How to Start a Story - Part 2 (D.W.)

Now, once you have planned all of this out somewhere, it is time to begin writing the first draft.
What I think you ought to do now, is follow these steps ;- but before your eyes skip below to see what I've written, do keep in mind that all of this is just my personal opinion, and that I am no professional, though - if anybody asks - I do take great pride in having been noticed in a certain short-story competition for scary tales.

1. Think - what do you want your readers to know first?

Imagine you were a reader, okay? Beginning to read your own book, but not knowing what it was about completely. So, if you were that reader - what would you want to know about your story first - like, after somebody has read your blurb and turned to the first page. Or, more importantly, perhaps - what do YOU want them to notice when they begin reading?
In my story, "Shattered Reality", which you may view on Wattpad under the account Starry_Birdie , I began with a prologue. It is, like, an opening chapter that isn't really called a "Chapter", because it is like a "Pre-Chapter".

Say, you were writing a thriller, about a witch who stole voices and mixed them in her cauldron and then drank the potion to make her voice nice and pretty; what would you, as a reader, like to know first? Perhaps, to begin in action, you could say -

"Children were becoming voiceless; one night they went to sleep, with angelic little tones and tinkling laughs and long giggles, and awoke the next clutching their throats in despair, kicking and squirming and moaning."

It's always good to make others ask questions, you know?

2. What would happen if you changed your beginning?

So, pretend that you have already decided on a start for your story. Now, think wisely -
"Does my beginning interact with this book (series) or not?"
If you said "no" to the question, then - who needs the beginning?! Chuck it in the bin! Who needs to know when a pig had kids if the story is about a palace full of horses?

Like, it's so important! - first impressions always matter, and I sincerely hope that even if I've let myself write that down on a public blog, for people all round the world to see, ten, you don't think that I judge a book by its cover. Never.
Fine, USUALLY I don't do that.

Special Post for my Friend from legendarylibraryonline.wordpress.com -- How To Start A Story (D.W)

Before you start, you have to plan out everything. Well, usually.
What I like to do at first is grab my "Writing" notebook, that I got from Typo, and jot down the basics, like;-

1. What are the characters?
It is important, for how can there be a story without any characters? Remember, you can just do the main ones, the main character('s) family, friends, et cetera - and leave the background characters till you start out.

2. What genre is my story?
It can be thriller, paranormal, sci-fi, mystery, fantasy, romance, et cetera. Your story should have at least ONE definite genre, or else everything might get all muddled up, and... you'll find yourself in a great mess. Trust mah.

3. What do I want to achieve in my story?
Maybe, you want to gain more reads and followers, if you have an account on Wattpad, or else you want to give it to charity, un-illustrated, messily written, with no plot? You ought to choose what you want to have done, and IF you want to have your story finished.

4. When will you update?
Again, if you're on Wattpad, then... you might wanna let everyone who visits your page know when you will update, so you may post details on that in your bio, or just make the first Chapter of your story an "Author's Note". If not on social media, then, 'course, perhaps you may wanna let whoever's reading your story (can be family, friends, et cetera) know when they should expect the next chapter.

Cheers,
Sandra

Posts to get you excited about!

1. Review on my Quo Vadis planner!

2. Copying is okay.

3. Ask others!

4. Story review on "Out of Breath" by E. A. Poe

5. The Laugh of the Crow (Poem)

6. What Present to get/make?

7. Books to get excited about (New version)

8. Books to get you excited about (classic version)

9. Why I don't update my story

10. E. A. Poe saved my life?

(Everyday, I want to write a little bit on my website, unless I have severe reasons not to. I hope you understand that I have work to catch up on over the holidays, and things to be doing instead of sitting at the computer)

School - Done?!! (Plus, the MyArt tag)

School is done, and so am I!Well, like, not literally, 'course... but after a year of solid work, as I like to believe, it's just nice to kick off my shoes and put my weary feet on the table and drink lemonade while I draw or write.

You may not know this, but I have posted - about nine months ago - that I was getting kinda into art. Well, now I'm into it completely. Since April, I've been spending most of my time in exploring colour theory and types of styles and so, so on. But, what you see above is a five-minute doodle. I kind of like it, but I promise - I shall definitely post more art in the next few months, and THEY shall be, like, hour-long drawings.

Please, mako sure to keep in mind that this is the work of a ten-year-old, and that I'm not actually fifteen.

What I am Trying to Achieve With My Story, On Wattpad

I have thought over this, and now I know that it is time to explain what I am actually trying to achieve through my story. I will also be explaining how I got a cover for my e-book, and telling you what I suppose all this will lead me to do.

