Where do the words come from?

One of the hardest things about writing - and I'm sure any author would agree - is starting a story. You've got the title, you know what is going to happen in the middle and at the end, but the start is where you get a bit stuck.

People find inspiration in many different ways - I draw mine from reading other books or listening to music. Having noise around me helps me concentrate better. I've trained myself to block out noises around me, so I can focus more clearly. If there is no noise to block out, I can get distracted very easily. Luckily I'm not a high-profile author who is working with deadlines in fictional writing yet, but I do know a thing or two about needing to get a certain amount of words written before a certain date. Studying and essays - but that's a different topic entirely.

So how do you start a story? Well, I've got to be completely honest, I am no expert in this so I consulted my good friend Google, to find the perfect tips for you.

Let's have a look at this article: http://www.getstoried.com/3-simple-ways-start-story/

You can click through to the link and read it yourself, but a basic break down is don't start with the cliche "Once Upon A Time", "It was a dark and stormy night", "Just the other day"...

BE INTERESTING WITH YOUR WORDS!

Some ideas they've given on how to start your story, are:

• "Imagine if..."

• "Here's what excites me..."

• "I remember when..."

Come up with a good opening sentence that has your reader asking a question... "What's going to happen?"

Have your reader sitting on the edge of their seat. The first sentence of a story is very important, because it helps the reader decide if the book is worth reading. Would they read past the first sentence?

Would you read past the first sentence of a story that started with "I got out of bed and looked out the window..."

Not the most powerful opening. Your question What are they going to do next is already answered...obviously they're getting ready in the morning and that is rather boring. Throw something like that into the book later on.

How many times have you picked up a book, read the first sentence and thought, "Oh, I don't really want to read this" and been really disappointed because you were excited to read it, based on that synopsis on the back of the book?

It doesn't matter how interesting the storyline seems to me, if that first sentence doesn't grab me, I'll put the book down.

And that's very sad if you don't want to read a book, just because of the first sentence. But it's also very sad if that first sentence just doesn't do its job.

Happy Writing

Hope you're having a wonderful life

Aletia