Should You Force Yourself to Write?

If I'm perfectly honest, even though I love to write, I often just don't feel like doing it. I love creating worlds and characters and storylines, but the actual writing is hard work and I don't like writing when I'm not in the mood. Because, after all, you need to wait for inspiration, right? If you write when you don't want to, it's going to suck, correct?

Well, maybe. But maybe not. The answer to this question depends on how serious you are about your writing.

And I am writing this to myself as much as anyone else because I am such a hypocrite in this area. I know for a fact that if I only wrote at the times when I was actually feeling inspired to write, I would never finish what I was working on.

So, short answer, yes. You should force yourself to write.

But there's more to it than that. If you have a project that you're working on and seriously want to finish, there are times you just have to force yourself to write. Sometimes you have to put your nose to the grindstone. You don't have to wait for inspiration. You're still capable of writing great stuff, even with no inspiration, even when you don't feel like it. It just takes more effort. You may have to make extra notes. You may have to try things a few different ways, but it can be done.

If you want to sit around and wait to be inspired, that's your call, but, in the words of Jack London, "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." Sometimes inspiration comes to you when you're not expecting it, but if you consider yourself a writer and are looking to improve your skills, if you only write when you have inspiration, then you're not going to be writing as much as you should. Writing isn't easy and it's not supposed to be, so only writing when you're in the mood isn't how it's supposed to work.

Make a schedule for writing and stick to it. It can be as simple as 100 words a day. At least you're writing. That's what's important. If you really, really, really, can't get in the mood, just make yourself write 100 words and then you're done for the day.

Always have a daily goal. It really does help when you know what you're aiming for. When there's a starting point and a finishing point. And, honestly, one of the reasons writers make plans like that is because we know we aren't always going to feel like writing, so we know we have to force it out of us sometimes. That's why, when you make a schedule, you know ahead of time what to do when you don't feel like writing but know that you should. This way, you will write the same amount every day whether you feel like it or not. If you are in the mood, you may write more than the required amount and that's awesome, but you will reach the goal every day.

No one feels like writing all the time so if you're not too serious about writing, you don't have a project in the works, perhaps you don't need to force yourself to write. But if you're trying to finish something, you need to plan to not feel like writing some days but writing anyway.

You have to know when enough is enough, though. Don't push yourself to the point of exhaustion. If you need a break, or you need to stop, stop. If you are trying, it counts. Don't hurt yourself. But don't procrastinate, either.

So, hopefully, having finally written this down will have motivated me enough to quit procrastinating on my writing and to stop waiting until I'm in the mood or have new ideas. Because sometimes, you can't for ideas, sometimes you have to seek them out.

Writing Romance Without Being Cheesy

I am very picky about romance. If it's going to be there, it has to be good. If I find it to be cheesy, I really can't stand it which is why I typically don't read romance novels. In my opinion, those are generally very cheesy books.

But any book you might read will probably have a love story intertwined in it, even if it's not a romance novel. And where there's a love story, there's bound to be some romance somewhere.

Now, I like love stories and I stick them into my own writing, but I'm always afraid of making them too cheesy. And, honestly, no one wants their writing to be seen as cheesy. And by the end of this post, you might be sick of the word cheesy. But if you're going to read it, that's a risk you're going to have to take.

I have realized these past few months that when I am working on the romance aspect of my work, I am trying not to be cheesy. In fact, I am focusing so much on it not being cheesy that it ends up not being very good at all. Honestly, it's pretty dull.

So, how do you make it not cheesy and still good? Well, that is the hard part because what is and is not cheesy is largely a matter of opinion. Some people find romantic love, in general, to be cheesy. So, really, how do you know if you're being cheesy or not? People are going to have their opinions either way, but, as the writer, there are some things you need to think about if you want to reduce the level of cheesiness of your love story.

1. Avoid clichés
There is nothing cheesier than a cliché love story. And love at first sight is the cliché-est. This isn't to say love at first sight never works in a novel, but if you have nothing that sets it apart from every other love at first sight tale, then it's just a cliché. In my opinion, the whole idea of "falling in love" with someone upon seeing them for the first time is cheesy because it robs your reader of what connects or attracts the characters to each other. Another cliché is having one character who is shy, one who isn't and they have this unexplainable attraction to each other. What makes these type of romantic stories cheesy is the entire romance is based on the physical appearance of the two. The people are basically in love because they are both good looking. It's cliché. And also cheesy. Be aware that your story doesn't have to be swooning hearts and fluttering eyelids all the time. Also, it's very cliché to have your characters fall in love because they have a similar past or because they share one intense situation together. The more original you are, the less cheesy it will be.

