Beginnings are Hard

And I’m back. Got a new power cord and everything, except it now appears that the problem was not in the power cord, it was in port in the laptop. Which means the Apple Store and the Genius Bar, which is probably not even open. So if I suddenly disappear this week, it’s not you, it’s my laptop.

Doing HWSWA with Bob has put me firmly back into How-Does-This-Work-Anyway mode, which made me think about the opening of Lily, which is still not a book. But it is a great Petri dish for experimenting with writing theory, so I went back and looked at what I had for an opening now that I have an antagonist (crucial, that).

Lily vs. Dr. Ferris (office)

Lily vs Pangur (apt)

Lily vs Seb (outside diner

Lily vs. Van (diner kitchen)

Lily vs Fin (counter)

Fin vs. Bjorn (outside diner)

Dorothy vs Lewis (museum)

As you can see, it needs work. Some guidelines, then:

The first scene needs the protagonist, setting (time, place), tone, and conflict, preferably foreshadowing on beginning the major conflict. The protagonist should be fascinating (or ta least interesting) and breaking a sweat about something, extra points for vulnerable. And this scene must invest the reader in Lily’s goal. What the scene has: Uh, none of the above. ARGH.

The second scene is ideally in the antagonist’s PoV or the love interest’s PoV, something that can bring dimension to the world the first scene establishes. (Yeah, that’s not going to happen here.). What this scene has: None of the above.

Then the rest of the beginning should fall into natural scene sequences, ending with a final scene that throws the whole story into play. What these scenes have: Well, there’s a kind of love triangle there if I reshape things. Kinda.

Then the last scene in the book/act/beginning should call back to the first scene (if you’re bookending) and throw the story into the next sequence/act. What this scene has: None of the above.

The first fives scenes in Lily’s PoV give a one-dimensional (Lily-dimensional) view of the world. That’s too many. Leaving aside Dr. Ferris for the moment, Lily vs Pangur can become a short transition to Lily vs. See. Lily vs. Van and become a transition to Lily vs. Fin. Fin vs. Bjorn stays as the introduction to Fin and the first move in the love story. (Fourth scene before we get to the romance? That’s not good.). And then Dorothy vs. Lewis at the end. So

Lily vs. Dr. Ferris (office)

Lily vs Seb (outside diner)

Lily vs Fin (counter)

Fin vs. Bjorn (outside diner)

Dorothy vs Lewis (museum)

Tie first and fifth scenes to each other; set up relationships in scene sequence in the middle.

• Set up Lily’s problem in the first scene so that the reader understand her motivation, sees her vulnerability, and connects to her. (This is difficult.)

• follow with the romance triangle scene sequence in the middle. Seb wants her back but is up to something, Lily walks away from Seb to Fin, Fin wants Lily.

• bookend last scene with the architect of Lily’s problem frrom the first scene.

So then all I have to do is look at scene beats and escalation and . . .

Writing is hard, she whined.

Now off to look at Liz’s beginning. Liz is a book, so that’s something.