the writer's room discussion

any tips on how to start a book? the first paragraph to page is always something that's challenging for me. any suggestions?

I’ve recently started my first, so I don’t have much in the way of advice. But what i’ve been doing is just going with what interests me most in the moment. I do have an intro but it’s more of a placeholder lol

What helps for me is to write it out like a movie script!! And then from that you kind of just transform it into a book by adding details and filling in the gaps and then changing things needed to be changed until boom you have yourself a decent first draft!! You also have to remember that it’s ALLOWED to be messy because it’s a first draft and you are gonna go over it and tweak and fix it later so don’t stress too much about it and just focus on getting down the foundation:)

Agreed with above, you're putting a lot of unneeded pressure on yourself!

YMMV, but what works for me is any time I have an idea, I'll make a new google doc right then and there, and just toss in all the thoughts I'm having. I have no expectations that it will evolve past that, so there's no pressure. However, if I decide to do something with it, there's already basics to work from.

IMO the opening paragraph should be one of the last things you write. By then you know your book and can represent it well. Writing inevitably improves over the course of a long project like a novel, so you're also putting your best foot forward.

Are there any tips on how to start your first chapter apart from a movie script? In my first chapter my main character doesn't have anyone that he can talk to, so I can't write it out as a movie script.

anytime i want to start something i just write whatever first comes to mind. as i keep writing, and get into the mind and groove of the characters, sometimes the first chapter will change anyway. i've changed the first chapter of nearly every single book i've written. it helps to just get it out even if it's messy

a big chunk of my first chapter doesn’t have any dialogue so i faced this problem too! i just focus on having either a big event occur (in my case the MC immediately gets kidnapped) or a big past event that the narrator is describing for some reason (for example, a recent suspicious death). first chapter is also a good place for world-building and personality development, so i try to show as much of my world and MC’s personality as i can through her internal dialogue, without info dumping.

for the starting page/paragraph, i'd say rough sketch. normally to start of stories you have a problem, realization, or conflict but is not your main problem. I feel like that's where you start and ask "why did problem 1 occur?" and that's where you start.

or start with a cliffhanger or ending such like "i killed everyone in venice, and now those same people are alive."

I like to look at some of my favorite books that are usually in the same genre that I'm writing, and I look at how that book started. For example, my favorite book started in a diner, so I'm having mine start in a diner. Also, I've noticed in almost all (if not all) of my favorite books in the first chapter introduce the MC (obviously), but they also have the MC meet a character for the first time and that character is going to be important in some way.

Jai ♡ jaii wrote: "ask "why did problem 1 occur?" and that's where you start...."

That's a great idea. My stories tend to be very charadcter-focused, and coming up with a plot when I only have a character and their problems can be difficult.

or start with a cliffhanger or ending such like "i killed everyone in venice, and now those same people are alive..."

Starting with a cliffhanger or something that jumps up at you is a great way to hook the reader in right away.

I have recently chosen my absolute favorite book idea and have started expanding using notes on more of the story, but I am only using my phone and an iPad, (which is outdated and cannot update anymore) I would like to buy a laptop for personal studies, writing, and maybe some slight gaming (to occasionally play games like the sims maybe?) . Do y'all have any cheap recommendations for a laptop? I'm a teenager and very broke lol

I always write something before I write so that I’m never starting with a blank page.