2. Give your characters time to get to know each other
Don't be under the impression that your characters have to like each other right away - not even on a friendly basis. They don't need an instant connection. It's one thing to have your characters enter a relationship almost right from the go, but, if they become friends first - go through struggles, experience laughter and pain together, then the romantic connection will be much stronger and there will definitely be the feeling that this relationship will be a long lasting one because the characters are more than just attracted to each other. They care about each other. And your reader has had time to see the relationship develop. They have also gone through all these situations with the characters and they will be much more involved in their relationship. Think about TV shows. The two characters we know are right for each other usually take a few years to get together. They just become better and better friends, being involved in each others lives and by the time they get together, we are really wanting it to happen. It's the same technique you should use when writing. Give your readers a reason why these characters should be in love. If they don't have a history, then they don't have much of a future. You want to make sure your characters are falling for the actions of the other, not their appearance.

3. Don't write as if you're planning on starting a relationship
When you are writing, don't focus on the upcoming relationship. Pretend like you have no idea it's even going to happen. These characters are getting to know each other and, right now, are not even thinking about each other romantically so you shouldn't be either. In one of my stories, before I started, I had these two characters for which I'd planned a romantic relationship by the end of it, but as I wrote and focused on the story and just let it take its course, the characters weren't falling in love. It kind of bothered me because I'd really been planning for them to have those feelings for each other, but even though they were best friends and had been through everything together, their friendship never became anything more. And, of course, I could still make it happen but placing them together would be strange and awkward. And that doesn't always happen. Most of the time, when I plan for two characters to be together by the end, it happens. What I'm trying to say is, you can have the plan for two people to get together, but don't write like that's the plan. Don't force it to happen. You may find, as your characters develop, they just aren't a good romantic match. Maybe someone you didn't expect will end up being the love interest.

4.  Make sure your characters aren't constantly thinking about each other
Remember that if you're not writing a romance novel, your story isn't about two people falling in love. Even in a romance novel, the reader needs a break from the romance every once in a while. So, although you have to develop this relationship throughout the book, keep in mind it's a subplot, not the main plot. Eventually, your characters may have a desire for each other, but you don't want to overdo  it. Save it for the appropriate places and your reader won't be rolling their eyes so much.

5. Keep the lovey-dovey stuff to a minimum
Once your characters have entered into the romantic relationship, the story isn't over. Congratulations if you were able to successfully write a budding romance, but don't give up on it once the relationship is in place. These are the still the same characters and they can't suddenly change towards each other. Keep the relationship real. Don't have them be making out every time they see each other or constantly holding hands and making goo goo eyes. Sometimes it's okay to do things if you want, but, once again, don't overdo it. Relationships take a lot of hard work to keep together so don't write as if they're on their honeymoon the entire time. Real couples argue, make mistakes. What illustrates love more than any romantic action is if your characters can disagree, argue, make the wrong choices and still be with each other at the end of the day. A good question to ask yourself throughout the story is not "what do people do when they're in love?", but, "what do my characters do when they're in love?"

Like with everything about writing, these tips aren't set in stone. I can't say "follow these steps and I guarantee the perfect love story every time!" Every love story is different, but, generally, you can use these methods in any type to make it less cheesy.

As long as it's a budding romance and not an instant romance, the chances of it being cheesy are reduced. This doesn't mean there can't be any sort of physical attraction at the beginning, but slow down before they're in a relationship and "in love" with each other.

Like I said at the beginning, I am very picky about romance and I think that's one reason I struggle with writing it in a way that I'm satisfied. So, learn from my mistake and don't worry about whether or not your love story is cheesy as you're writing it. Just write what feels natural and then look it over and see if you think it's cheesy or not. Really, though, if you have a plan from the beginning and know what you're doing, it's probably not going to be cheesy. Confidence often gets rid of cheesiness.

The Deal With Outlining

I hate outlining.

Really.

I hate it so much that I usually skip it.

We often hear that there are no rules to being a writer, but it seems, as writers, that we are all expected to outline. We are taught to outline as if it is the correct way to write anything and everything.

I took a creative writing class a few years back where, in the space of a year, each student wrote his or her own novel. The first actual writing step we had to do was create the outline. While I enjoyed the class, I ended up not liking my finished work. In my opinion, it is the weakest thing I have ever written and I'm convinced it was because of the outline.

