forum So I have no idea how to start my first chapter
Started by @Pizzaz11 group
tune

people_alt 56 followers

@Pizzaz11 group

Yeah, NaNoWriMo starts in like 2 or 3 days, I have a whole story idea and stuff but I have no idea how to start the first chapter. The basic premise goes as follows: A forest spirit lives by himself, deep in the woods, taking care of the plants and animals that live there. He's living a peaceful life before suddenly, one day while out looking for a lost animal, he instead finds an unconscious human half drowned by the river. Not one to just let someone die he takes the human back to his cabin, drying him off as best as he can before wrapping him in warm blankets and laying him on the bed. When the human wakes up it turns out that he doesn't remember a single thing about how he got there, or even who he is. Not even his own name. The forest spirit, having no way of restoring the humans memories, decides to just let him stay and heal before returning him to the human world. That plan backfires quickly though, as the two strangers start slowly falling in love. The human doesn't seem to be regaining his memories very quickly, but at least he does remember his name at some point. All seems to be well, and the human is getting used to his life with the forest spirit. There is a bit of a twist in the end but I don't really think that's important because its revealed near the end of the book-

Deleted user

honestly?
this is my go-to: always start with what is most vivid. doesn't matter if its a random moment, the climax, or the ending. focus on what you feel is important to the story. not important in terms of establishing information, but important as in: where/when is a powerful moment of scenic significance to you. is it the first kiss? the random moment of realization? the flashback to [xyz] ? an argument? an apology? our aesthetic lizard brain focusses on particular images for a reason. so, it doesn't matter if your current 'favourite scene' in your head is a piece of fluff of a major plot point. just write what is vivid and already in your head. the rest will manifest in details that need reference/explanation, foreshadowing, questions asked/solved, and a developing plot rhythm. from what you've described, the moments surrounding the discovery and care of the human has the most 'texture' or preexisting detail in your head, so I would start there and see how the scene feels.