tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406419060193144228.post4237110331133112575..comments2022-02-09T03:06:58.862-08:00Comments on KL's Writing FAQ's: 39. Where does a novel begin?Kathryn (KL) Lancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406419060193144228.post-11402444038266535922012-07-29T09:34:46.694-07:002012-07-29T09:34:46.694-07:00That's great advice, Jess--start at a transiti...That's great advice, Jess--start at a transition point (which might be another way of saying at an illustration of the novel's main conflict). And also, of course, that you can go back and shift things around later. I think a lot of beginning novelists feel that they shouldn't change what they have already written.Kathryn (KL) Lancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406419060193144228.post-59228992764215847542012-07-29T09:12:07.907-07:002012-07-29T09:12:07.907-07:00I find that things work best when I start at a tra...I find that things work best when I start at a transition point in the characters life. It might not be where the story should begin, but at least it gets words on the page. I can always go back and shift things around later.Jess Schirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930756756945812094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406419060193144228.post-82347673888827077142012-07-26T15:49:01.342-07:002012-07-26T15:49:01.342-07:00I didn't want to get too complex, but that is ...I didn't want to get too complex, but that is another choice. The point of my little essay here is which point in time do you START with?Kathryn (KL) Lancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406419060193144228.post-74578800885585845072012-07-26T15:38:08.993-07:002012-07-26T15:38:08.993-07:00And then there's the kind that jumps back and ...And then there's the kind that jumps back and forth in time like the one I am reading now by Edward Abbey. So much detail and history, but I am compelled to find out where he is going with it all.Nanretiredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12751965875965511300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406419060193144228.post-61388659804355278322012-07-25T07:59:12.701-07:002012-07-25T07:59:12.701-07:00Don't give her any science fiction. She would ...Don't give her any science fiction. She would not have the patience. It was the fashion in the nineteenth century to start novels with a lot of background. It takes patience for that sort of novel too, to get through all the stuff to the story.Kathryn (KL) Lancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406419060193144228.post-25432735837106517082012-07-25T06:23:54.788-07:002012-07-25T06:23:54.788-07:00Beginning in media res is compelling because the r...Beginning in media res is compelling because the reader knows some explanation is coming and moves forward expectantly. Some people (my wife) hate it though. If we're watching a movie she constantly wants to know why something happened or who that person is and I have to respond "Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"ghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05488846601991811827noreply@blogger.com