A blank page can be a writer's greatest blockade. We all know, or should know, that a strong beginning is crucial in gaining readers, so when faced with that daunting task how can a writer do anything but break down and weep? The answer is a stock beginning. Really. Truly, I mean it. Start with a couple of stock beginnings.
They can be as simple as "Once upon a time...", "Let me tell you something about...", or "The other day my friend was telling me..." As you begin to fill up a tiny portion of paper with ink, or the screen with pixels, the words will simply flow out. Once you actually start writing you can figure out where the story is going. The reason why this happens is simple.
We all know how to lie.
The lie, or in this case, the story, takes on a life of its own and all you need to do is keep up. Once the story is well underway or finished go back and change the beginning to suit the rest of the story, now that you know what it is, or add something to the story that occurs before the original beginning.
...I often think find knowing how to write good fiction is really about knowing how to lie your way to the truth--make any sense?
ReplyDeleteI agree. One of my favourite writing quotes came to me through the Witkowski brother's 'V for Vendetta' when Evey Hammond says:
ReplyDelete"My father was a writer... He used to say that artists use lies to tell the truth"