So I typically don't outline anymore. I tend to let my stories flow naturally. I like to be surprised by where my story takes me.

I'm not here to diss outlining, though. Outlining can and has been a great asset to many writers and is often very helpful in the writing process. Outlining can be wonderful, but it's not always necessary. If you look around, you'll see that writers today are divided on the subject of outlining. K.M. Weiland (she has a wonderful writing blog that I love) strongly believes in outlining, while Writer's Digest has a great article on how you can write awesome stories with no outline.

Don't feel pressured to write an outline. If the thought of creating one stresses you out, just don't create one. My problem with outlines is when I have one, I feel limited, like I have to stick to my outline no matter what - but that's definitely not true. You can have an outline and completely stray from it if you wish. You are the writer, after all. You are the god of this story and can do whatever you want.

This isn't to say go ahead and start writing with no plan whatsoever. When I get an idea for a story, I don't jump on it right away. I let it flesh out and develop for a few days so I at least know my main characters and have a fairly stable idea about where the story is going. But I definitely don't make an outline.

Don't let anyone except yourself tell you if you need to make an outline before you start writing. Some writers do better with one and others do better without. You know if you need an outline. You're not a lazy writer if you don't have an outline, you just have a different writing process. If people are going to say there are no rules to writing a novel, don't let them give you any.

When Your Characters Stop Listening to You

Raise your hand if you haven't experienced the difficulty of characters who just flat out don't want to do what you tell them. If you raised your hand, lucky you. This blog post probably won't be of much use to you.

But if you do have this problem, what do you do? What are you supposed to do when you want the story to go one way, but your characters are taking it another?

Well, the first thing you should do is good advice for basically any situation: don't panic. Just take a deep breath. It's okay if it's not working out how you originally planned. Several times during the writing process, I have come to the realization that the plans I had for the story when  I started writing just fly out the window.

Take a break
Always take a break first and see if that solves the problem. When we're going at it too long and too hard, our brains mess things up. We need to relax and switch activities every once in a while. So, if you're suddenly having trouble with your characters, make sure you take a break before you consider other options. A break may be all you need. If however, when you return to writing and the problem is still there, you may have a character that just isn't listening to you.

Let the characters lead
When you've created well rounded characters who you know really well and can carry the weight of the story, you may find that they actually know the story better than you do. They may have their own ideas. So, if your characters are resisting your instructions and pulling in a different direction, don't be afraid to explore that direction. If your character is trying to take control, it's okay to let them for a little bit and see where it takes you.

It can be very frustrating sometimes, though, when we desperately want our character to do something, but we can't realistically make it happen. We, of course, can write it, but something about it feels very forced and awkward. Listen to your gut. If your hand doesn't want to write it, maybe it's a sign that you need to reconsider the events taking place.

I once had a character that I had specific plans for when I started the story and I thought it was a brilliant idea. I realized, though, by the end, that this particular character ended up being someone completely different than I had intended him to be without my even noticing it. I just followed his lead and it ended up working much better with my story.

Re-evaluate your character
If you have a specific character that is causing trouble, take a moment and re-evaluate them. Maybe they changed and you didn't realize, which is why you can't seem to get under control. Maybe your story changed and you really just don't need them anymore.  

So, relax, this isn't a disaster. Just remember that if your characters stop listening to you, maybe you should start listening to your characters.

Show, Don't Tell

For as long as I've been into writing, one of the pieces of advice I've heard the most is "Show, don't tell." And I think it's great advice. There's just one problem: I've never really heard people explain how to do it. Everyone's telling me to show and not tell, but no one is showing me how to show and not tell.

This is unfortunate for me because one of my struggles with writing is showing instead of telling. I try to do it but I never know if I've succeeded. As I write, I'm constantly thinking "Am I showing or telling? Did I show that right? How do I show this instead of tell it?"

For me, telling someone to show and not tell without telling them how to do that is like giving someone a math test without teaching them math. What are we supposed to do?

Obviously, I struggle with this aspect and if I struggle with it, somebody else probably does too. I wish I knew everything there was to know about showing and not telling, but, honestly, I need to read this information more than I need to write it. So, why am I writing it? Because I have to tackle it sometime.

So, obviously, when we talk about showing vs telling, we want the reader to see what we're talking about rather than just hear it. We need to be as vivid as possible without being too wordy, which is very challenging.

