My recent posts covered several problems that writers may encounter before they start to write: Failure to plan, procrastination and feeling un-creative.
Lets assume that you have overcome these problems. You have had a surge of creative ideas and have actually settled down and scribbled out your plot.
But where does your story begin?
This is a problem that faces every writer with every story, but the answer is obvious - you start at the beginning!
Forgive me if you think this sounds stupid, but let me explain.
New writers often start their story too far back setting out a long winded background story. Way before all this routine guff has ended the readers have got bored and given up. It is important that you hook your readers almost immediately – if you can do it with the first sentence, so much the better.
To do this, you really need some action on the first page. This doesn’t have to be anything major, but it does need to be significant enough to let the readers know that something life-changing is about to happen.
The best beginnings are those which involve a change in the life of your main character. Some form of conflict. Your story needs to start with the introduction of a change to come. For example, a journey is a good way to initiate change, or the arrival of strangers or a letter that arrives in the post.
You see, this throws the reader straight into the story - at the beginning. Your plot starts to unravel itself from there.
For more information on how to write children's stories, have a look at Write For Children.co.uk or Write For Children.com
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