So, I think that, to lighten the mood - rather, to just start with the "nicest" bit, I'll put up a picture of my current cover for my story and explain how I got it. Please, enjoy...

See? The image above was the cover for my story "Sabine".

But I had restarted my story, and altogether buried the plot in my mind so that I would never have to return to it again, all because I wasn't putting any effort into it. I had felt like all the other authors on Wattpad put hours and hours into each chapter, and so now, if you go onto my profile ( Starry_Birdie ), then you won't see "Sabine". And I know that I already had thirty-seven votes and over ten comments on my book, but so what could I do if nothing was turning out?
And so, now - onto how the book was made;

If one has an account on Wattpad, then, on the search-bar, one could easily type up: - "Free covers" or, if you want a precise style then you can type up -: "Pre-made gothic covers" or "Free anime covers" or, really, whatever comes to mind. Then, it would be good to contact the author of the "cover book" that you like most and tell them the specifics, like -:

1. Title:
2. Caption (onptional):
3: Mood:
4. Characters present:
5. Any extra details:

And after that, you just sent your details to the author and they may/mayn't submit to making you a cover.

Sah now, I am going to talk of my "current" story, Shattered Reality.
In this story, well, I usually post a new chapter either every three days or every week, depending how I feel of it.

I feel very much more collected, and ever happier, for now I REALLY put my efforts into writing.

Throughout my story, whilst I write it, I want to achieve this; I want people to communicate through messages, I want to grow more followers (currently am on 29), and let people mourn whenever this is a slight cliffhanger.

How I got my "current" cover? See above again, if you are not clear.

Lastly... what will all this, supposedly, lead me to do? Well, I am guessing that by the end of my book I will be very much more experienced with writing, and that it'll lead me to write another story.

Sneak-Peek of "Mistress Bell Takes a Risk"

In a world that knows no "accurate" time, or space, or perimeter, and one that makes up its own rules on time and geometry, but one that is so wildfully imagined that even the most skilled architect could not plan it out if The Planet was a mere house, up in the heavens of, this time the Second of the Sisters, gods bickered - all over a mere trifle, one must think!

A very simple trifle indeed.

"I still do not agree that Lord Omnied shall go up there!" scowled one of the Lords, as the eight sat on their thrones in the red circle - "I say, we shall call the four explorers back from their goblinn mission and ask for Mistress Stone to go downans talk to King Martin."

"It's all because I'm rather fond of women!" quoth Mistress Snoowdrop, eyeing Lord Cruz suspiciously. "I only love every single one!"

Lord Trousse laughed openly. Being caught, he stuffed his mouth with crustless, paper-thin bread, with a slice of croppah on it and munched anxiously. Croppah was like butter - except that it was pink, and tasted - no; I shall simply describe that it was made from a pixie's saliva, which was actually very thick and very pink and tasted - no; I will keep my promise.

But, being a picky eater, and a very nervous speaker, Lord Trousse choked on his slice of bread and Croppah and Lord Gremlen had to kindly pat his back so that he wouldn't fall to the floor and barf out the delicate food.

After that, Lord Trousse asked a little brown bird, which had just happened to have flown up to the clouds, to go and fetch him some other food from the corner of his thatched house, one that happened to be on the very outskirts of the Second Triplet's Heaven, and one that very kindly was near a dimpled crease in the clouds.

Soon, it came back, miraculously holding an enormous tray filled with goods which was balanced on the little beak. And then, settting the delicasies on the little table, it flew off.

The Sneak-Peek of the Fourth Chapter (If one doesn't count the two prologues) - "A Sweet Romance, The Cutting of Hair, and Rosen Wine"

When one morning Wen found a grey bird on her windowsill, she was rather surprised, and even a bit scared - for things like that almost always happened in fairytales; and, as a rule, the princess - this time, Wen - was locked up in a tower, waiting for her prince to arrive when -

"I hate fairytales," was the first thing Wen said as she braided her hair in front of the window on which the curious grey animal was sitting. "The princesses can do nothing - or, they simply act like it. They just do silly things and mourn for their darlings to come and kiss them. And I wonder why such things are shown to little children! - so, no wonder they grow up to be eh." And I do, in fact, agree with our little heroine.

Then the girl licked her lips and jmped into her old grey dress, and walked up to the window. Again, Wen thought of how fairytales were so stupid. But the bird did not seem to mind; in fact, when the girl opened her windows to let the thing in, the bird jumped gladly to avoid being in the rain any longer.

