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2 votes
3 answers
141 views

Linear beginning or flash-forwards? [duplicate]

I'm writing this fantasy story that focuses on two main characters. The story was supposed to start with the male protagonist. So, in the first four chapters or so, we get to know his current ...
Erin Tesden's user avatar
54 votes
12 answers
12k views

How to trick the reader into thinking they're following a redshirt instead of the protagonist?

I'm currently planning a "magical girl" story, and I thought of an interesting way to start it, rather than launching straight into the backstory. It opens with a woman in her mid-thirties, complete ...
F1Krazy's user avatar
  • 11k
2 votes
4 answers
338 views

Having Trouble Writing An Opening Scene With A Shy Character

I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with the opening scene for a fantasy story I'm writing, about a mousy but passionate girl from a family of entertainers who inherits the entertainer's blood. She ...
Shikinoyume's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
303 views

Translating worldbuilding into an interesting opening

I've once heard there are 2 types of writers, and I am definitively an architect. I can write down a few hundred pages of worldbuilding and characters, but I scrap most of my stories after the first ...
Azzarrel's user avatar
  • 153
6 votes
3 answers
456 views

Should I use an important scene from the middle of my novel as a prologue?

I am a first time novelist with writing experience. I have an idea for my novel that begins with an important scene which actually plays out in the middle of the novel. Should I write this as a ...
Del Barras's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
243 views

When opening a book

I hear a lot of things about how one should give the name of their character early in the writing setting etc. My question is is it ok not to name your character, not to be specific about your setting ...
Samuel's user avatar
  • 11