Well, this is an odd tick that I should do something about...

[prusik]

I realized something reading the latest issue of F&SF and the latest of Asimov's: my stories start very statically. Usually, for one reason or another, the main character is either watching the world go by, or musing about something. (Ok, sometimes, they wake up from sleep or unconsciousness. However, they are never confused. They always now exactly where they are and what they have to do.)

Clearly, I need to write a story where, at start, the main character is salsa dancing while simultaneously toppling the government of France and proving Goldbach's Conjecture.

Comments

[athenais.livejournal.com]

Have your beta readers not pointed this out before?

[prusik.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm kind of glad that they don't follow my work so closely that they can point out this sort of pattern. I think that would freak me out.

I can definitely remember one case where one beta reader thought that nothing happened in the entire story. I don't remember if I've had a pattern of "your opening is very static" crits though.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

Well, my writing group would very definitely point that kind of stuff out to me, but then, they know I tend to start over here when I really want to, and need to be, over there. Also, I get lost in pretty descriptions when the story should be movinghuphuphup.

[jeffsoesbe.livejournal.com]

salsa dancing while simultaneously toppling the government of France and proving Goldbach's Conjecture

Too static! Just kidding :-)

Seriously, I completely identify with the problem. For me, it comes from my wanting to give a very complete sense of the interior state (monologue) of the character or the setting around the character.

Of course, when I battle against that I end up with the "blank room, blank person" problem.

Somewhere in the middle lies the answer. For that story, at least...

- yeff

[krylyr.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. I hadn't noticed it before but now that you mention it, I guess the last couple ones I remember do have some watching going on. Good luck with the salsa dancing!

Now I'm wondering what the connection is between all my openings...

[bmlg.livejournal.com]

Kind of like white room syndrome. Can you solve it by just cutting the first paragraph or sentence or so, in the second draft? Sounds rather like my characters' tendency to think about what I should do next.
-Barbara

[prusik.livejournal.com]

Cutting the opening probably helps although in some cases I'd have to work in the missing information elsewhere. More often though, my story starts with my main character watching other people do stuff. This might work if I write it such that MC actually participates in the scene. (Last week's EscapePod story, "Usurpers" is a great example of this.) However, I haven't managed that yet.