronological order of sequence to build up your narrative? You can start from the middle! The principle of in medias res traces back to the times when the epics Iliad and Homer were written. Both the epics started from the middle of the narrative hence bringing in the concept of in medias res.
That goes for the narrative, however, if you want to write the third chapter first and then come back to the first. What’s the harm? Start from where you feel like you can put down your thought and then decide the sequence of your book.
*boom* *screech*
The car turned upside down as it crashed into the dividers on the road. The city had just witnessed one of the brutal road accidents. Rohit, along with her wife and daughter were at a speed of 90 when a speeding truck came from the wrong side and hit them.
Throw the readers directly into the pool of confusion and question. Start with an enticing incident and make them glued to your book. A sudden fall into a lot of drama will make them read more and turn the page. But make sure not to reveal everything too soon. Let the dram take over.
Early spring morning, the sun was slowly rising to all its glory when Mrs. Sharam’s alarm broke the tranquillity of the place. She slowly opened her deep dark brown eyes and smiled for the new day.
Start from the start and talk about everything in detail to paint the picture. Let them slowly get dissolved in the scene and know the book.
“It will take at least an hour for me to reach the office. This metro is not ready to move fast. Ahh…” said Mitali all tensed and frustrated.
“The boss is already here and looking for you. You’re in deep trouble,” replied Sneha calmly, though she knew that their day at the office would be a nightmare.
Let your characters do the talking and make the readers know what is happening. Make your narrative reveal with dialogues. This will not only take the plot further but will also set up the base for your characters.
You don’t have to be Usain Bolt of writers and accomplish everything in one day. Take your time, go slow. Slow in writing and unfolding of the narrative. Do not give all the suspense and climax of the book in the first few pages. Have you seen a murder movie telling the name of the murders in 5 mins? No, right. Same way, build your narrative slowly, add a hook point, and make small scenes make up for the final big scenes. Layer your book with multiple small narratives and uncover the story theme.
Create a blueprint for every chapter. Write down the chapter number and below it start writing what you want to add to this chapter’s content/thoughts in points. Repeat the process for the whole book. This will help you structure the books. And once you have pointers for every chapter, it will help you write the full chapter content. Voila! You have accomplished your task.
Many readers judge the book by its cover, which means the title and tagline. Put extra effort into writing your title as it will be the first thing readers will read after picking your book. It has to equivocate your NORTH STAR, your theme. The title will also guide you to where you take your book. Keep referring to your title in your mind while reading and coming back to it. Do not lose sight while moving ahead in the book. This will keep you on track.
