My niece asked me why all my stories start with a character waking up

She's twelve and we were talking about a book she's writing for school. She pointed out that every prompt idea I gave her began that way, and said 'Uncle Morgan, that's boring, they should already be in the middle of something.' It made me realize I've been stuck in a rut since my own high school creative writing class. I haven't actually tried a new starting point in years. What's a better way to drop a reader right into the action?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_hayden16d ago

Start with them already solving the first problem.

emery29016d ago

Yeah, starting after the first problem... we just jumped to the second step and it saved us a ton of time.

nathan10016d ago

My old math teacher called that "skipping the warm-up lap." I see it now in how people cook or fix things around the house.