What is the most difficult part of writing? Getting started of course! First lines and first chapters can be awful, and they often are! The first line of your story should grab the reader's attention, and the first chapter should set the stage for the whole story, this is true, but do they have to be written first? And more importantly, do they have to be perfect before you can even think about what you're going to write next? Big NO.
Why? Because once the story gets rolling, its focus will inevitably change, that is part of the process of writing: rewriting. Characters will acquire lives of their own through the process; parts that you thought were important will seem less so and, surely, new ideas will come to the surface. So don't fret too much about your beginning; when you finish writing your story, you may very possibly find that its strongest points lie in the middle, not the beginning, and maybe not even the end! So write the first sentence, and the next, and the one after that, and don't look back. Keep writing. Often, a story is a puzzle that you create as you go, and that needs to be put back together once it is finished. The pieces will be there in front of you, and once you have them, where they should fit will become that much clearer. So, say hello to new beginnings!
Do you always begin at the beginning?
Adriana Dominguez
Executive Editor, HarperCollins Publishers
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