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

[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.