So, I have several ideas for stories that I'm interested in telling. The problem is that I'm not really sure how to go about starting a story. More specifically, starting a story in a way that will catch the reader's attention early on. I was hoping someone might be able to offer some advice. Thanks in advance.
You need to be a member of CCAS - Christian Comic Arts Society to add comments!
Replies
Hey, everybody. I just had a thought (it was bound to happen eventually ha-ha): There is a book I refer to when developing characters: Dungeons and Dragons Complete Guide to Villains. Having an idea of how your characters would act could go a way in developing a story. For example, Captain sun would react to dealing with the Joker far differently I suspect, if for no other reason than lack of experience. If you can find a copy, I would definitely add it to your reference material.
My advice...don't worry so much about how to start the story. Just write. Whatever ideas you have, just start fleshing them out. Meaning, pick a scene that you know will be a part of the story and start writing it. don't worry about what came before or what came after... just start brain dumping your ideas to the page. As you start fleshing out those ideas more will come...and as you work you'll find the story starts falling into place and in there your beginning will become more clear. The main story I work on now, started as two chapters I wrote having no idea of anything else...just what I had on my mind. The chapters weren't even chronological. I just needed to start.
Also you can think about what parts of a story catch YOUR attention early on... and use what you see in that into your story. You won't gain every reader's attention with it, but you can hone what you know works for you in a way that will grab people who like those types of beginnings too.
Hope it helps.
Personally i prefer to start with something visually interesting and then backtrack to fill in any important details. I just think , what would hook me on this story if I knew nothing about it?
Excite people, inspire them, and leave some room to keep them guessing. Ambiguity is a huge asset in storytelling. if people don't quite know where you are going, they will settle in for the ride.
Thank you, Mike. Good advice. I suppose it can sometimes be a bit intimidating to look at the blank page and just make that plunge. I appreciate the encouragement. May God bless you as well.
Mike Jacobs said:
Hey, Brien, thanks for the reply. Collaborating with a creative partner is something that I've considered. Ideally, I would like to produce some sample pages of sequential art before I approached someone with the offer of a partnership.
And, I think you make a good point about considering the audience I'm going for. My ideas range from an all-ages fantasy adventure to a gritty, psychologically driven sci-fi story. I think part of my problem is that I have trouble just settling on one idea and seeing it all the way through.
Brien Sparling said:
Here's a bit of advice an English teacher of mine gave me: Just start writing, even if it's only 'I have nothinig to write', the idea being that the act of writing will eventually shake the words you want loose. Here's hoping for the best. God Bless You.
Hey Jeniah,
I notice you have a fairly practiced hand with your art, and your one comic panel, Lola and Mummford had engaging characters in snow-play; nice.
1) Since you say you have story ideas that you want to develop in an attention catching fashion, you may benefit from a team effort with another writer either on your idea or theirs. You won't have as much ownership of the final product but seeing a successful story through to its completion is an priceless education. Do you have a storyteller in mind, or a place where you could find such a person?
2) "Attention grabbing" tech depends on the target audience; what sort of audience did you have in mind?
Thank you, Ralph. Your advice is much appreciated and will be definitely be put to use.
Ralph Ellis Miley said:
I have no writing credentials, but here is my two cents. You might want to start with an overall story arch. Drafting an outline from where you want your story to begin and where you want it to end. Once you decide the arch, then you can consider the genre, science fiction, superhero, fantasy, etc.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next