"This shall turn out to be an assy day," said the girl, though she knew she weren't meant to say such things, and she thought that the word she'd used didn't quite exist. She was correct.

When Wen went downstairs to have breakfast, it was announced that Terry Dunton was coming over to stay for a week, being Wen's father's friend's son, who himself could not come for he was in Africa, but who kindly suggested his son and his wife. Also, he was to come in an hour - jolly sweet! Well, that got Wen madder than she had been in the past months, for she would have washed her hair and bothered to not get her a-line dress dirty; but, no - he should have showed up today!

And so she made a hole in her baggy, shapeless dress with her scissors, for why not have fun? And when she went upstairs to confess this all to her stuffed bear, it was realized that the grey bird had pooed all over the girl's windowsill.

"Pah!" and I cannot begin to describe how that sound came out of Wen, for it was deep and throaty and menacing all at once, but so very proper for a bad morning. And so, content, the girl sighed deeply and shooed away at the bird which flew off, feeling disgraced.

Well, miraculously, there, in the girl's wardrobe, proved to be a green broadcloth dress, all tattered and bent and shoved, lying underneath and the underwear and socks. Embarrased, Wen pulled at the creases and frowned, but nothing came of it, so she just put the thing on and let her straight, flaxen-blonde hair fall just to her shoulders. The girl had picked a moss-tinted headband, and it complimented the dress, though it weren't orange. Another pah.

"May I use your earrings, marm?" Wen asked from her mother, and the woman, looking at the dress of her simple little girl had clasped her hands together and nodded. But then shouted - "Remember, you ain't gettin' ready feh a dinnah pahty!" for the woman had a terrible toothache, and one way or another fancied that she couldn't speak quite properly.

Sneak-Peek of "A Silver Finger"

It was cold. It was dark. As the girl lay in her bed, all alone save for her stuffed animal, moonlight streamed in through her wide window, and though she was scared, Wen licked her lips and gasped in ecstacy. Slowly, she shut her eyes and opened them again only to still be able to see the darkness closed in all about her, but with a silvery shape - a stroke, as though god's finger, shining in through the darkness.

The trouble was that Wen was scared of the night. Scared to death of it all; the fact that somebody MAY come and slit open her throat; the fact that she was all alone in her room, or worse - that she wasn't; just the thought of sleeping all alone - or not; and many other absurd things that made her heart ache painfully and her breath catch in her throat.

No wonder that when she saw God's Finger for the first time she gasped and forgot of the velvety black all about her, only able to stare in awe and wonder. Stars there were none; and no moon shone. perhaps it was behind a cloud? Anyhow, she felt hope rush - as though adrenaline - into her lungs, and her chest heave as she stood clumsily and walked over to the window.

"Thank you, O Father the holy," she whispered, really not knowing the proper prayer but simply guessing that this was what one said when one saw Hope in a haphazardly storm. There, in fact, was no storm, but it felt like it.

And as she said these words, Wen trembled all over in her little gown and clasped her hands together, soon finding herself kneeling by the window. Stars began to appear one by one - and so she smiled and waved as though they were old friends of hers.

Sneak-Peek of "The Talk of the Gods"

It was up, up, in the heavens of the Second of the Triplets where gods and a godesses talked. The rest, as it seems, have gone off to spy on the goblins of Ruthenium Picke, and weren't to return until the next morning.

But, as one may have already guessed, Consiles don't have "a morning", nor do they have "midday" or "evening" or "night". They simply have Time - "Time to make time". However, the Consiles - especially the living people of the Three Triplets, which was said to provide not only the best, fresh-smelling flowers, but also education - knew morning as "Fist Time", midday as "Second Time", evening as "Third Time" and night as "Fourth Time". Everything in between was just - well, "In between".

Mistress Snow had just finished brushing her long, straight hair, and with a ghostly look to her eyes she fixed them on Lord Cruizsuxs - or else, meaning in Consilii language, "Black". For his hair was a jet-dark colour, his eyes a supportive charcoal, and the robes that he wore were crow-tinted. He also had a graying sort of hue to his muscular body - this sort of shade that one easily would see on somebody just bitten by a zombie.

In fact, it was said that he had come from the very heart of "Ruthenium Picke", which was where zombies prowled and moaned for brains. But, was it not peculiar? For, as mentioned before, one had to be "perfect" to enter the heavenly world!

"Why do you look at me so, Snowdrop?" he asked her in a deep voice.

"I look at you so for you make eyes at Torlei as if you see nothing of me," and her orbs blinked away a few frozen tears.