So, to get started, here is an example of showing vs telling.

Telling:  Mary was brunette.

Showing: Mary's hair cascaded down her back. It was a dark, rich color which reminded most people of  freshly melted chocolate or sitting in front of a fireplace with hot cocoa during the winter.

Though the description may be slightly overboard, hopefully you have an idea of what the goal is when talking about showing rather than telling if you didn't already. 

It's plain to see that those descriptions are different, but how are they different? What, exactly, sets them apart from each other? Verbs, adjectives, visual imagery. The difference is one is flatly telling you how things are, and the other one is describing it for you so you can see it yourself.

Descriptive language is how you show something. Instead of saying someone is tall, say they tower over everyone else. It gives your reader an image of what the person looks like. It all boils down to word choice. This is a great reason to write with a thesaurus next to you because synonyms have a way of livening up a scene. Don't say loud say ear-splitting. Don't say happy say delighted. Just changing one word is sometimes all it takes to show your readers what is happening rather than telling them.

In the above example, for the showing, I never said Mary's hair was brown, but you knew anyway. That's exactly what I mean; I literally never wrote that she had brown hair. I showed you. I described it so you could see it. I didn't have to say what color it was.

It might not seem like it's so difficult when you look at it like this, but it really is. When you apply it to your own writing, it becomes a real challenge. You have to make sure you're showing in every scene, that you're always being vivid and adding enough imagery without over-doing it. You can't be too wordy or flowery because that turns people off and if there's too many words then it confuses people and makes your storyline harder to follow.

One of my absolute favorite quotes about showing vs telling comes from Anton Chekhov: "Don't tell me moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." It really illustrates, for me, the difference between showing and telling. If you simply state the obvious, it's boring. Would you rather read a sentence such as:

"she threw herself onto her bed as the tears she'd been fighting all day finally escaped while she tried to stifle her sobs with a pillow,"

or a sentence like:

"when she got to her room, she started to cry."?

Both  sentences say the same thing, but one is showing you and the other is merely telling you. The second sentence is dull in comparison to the first. Even without being compared to anything, it's weak and doesn't have any descriptive language. It's as if we are hearing a story second-hand rather than watching it unfold ourselves. The first sentence, though, engages you by describing what is happening as it happens. It's not telling you that she cried, it's telling you how she cried.

Don't be black and white with your writing, be colorful. Adjectives and verbs are really helpful in this area because they paint the picture. But, as I said earlier, it's all about the word you choose. Angry is an adjective, but it's not nearly as descriptive as the adjectives irritated or enraged. Those give a much clearer idea of exactly what a character is feeling and paints a vivid picture for your reader.

I know that one of the reasons showing instead of telling is hard for me is because I can already see it all in my head. I see it without words and when I write that someone is happy, I don't feel the need to explain more because I already get it. I know my characters and my story and I don't have to describe it for myself. And it's hard to describe how it looks sometimes. Sometimes, you have such an exact picture in your mind of how something looks and none of the ways you describe it seem to do it justice. You just can't find the right words. It can be really, really difficult to be descriptive.

Painting a picture with words is a talent you have to work for. You're lucky if it comes naturally. But, if you work at it and achieve it, you can create a literary masterpiece.

Killing a Character? Why?

As readers, we rejoice when the villains are killed and devastated when our favorite characters die, but, as writers, killing is just part of the job - and many times it's a part of the job we look forward to.

We want to make our readers feel all sorts of emotions while reading our book. We want them to feel happy, scared, angry, surprised, disgusted (in a good way) and, yes, sad. Any emotions we can evoke are good ones. And you want to them feel several different emotions, not just one of them the whole time because, in the end, that will bore the reader. They come looking for adventure, and they expect their emotions to be toyed with. Sometimes characters just have to die.

But it's not just about the reader. It's also about your story. Sometimes we want to kill a character for the sake of killing them and because we want our reader to react to the death. But, before you kill them, you have to ask yourself a question.

Why am I killing this character?

If you don't know why you're killing the character, no one else will either. Your character must have a reason to die. If there is no reason and you're killing them just because you want the reader to mourn them, it's not going to work out that way. It's all about reason. If there's no reason, the reader is not going to react or care the way you want them to. If you are sentencing a character to death, but are unable to pinpoint exactly why they have to go, then you should think twice before getting rid of them. Maybe they need to die, maybe they don't. If you're unsure, ask yourself these questions.

