Post by account_disabled on Jan 3, 2024 6:35:47 GMT
Some time ago a reader wrote to me that he had the novel, the characters, the chapters, even the draft of the beginning in mind, but that he didn't know how to start the story . The questions he asks are: How can I start a story? How and what should the first lines be? In my opinion, the incipit of a novel is perhaps the most difficult part to write . When I write a story, it's precisely at that point that I sometimes get stuck: on the words to use . There's no point in beating around the bush: the incipit is, in fact, the first thing that is read in a story - let's leave aside those who like to read the ending first, okay? – so I think it's normal to want to make a good impression right away.
This is why there should be a lot of attention to the incipit. Beyond the types of incipits In a certain sense the choice of the type of incipit to use helps us. Do we want a descriptive beginning like in The Betrothed ? Or an incipit in Special Data media res ? Or one that introduces the reader into an atmosphere of mystery? Yes, it helps us, in the sense that it narrows the field , but we still don't know what words to use. Maybe it's just a temporary problem, maybe we're just too attached to perfection. But are we sure that the type of incipit is not enough to make us find those words? There are three questions to ask yourself at the beginning of a story , which in my opinion help much more than the types of incipits. Those questions narrow the field even further, because they already indicate to us some elements present in the first lines of the novel or story: who is in the scene where it happens when it happens Our incipit So, let's recap: the first step is to choose the type of scene to insert as an incipit.
Manzoni preferred to describe that branch of Lake Como and in my opinion he did very well. He shows the reader an idyllic landscape, which is then tarnished by Don Rodrigo's bravos. Terry Brooks also made his debut like this in The Sword of Shannara : a beautiful description of the bucolic landscape, then the mysterious Allanon that rains on the quiet and anonymous lives of the two protagonists. And Tolkien, before him, had done it in The Lord of the Rings : it was not a descriptive incipit, but it still introduced the reader into an environment of serenity. It was “informative,” you might call it. I don't know if it belongs to a specific academic typology. But this is certainly the first step to take: in some stories I like to give the reader particular sensations, therefore inserting him into specific atmospheres. The second step consists in answering those three questions and then immediately establishing some details of the scene : characters involved, place and date, like a form to fill out…
This is why there should be a lot of attention to the incipit. Beyond the types of incipits In a certain sense the choice of the type of incipit to use helps us. Do we want a descriptive beginning like in The Betrothed ? Or an incipit in Special Data media res ? Or one that introduces the reader into an atmosphere of mystery? Yes, it helps us, in the sense that it narrows the field , but we still don't know what words to use. Maybe it's just a temporary problem, maybe we're just too attached to perfection. But are we sure that the type of incipit is not enough to make us find those words? There are three questions to ask yourself at the beginning of a story , which in my opinion help much more than the types of incipits. Those questions narrow the field even further, because they already indicate to us some elements present in the first lines of the novel or story: who is in the scene where it happens when it happens Our incipit So, let's recap: the first step is to choose the type of scene to insert as an incipit.
Manzoni preferred to describe that branch of Lake Como and in my opinion he did very well. He shows the reader an idyllic landscape, which is then tarnished by Don Rodrigo's bravos. Terry Brooks also made his debut like this in The Sword of Shannara : a beautiful description of the bucolic landscape, then the mysterious Allanon that rains on the quiet and anonymous lives of the two protagonists. And Tolkien, before him, had done it in The Lord of the Rings : it was not a descriptive incipit, but it still introduced the reader into an environment of serenity. It was “informative,” you might call it. I don't know if it belongs to a specific academic typology. But this is certainly the first step to take: in some stories I like to give the reader particular sensations, therefore inserting him into specific atmospheres. The second step consists in answering those three questions and then immediately establishing some details of the scene : characters involved, place and date, like a form to fill out…