Sunday, May 27, 2018

Working and Reworking that Opening Number


by Julie Tollefson

I recently wrote the first 444 words of a new story. I love beginnings, when anything is possible. I find so much optimism in plotting murder.

That story has grown to 6,500 words and now has a middle, a climax, and a denouement. And I'm still polishing the beginning.

In January, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the genius behind the mega-hit musical Hamilton, tweeted:
Pro tip: You’re always working on the opening #. Everything you add: check back on that opening #. Accept it. This is a few days before we opened?

That tweet referred to one of his earlier tweets, from a decade ago, in which he said he “is, as ever, working on the opening number."

Now I'm in no way comparing my writing to Miranda's, but I do relate to the process. As my stories develop and I get to know my characters, I uncover themes that I can make stronger if I tweak the opening scene. I discover plot points that could be hinted at early on. Truths can be made clearer with changes in the beginning.

Sometimes I'll make the change as soon as I realize it's necessary, but often I'll make notes to myself so I don't break the current flow of words. A good friend of mine, though, has mastered the revise-as-you-go strategy. As a result, by the time she reaches "The End," her opening scenes are clean, tight, and a balance of tension and foreshadowing that pulls the reader into the story and keeps 'em there.

This same friend reacted in horror when I confessed that I love revision. For me, revision is writing. It's where themes become clear, logic falls into place, and story fully emerges. Revision is where I'm comfortable, where I feel most like a writer.

Last week, I sat at my favorite coffee shop (Hello, Myers Hotel Bar!) and reworked my first scene again. An hour and a half of concentrated writing/revising time later, I had a net word count of negative 22. But the resulting scene is so much better and I'm much closer to achieving the vision I have for this story.

This is my last regular post for Writers Who Kill. I've enjoyed the last two and a half years of sharing Sundays with Jim and hope to return in the future to make a guest appearance or two. You can still find me on Twitter (@jtollefson), the web (http://julietollefson.com), and Instagram (julie.tollefson). Hope to see you around! In the meantime, you can bet I'll continue to work on my opening number. 

10 comments:

  1. True, I work and re-work the opening scene, not only to set up the plot and setting, but to set the tone and introduce the main character.

    Good luck with your story!

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  2. Thank you, Julie, for all your posts over the past two or so years. It was a pleasure getting to know you through your writing. Good luck with your future pursuits, and I hope you will visit us from time to time. Best wishes.

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  3. Julie, I'm another revision-lover. We will miss your lucid posts. Best of luck!

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  4. We will miss you, Julie. For the first story I ever published, spent an equal amount of tine on the opening sentence as on the rest of the story.

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  5. Thank you, Margaret! Those beginnings are so important, and a good one looks effortless to the reader.

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  6. Thank you, Grace! I value the friends I've made here. I'll be back for sure!

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  7. Thanks, Linda! I'm glad I'll still see you in person from time to time!

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  8. Thank you, Warren. I always feel like if I can just get that first line right, the rest of the story will fall into place. Sometimes, as you said, that takes as much work as the rest put together.

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  9. Julie, I'll miss you and your interesting blogs. I hope you will come back someday.

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  10. We'll miss you, Julie.

    I often have an opening and a closing in mind when I start writing, and while I spend a lot of time on the middle, I keep going back to the opening (and the closing) to tweak them.

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