{ ＩＮＫＬＩＮＧＳ } LOCK! NEW THREAD

[nutella ♥]

Question; how do you make your introductions interesting? How do you draw readers in straight away?

going back to the Nighttime Novelist book I recently purchased, there is a section on intros and its very helpful.
I agree with rolly - dropping your reader in the middle of an intense battle scene may be a tad confusing, as is a dream, vision or something like that. It may sound mysterious and exciting if you begin your novel with your protagonist dreaming, but your reader may be confused when they awaken because they have no idea what just happened, and by that point they may be already putting down the book to get a head massage. If you make it clear that they are dreaming then I suppose that works too.
Anyway, I actually like to start off my stories with the narrator talking. I've been writing this story for this thing, and it begins with the main character talking about this girl that he likes, but he doesn't mention his name or many details about her, and we don't know his name either. So there's still some room for more information, but we have the basic outline of a story. Guy likes girl.
Dialogue is also a good way to start a story, but not, "Hello George, I like your mittens." Something along the lines of, "I never want to see you again!" Or "What do you mean, leaving?" might catch the readers attention without dropping them in an intense battle scene.
Hope this helped and made sense. c:

[king boo]

Username;;

Ａｕｔｕｍｎ Ｆｒｏｓｔ.

What we will call you;;

Fern or Autumn

Will you critique other's work?;;

No, I wont critique others as when I have done so before people have taken it the wrong way...

Links to your story if you have any;;

No

Anything you want us to know?;;

I really want to write a story but I have the problem of witting a page or too then getting bored, I also would like help on structure and writing as I want to be better. I hope I have done everything right...

[Lilysplash]

Username;;

Ａｕｔｕｍｎ Ｆｒｏｓｔ.

What we will call you;;

Fern or Autumn

Will you critique other's work?;;

No, I wont critique others as when I have done so before people have taken it the wrong way...

Links to your story if you have any;;

No

Anything you want us to know?;;

I really want to write a story but I have the problem of witting a page or too then getting bored, I also would like help on structure and writing as I want to be better. I hope I have done everything right...

Hello! ^-^
Welcome to Inklings!
@ Nutella- yes, I agree. ^-^ However, here are some beginnings to avoid, as they are quite overused.
Protagonist waking up. Been there, done that, over a hundred times.
"Hello, my name is..." Ugh. I will die reading that.
"Dear Journal"... No. Just no.
"Once upon a time", unless it is used for comical purposes, like a parody of a story.
And, of course, never start with errors. That would obviously chase away readers. And for goodness's sakes, no "texters lang"! It is only amusing in a satire when it is meant to be used.

[Rolly-chan]

Username;;

Ａｕｔｕｍｎ Ｆｒｏｓｔ.

What we will call you;;

Fern or Autumn

Will you critique other's work?;;

No, I wont critique others as when I have done so before people have taken it the wrong way...

Links to your story if you have any;;

No

Anything you want us to know?;;

I really want to write a story but I have the problem of witting a page or too then getting bored, I also would like help on structure and writing as I want to be better. I hope I have done everything right...

Hello! ^-^
Welcome to Inklings!
@ Nutella- yes, I agree. ^-^ However, here are some beginnings to avoid, as they are quite overused.
Protagonist waking up. Been there, done that, over a hundred times.
"Hello, my name is..." Ugh. I will die reading that.
"Dear Journal"... No. Just no.
"Once upon a time", unless it is used for comical purposes, like a parody of a story.
And, of course, never start with errors. That would obviously chase away readers. And for goodness's sakes, no "texters lang"! It is only amusing in a satire when it is meant to be used.

I think all this highly depends on your skill and what you do afterwards. Rules are there to break them - if you know how to. So each of those things can be done well. I wouldn't recommend it to beginners, though. But beginners do that anyway because... well, everyone's a beginner at first, and everyone commits some writing sins when starting. *shrugs* Some commit them all. I don't remember how many I myself committed XD But I do remember creating six Mary Sues at once

[nutella ♥]

Hello! ^-^
Welcome to Inklings!
@ Nutella- yes, I agree. ^-^ However, here are some beginnings to avoid, as they are quite overused.
Protagonist waking up. Been there, done that, over a hundred times.
"Hello, my name is..." Ugh. I will die reading that.
"Dear Journal"... No. Just no.
"Once upon a time", unless it is used for comical purposes, like a parody of a story.
And, of course, never start with errors. That would obviously chase away readers. And for goodness's sakes, no "texters lang"! It is only amusing in a satire when it is meant to be used.

