Noah asked Shannon Messenger:

How did this idea spark in your head for such a great series? I always struggle on finding a way to start a story. Could you please share you ways of starting a good story. Otherwise, keep the pages coming!

Shannon Messenger The ideas for my books always spark from a zillion different pieces that over time, slowly mash together into a story. And most of that process happens before I ever sit down to write the book. As for how I then decide where to start the book, honestly, I don't know if there's a trick to it. Sometimes I know right away what the first chapter should be. Other times--especially when I first started writing--I end up changing it over and over. The best thing to do is to just START. Pick a place and start writing the story. And then keep writing until you get to the end. Once you've done that and you have a much better idea of the shape of the story, you can go back and rewrite your beginning from a better spot. Writing is re-writing. Plan on having to revise a LOT. And then revise even more.

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