Is my character in the way?
Sometimes we end up with a character who just gets in the way of everything. They started out with real purpose and you had some big plans for them but, along the way, they sort of got kicked to the side and now really serve no purpose. It happens to the best of us. If you have a character that's just there and isn't really helping to move the plot along, don't kill them. When you kill for the sole purpose of getting rid of a character that you no longer have a need for, it shows. You won't be fooling anyone. It's taking the easy way out. So, obviously, this character needs not to be in the story because they're just getting in the way of everything but you don't need to kill them off. What you need to do is acknowledge they have no purpose and go back and completely write them out. This way, instead of having to kill them later, now they just never existed. You don't need characters in your story who serve no purpose, so don't have them in there in the first place.

Will killing this character move the plot forward?
If the answer to this question is no, you need to think again about killing them. Everything that happens in your story, every scene, every event, every death, has to help the plot along. If killing your character puts a pause on the plot or is completely irrelevant to the plot, then what's the point of killing them?

Is killing the character really necessary?
Sometimes, the plot demands we kill the character and sometimes it doesn't. Don't kill your character if you don't need to. You really want to avoid just going around killing characters because if it keeps happening and it doesn't need to happen, the reader isn't going to cry, they're going to get annoyed. We need to really plan out the character deaths and make sure it's necessary in order for the reader to care when the character dies.

How will the death affect the main character?
If you're going to kill a character, the death has to affect the main character. Whether positively or negatively, the main character has to have some reaction to it. Remember that the death of whoever you're killing has to push the plot forward, and your main character is carrying the plot with them, so they must be affected one way or another by the character's death. It doesn't have to be an emotional reaction. They may not have even known the character, but the death needs to come back to them somehow. Maybe it just makes their task more difficult, or maybe easier. Just make sure the death affects the main character either directly or indirectly.

Am I killing the character to make the reader sad or to shock them?
It's important that you don't kill off characters for the purpose of getting a reaction from your audience. You won't get the reaction you want if you kill for the sole purpose of getting a reaction. If your character dies in the right way, at the right time, for the right reasons, the reader will react. But don't try to get a reaction from them. Do not kill for the reader, kill for your story.

Am I killing the character because it's the bad guy?
It's common for the villain to die at the end of a story. But it's not written in stone that every villain ultimately has to die. In fact, it's not even suggested anywhere. Don't kill the villain just because they're the bad guy. They must have as much reason to die as any other character and that reason can't just be that they're the opposing force. Kill the villain only if they have to die for the sake of your story. Only if it makes the story better and they have no other option. When killing a bad guy, you have to ask yourself the same questions you would before killing any other character.

The point here is that you really need to think before killing your character. Really question your motives for doing it and make sure it's absolutely necessary for your story. Especially if you find yourself unable to pinpoint exactly why you're doing it. The truth is, sometimes, no matter how much we want to kill a character, they really don't need to die and we have to acknowledge that.

But, also, sometimes we really don't want to kill a character even though the plot is demanding they die and we must acknowledge that as well. Readers often imagine that authors love to kill and do it out of enjoyment and, sometimes that's true, but the other truth is that, many times, it's just as hard for the author to kill the character as it is for the reader to read about it. We love our characters, but we know that they can't always make it through alive. If you're having a hard time executing a beloved character, just remember the words of Robert Frost: "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader." If your story is messing with your emotions, you can be sure it will do as much for your reader.

How to Start (And Not Start) Your Novel

So you've got the perfect idea for a good story and you can't wait to get started. It's just itching to get out of you.

When you finally have time to sit down and work on it, though, you have to be careful how you start it. If it doesn't have a good beginning, readers won't be interested enough to read further, even if the rest of it is amazing.

The beginning of your story is supposed to tell the reader how good the rest of it is. It's like you're saying to the reader "Hey, this is how good the story is. This is why you should read it." The beginning has to be as good as the rest of it, if not better. It is, after all, what makes your reader want to finish the story.

Your beginning has to hook the reader and pull them in enough to make them keep turning the pages, and that isn't an easy task.  There is no one way to start your novel that always works, but there are several different types of beginnings that tend to grab a reader's interest.