I agree ^^ there are certain cliches and just 'wrong' ways to start that need to be avoided, such as the ones you mentioned and these:
- So I like this girl but she's dating this guy so I decided to do this and then this but then it all backfired on me and... {{ you don't want to give away the whole plot in the first sentence, then the reader won't have a reason to read on.
- I run through the forest, wind whipping my face and hair... {{ okay, running through the forest is cool and all, but it's kind of a cliche, unless you manage to make it work.
- Mist swirls around me, and a MAGIC UNICORN APPEARS! I wake in a cold sweat, it was only a nightmare. But then THE UNICORN RETURNS! Oh no, I'm still dreaming! Or is this reality....? {{ again, dreams are confusing. My mind is exploding as we speak trying to comprehend what I just wrote.
- Guns explode around me. War is everywhere. Blood splatters the ground... {{ wait, who's fighting who? Intense-ness, can't.. Handle... Too... Much... Action.. Battle scenes are confusing. It will boggle your readers mind and they won't be able to understand a word you are saying.
- Hey Bob what's up? Nothing much Greg, just chilling. Cool Bob. I'm going to the store to buy some eggs. That's nice Greg. I'm going to read the newspaper and eat some cheese... {{ okay, that's great and all, but I thought this was a murder story..? Boring conversations need to be avoided as well. Your reader will fall asleep.
So yeah, just some more tips that I thought of. A good way to start your story is a hook, but nothing too action-y or dramatic. Maybe start about the protagonists past, but tell it in an exciting way that will catch your readers attention.

[Crookedleaves Blown]

Hey um, I'm writing the beginning for my book of hyenas, and I was wondering if this was okay?

Matthi sat on the cold flat stone and watched over the horde of spotted coats and dark faces, each one recognizable. He knew each face by name—the one male hyena with the missing eye was Jua, the stocky yet swift female on his left was Mafuta, and the cub dancing around their paws was Kavu. Of course, this was just a random family picked out from the main group. Matthi knew even the most distant member of the clan.

But the young Kucheka [spotted hyena] was not looking for a random family. He was looking for the familiar graceful figure of his eldest sister, Fatima. She had begged him to meet her here, below the midnight sky, and Matthi was so moved by her desperation that he did came. Although she no longer had the respect of her clan, Matthi still honored tradition and obeyed her. Female hyenas had more authority than the males did, of course.

Fatima lost her status as a Kiongozi [leader, or high ranker] when she became disloyal to her mother Usawa—the main leader of the clan—due to the horrifying deeds she did against those who deserted the clan. Fatima was pregnant at the time, and plotted with the low-ranking males to overthrow the Kiongozi . But of course, it was fruitless. Usawa found out and had utterly destroyed the resistance before it could even take root firmly. As for Matthi’s sister? She was ripped of her rank, nad Usawa killed her cubs as punishment. All of this happened when Matthi was living as an outcast, assuming that the clan had been disbanded when Usawa “died”. Now he was back, and his loyalties to his family members were divided. He didn’t know what to do himself!

And Fatima wants me to help her killed Mother, he thought with utter despair. Hadithi, [the god that the hyenas believe in] what do I do? He looked at the sky for answers, but he knew that the start-studded sky would not yield any for him. It was cold and unfeeling, just like the greeting he received from his mother and sister. They had been like strangers to him—so alien! I don’t even know who they are anymore. But they’ve been doing terrible things, and they want me on their side. Don't you have any answers?

[Small Child]

Hey, thanks guys! You're super!

[Kodabomb]

Um sorry guys, but can I please have some tips on twisting my short story? I really need it at the moment... Sorry sorry sorry! It's on page 88.

[Small Child]

PM me with it Koda, and I'll give you any advice I can. :3

[Lilysplash]

Username;;

Ａｕｔｕｍｎ Ｆｒｏｓｔ.

What we will call you;;

Fern or Autumn

Will you critique other's work?;;

No, I wont critique others as when I have done so before people have taken it the wrong way...

Links to your story if you have any;;

No

Anything you want us to know?;;

I really want to write a story but I have the problem of witting a page or too then getting bored, I also would like help on structure and writing as I want to be better. I hope I have done everything right...

Hello! ^-^
Welcome to Inklings!
@ Nutella- yes, I agree. ^-^ However, here are some beginnings to avoid, as they are quite overused.
Protagonist waking up. Been there, done that, over a hundred times.
"Hello, my name is..." Ugh. I will die reading that.
"Dear Journal"... No. Just no.
"Once upon a time", unless it is used for comical purposes, like a parody of a story.
And, of course, never start with errors. That would obviously chase away readers. And for goodness's sakes, no "texters lang"! It is only amusing in a satire when it is meant to be used.

I think all this highly depends on your skill and what you do afterwards. Rules are there to break them - if you know how to. So each of those things can be done well. I wouldn't recommend it to beginners, though. But beginners do that anyway because... well, everyone's a beginner at first, and everyone commits some writing sins when starting. *shrugs* Some commit them all. I don't remember how many I myself committed XD But I do remember creating six Mary Sues at once

Quite true. I, myself, enjoy writing these into parodies, but not serious works. Ever heard of badfics? X3 I love those! Ah, sues! Hilarious in a satire! Also, I have one story with a sue, but deliberately. ^-^
Rules like godmoding and sues can be broken occasionally if the writer can pull it off.