Making a start

Here’s my tip on starting off your (fiction) novel on a good footing. It takes 2 questions. The first is what can you believe? The second is what can you unbelieve? Believe me, the things you believe in are not enough to start a novel well. You need to imagine away what you need to change. When you can do this well, you can write your opening, or if you pre-plot -begin drafting your outline.

Today, I used this technique to create a strong fictional skeleton for my novel’s final chapter. Yes, I had not enough to write it as usual, and I had to unbelieve for a moment, let myself drift, until I caught my fish.

I got a question concerning some famous authors and how they began their books. I like it when the writer holds my hand. As if guiding me into their world, acknowledging I the reader, exist, clueless and willing. Some writers don’t do that, and flood the reader with details and emotions early on. This may be a trend in new wave literature, I guess.