Post 25 – Beginnings at the Beginning
Posted on | January 1, 2010 | 7 Comments
It’s a new year, and as such, I thought I’d talk a little about beginnings. The western notion of story structure (no, it’s not Universal, I’ll talk about that in another post) dictates a beginning, a middle and an end. It dictates setups and payoffs. It dictates some sort of change to happen to a circumstance or a character.
In the beginning, something happens that sets something else in motion. Pretty simple.
In linear story structure (1~2~3) the beginning happens where you would expect it, at the beginning, but there are many other ways of doing it. There is a device called framing, where you “frame” your story with the last scene. (3~1~2~3.) Usually, with this device, the last scene is broken in two and the story starts with the first half and ends with the second half of that scene. Sometimes the last scene is repeated, but on the second reading, we know much more, so it seems new, the meanings of the moments seem different. The beginning happens second in this technique.
Sometime, you might tweak this even further and start at the middle, then go back to the beginning and tell the story through to the end. (2~1~2~3.) This can be a very exciting way to tell a story when handled well. It creates an immediate intrigue, then goes back to explain what lead up to it, how it happened, then resolves it.
One of my favorite non traditional story telling techniques is the non-linear structure, where things happen completely out of sequence and the reader isn’t sure of anything until the final moments of the story. (3~2~6~1~4. Or something.) In these, the beginning can be in the middle or, as with the movie “Memento
Even within these non linear or non traditional ways to tell a story, however, the piece itself has a beginning. It needs that moment or event that makes the reader want to know what’s next. No matter where in your story you start, starting on something that creates tension or surprise or confusion or recognition or something is very highly recommended. At least in the Western notion of story structure.
Happy beginnings! The rest of the story is wide open!
~Geoff Hoff
Co-author of the how-to guide On Writing a Short Story.
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January 1st, 2010 @ 3:34 pm
I’m confused. What’s going to happen next???
Happy New Year – Geoff & Steve. Just to let you know that I feel in my heart that 2010 will be the most prosperous, happy year for all of us. How’s that?
January 1st, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
You did see that the last post in 2009 was about confusion, I trust!
Yup. New Year’s Day is an arbitrary distinction and we might as well take advantage of it. Declare a clean slate and start writing our story anew!
Happy Newly Created Year!
Geoff´s last blog ..Wage War on Christmas – A Warped Holiday Story
January 2nd, 2010 @ 1:25 am
I believe my life is pretty “non-linear”!
Great post, Geoff!
PS: I stumbled you! ;-D
Claus D Jensen´s last blog ..Joke Time
January 2nd, 2010 @ 8:08 am
…or there’s the good old fashioned “flashback” many stories over use this but done well this can provide an opportunity to know what led up to the present day…then we can take it from there
January 2nd, 2010 @ 9:03 am
Maveve, yes, flashback is another way to talk about both the frame and the one where it starts in the middle then goes back. I live the variety of ways to tell a story, I love when someone experiments with it, and I especially love it when the experimenting works!
Claus – I tell people I don’t live in linear time. I have trouble remembering sequences in my life. I know all the details, but not necessarily which happened after which. It can make life quite interesting.
Geoff´s last blog ..Wage War on Christmas – A Warped Holiday Story
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:26 am
[...] few days ago I posted about beginnings of stories, which can actually happen in the beginning, the middle or the end of the written work. Now [...]
January 5th, 2010 @ 10:28 pm
[...] a teacher’s pet. You can say it.) Because of this, and because I’ve already covered Beginnings and Middles, today I’ll talk about endings, and use Mr. Shakespeare’s title without [...]