You’re sitting in front of the computer screen with millions of ideas. You know exactly how your story will end, who is in it, and where it takes place. But how to begin? We know it’s difficult to start your new novel, so here are five tricks to get those juices flowing and those fingers typing!

Write a random sentence

It’s tough to come up with the first sentence of your entire book. So why do it? Instead of writing the perfect line to grab every reader, we want you to just write a random sentence about your story! Jot down sentences until you come up with the perfect intro, then keep on going! The best part? You’ll have a bunch of great leftover sentences to use throughout the rest of your book.

Picture the setting

Rather than starting your book with the actual stories and characters, try opening with a setting. Picture where everyone lives, and describe what the scenery is like. Once you have built up an incredible city or town, the rest will just fall into place!

Zero in on a narrator

Before you describe an entire family or group of classmates, pick a point of view. Whether you are the narrator, the main character is, or a supporting character is, it’s important to know who is talking. If you are the narrator, you can describe every scene with a perfect understanding of the events. However, if the main character narrates, the reader can know his or her thoughts! And if you choose a supporting character to narrate, the reader will understand what other people think of the main character. Whoever you choose as the narrator, we know it will be the right decision. Just make sure you pick a point of view before you start the first page!

Start with your favorite scene and work your way back

Sometimes it’s challenging to start a story at the beginning. If you are writing your book based on one great idea, write that part first! Once you have finished describing the scene, you can work your way back to the beginning of the book. It’s an interesting way to begin, but hey, Stephenie Meyer did it! She started the Twilight book with the scene of Edward showing Bella his sparkles in the sun. After she finished that, she worked her way back. Cool, right?

Avoid plot and just focus on details

We know you have an idea for a story and you can’t wait to start writing it. But hold on a sec. Before you start typing the story plot, focus on the details. Picture where it takes place, what the people look like, and why certain events occur. You should be describing most of the details within the first few chapters, so think think think!

by Yael Frischling | 2/1/2016