Do use humor. Humor is an excellent way to begin just about anything: a speech, a conversation with someone you just met, a novel. This is because people are almost immediately put at ease with a little bit of humor. It is also beneficial, for you, as the writer, because if you start off with something witty, your reader opens up your book and the first thing they see is something clever, then they are likely to continue reading. People like to laugh, and if you can get them to early on, then you are very likely to catch a devoted reader. Humor is also effective in a different way. If your reader is captivated by the humor, then in the very first line, they have a reaction to your story and they are subconsciously pushed to read on. But you have to be careful with humor. Don't just open with a joke, unless it works with your story. Don't just be funny, the humor has to tie in to your story somehow or you'll lose the reader a couple of paragraphs in. It has to introduce your story.

For example, think of the opening line in The Voyage of The Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis: "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." This opening line is witty and introduces us to the main character. In one sentence, we have been given a good amount of information. By C.S. Lewis' use of the word "boy" we know Eustace is a kid and not nearing adulthood. We know that he pretty much an unpleasant person to hang out around with. He's probably bratty or something of a bully.

Your humorous opening can't just be humorous. It has to give information about your story or you will quickly lose your reader's interest.

Don't begin with description. Of anything. Not the landscape, not the weather, not the protagonist. The first thing the reader wants to know when they open up a book is the answer to "Why do I care?" and it's a question you have to answer right away. If the first thing the reader sees is a description of a sunrise or the Smith family at dinner, they're not going to read much farther. When a reader opens a book for the first time, they don't want to know what the protagonist looks like, they want to care about the protagonist and feel involved right away. Telling them the character's hair color doesn't provide much of a connection.

Do have something significant going on. There has to be something happening when your story starts, otherwise, why are you including the scene? Your characters need to be doing something or in the middle of something that will get your reader involved in the action right away. Opening with you protagonist waking up in the morning and getting ready for school isn't significant, even if your story is about a kid in high school. Opening with a police interrogation is significant.

Don't begin with a backstory. Starting with a history is saying to the reader, "Wait a minute. Before the story starts, here's something you need to know." And that won't do. The book is open, your story should already be started. If your reader needs to know backstory, there's ways to work into your story without taking a time out. And the reader is more likely to be interested in the backstory if they are previously engaged in the story and care about your character.

Do use suspense. It's never too early for suspense. If you have your readers on the edge of their seats at the beginning, that's a good sign. If your opening scene is suspenseful, they may not have a connection with the protagonist right away, but they certainly are involved in the story. Be careful, though. You don't want to throw too much at them at once. Don't be all suspense because you still have a story to tell and you need to introduce your story to the reader.

Don't start with a dream. A dream is teasing the reader. You have something interesting going on and then, when your character wakes up, it's like saying, "Just kidding! None of that happened. Here's the real story." As a reader, it's aggravating. We don't want to be pulled into a story to find out it's not the story at all.

Do have some kind of introduction or reference to important secondary characters. No, they don't all have to be present at the beginning, or even mentioned in the first chapter, but you need to introduce all important characters early on. If your story is already going on and your reader is used to the flow and has already become familiar with your protagonist and then in chapter five, you introduce a significant secondary character that should already have been at least mentioned, it's going to throw your reader off balance.

Don't start off by telling your readers that your work of fiction is a true story. It's a waste of time because no matter how many times you say everything really happened, we know it didn't and the more you try to convince us, the more annoyed we will become. The Percy Jackson series starts off this way, and though they are fine books, the beginning does tend to annoy me somewhat. Just know that your reader knows it's fiction and you don't want to spend time telling them it's real. It can get in the way of your story.

These beginnings, are, of course, not your only options. There are several different theories out there about ways stories should begin and if you're still unsure after reading this, keep looking around. You don't want to start your story when you're still not sure how you should start it.

Keep in mind that the beginning is one of the most important parts of your books and, consequently, one of the hardest to write. You have to hook your reader (without being too crazy) and at the same time, give them enough information to understand what's going on right away. Don't spend time writing about a situation while keeping your reader in suspense of what, exactly, the situation is. They need to understand right away. Beginning a book is tough job.

Remember the words of Richard Peck: "You're only as good as your opening line." If your opening doesn't make the reader want to read more, they're not going to read more. The beginning is the only chance you have to hook your reader's interest. If the opening isn't good, they'll assume the rest of it isn't any good, either.

Don't be discouraged if you're having trouble coming up with a good beginning. It takes time to find the perfect opening for your story. We all struggle with this part of writing because the beginning is only a few lines long, but they have to say a lot. But the better you understand what the reader is looking for in those first few sentences and the job your opening has to do, the better your beginning will be.