I've discovered that I like to start writing a story in the middle. I'll start with some compelling, strongly emotional scene. (And that's not a euphemism for love scene.) Then I'll start pushing at the edges of it to figure out what would happen next, or what would happen before this to bring the characters to this scene. Once I start thinking about those things, I start to see the characters more clearly. And then the entire story arc starts to form.
When I've tried to write a story from the beginning, I've gotten bogged down. Too many background details. Too much slogging through introductory stuff to get to the interesting stuff. Of course, that's bad for the reader too. But I'm finding that when I start in the middle, then it's easier to go back and create an interesting beginning.
I was just talking to my friend Gaby, who's an artist, who says she approaches paintings in the same way. I found that interesting, and surprising, because I'd never seen a similarity between writing and painting before.
Day Count: 8
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