The man grasped the Mistress around the waist, pulling her in, and with a thumb ushered away the tears.

"We are in a place - in a place that knows no Death. We shall never grow old, never ill... so why worry of such things? It is not, this Heaven, suitable for lovers. It is for powerful gods... and godessess... and you may hate me for saying this, but I'd rather love you more if you stayed my lifelong friend, not my... not anything more." and then, he kissed her softly, letting her hand brush against his, before she pulled herself back.

"But why do you want Torlei as your "more" and not me, Cruz?"

"I do not. It is just my nature, dearest - see, I played so with you in the beginning also; the only thing is that it's harmless."

So, the two powerful Upper-ers made peace over a toast of Sap-wine, and went to the magical "circle" where six of the other rulers were displayed. To explain this more, in the heavenly clouds that spread all around them, with only ann ocassional crease to peep down and spy upon the people of Consilii (also, heavens ended with every island, but that shall be talked of later), in the very heart of the Second Triplet's Heaven, was an enormous circle, glowing a powerful, electric red magic. And in the circle, there were twelve thrones, six of which were already occupied. In front of each throne stood a small table, with a glass of Sap-wine and a slice of red cheese sitting on them. That was where the rulers came to think, and drink, and eat, and talk and laugh and spy together - the very "Circle of Merriment", if there was one in this complex heaven.

Lord Omnied, a man with flashing carrot-red hair and blazing crimson eyes, with one eye instead of two, seemingly carved, big and round, in the top middle of his face, cleared his throat and raised his glass.

"Dear Cruizsux and Snowdrop, may you join us in this meeting?"

Sneak Peek of "The Time Wen Was in Trouble"

"Do behave yourself, my dear," said the plump woman as she stood by the door in her new shell dress, one that pointed out her body, making all the round curves on her hips stand out. Her hair was a lovely flaxen-blonde, and as she fixed her daughter, Wen, with a stern look, who by the way was huddling close to her mother, with piercing blue eyes, she said these words again, rather absent-mindedly, and then she closed the door in front of her face and was gone.

Blodwena, or Wen - for short, of course! - smiled and nodded her very curly, pale-blonde head, eyes deep dark chestnuts, round and big and expressive. Though something other than prim support and agreement mingled in her eyes - that is, before they went small and bug-shaped again.

It wasn't a frown that the girl betook, but her brows had closed over her eyes and her forehead creased, as though she were thinking of what to do next. Surely, the answer came - plain and simple and obvious, though not quite nice.

"Eddy!" she called out, and smiled when her elder brother rushed down the stairs. He stood before her, smiling, dimples on his cheeks, as though little creases in cream. His brown hair was uncombed, as she noticed, and the twelve-year-old's pale-green eyes shone brightly. He seized his sister into a hug, and whispered into her ear -

"Guess who came this morning through the "other exit"?" his voice full of drollness.

"Lemme guess." Wen looked at her pretty sibling, thinking how unatractive SHE was - "Mark?"

"Right on point. Mark, and I heard him asking Ksen-Ksen - "May I kiss you?" And isn't he so cold?"

"I do not wish to talk of hot people and cold people, thank you, but I do agree!" Wen smiled, tugging at the side of her green dress. "Now, if you'll excuse me - I ought to go to school, for I broke the principle's daughter's ceramic doll, and now I have to go and deal with those idiots."

"Wenny..." 

"Oh, c'mon, Eddy-boy," Wen put in tiredly. "I'm going, he said I must - and that'll give me a cool reason to accidentely shove something off Mr. Jules's desk."

"Wenny..."

"Goodbye, and see you in never!" so, as her brother flashed her a knowing smile and she grasped a piece of lemon slice, Wen headed out of the door, making sure that no crumbs or bits of evidence were left behind.

I will catch up!

I have't been on my website for quite some time now, and I do regret it, since I have promised to write full-time from Dec-Jan. Well, let's just say that I wasn't feeling well - meaning, that I had no ideas, and no strength to write something I did not like. Also, I have had no internet since i have moved into a new house.

But here, these are some things - or documents, rather, that I will be posting of soon enough -
1. Review on my Quo Vadis planner,
2. Edgar Allan Poe - my new favourite author?!
3. Book review on "The Hobbit"
4. No spoilers! (how to write spoiler-free book reviews)
5. Explanation of my story on Wattpad, bonus details, sneak-peeks, et cetera.

So, I hope some of these, if not all, have gotten you excited for the next Month!

Much love,
Sandra