How to Start a Love Story
Choose the moment your readers will enter the story., Introduce suspense on the very first page., Excite the reader with immediate action., Question your own decision.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Choose the moment your readers will enter the story.
You may already know what you’d like to contain in the first scene in terms of plot and character introduction, but are unsure of the exact moment, the perfect bit of dialogue, or the opening narrative fact with which to bring your reader into the fold.
Identifying this moment may require a bit of reflection on your part.Tell yourself the beginning is the most important part.
In many ways, it’s not – for either stories or relationships.
But in terms of luring a reader into the story and ensuring you have them interested – if not thoroughly romanced – the opening scene does have undeniably vital importance.
Know that you need to snare your reader within a matter of a few pages if you want them to commit, and that this will likely require giving them something substantially interesting right out of the gate. -
Step 2: Introduce suspense on the very first page.
While there are no concrete rules for how a love story needs to begin, there are some narrative tropes that continue to melt hearts.
Among them; consider the implication of an oncoming challenge to one of the story’s love interests, a dramatic change in circumstances, or a blatant threat to a character or a relationship between characters.A common route here is a moment in which danger or the threat of danger are recognized or experienced by a character who will be featured prominently in your story. , Another great option for starting your story is choosing a moment that will immediately pull the reader into the story line with a compelling action sequence in the opening scene of your story.
Make sure that any initial action sequences are readily comprehensible.
There doesn’t even have to be any actual danger; it is more than enough to simply convey a sense of peril that the reader can relate too.
Though you may be tempted to get the story line really rolling, keep any initial action sequences relatively simple.
Maintain a focus on luring the reader in, without asking them to do too much thinking as you get the story started. , In order to actually portray the moment most dramatically, consider why the moment is worth starting your story with.
Literally ask yourself, “Why should my story start with this moment?” List all of the reasons, including the specific relevance of the moment to each major character and to your anticipated plot developments.Look over the list to help you identify the most compelling links between this moment and other aspects of your story to guide the way in which you convey the moment to the reader. -
Step 3: Excite the reader with immediate action.
-
Step 4: Question your own decision.
Detailed Guide
You may already know what you’d like to contain in the first scene in terms of plot and character introduction, but are unsure of the exact moment, the perfect bit of dialogue, or the opening narrative fact with which to bring your reader into the fold.
Identifying this moment may require a bit of reflection on your part.Tell yourself the beginning is the most important part.
In many ways, it’s not – for either stories or relationships.
But in terms of luring a reader into the story and ensuring you have them interested – if not thoroughly romanced – the opening scene does have undeniably vital importance.
Know that you need to snare your reader within a matter of a few pages if you want them to commit, and that this will likely require giving them something substantially interesting right out of the gate.
While there are no concrete rules for how a love story needs to begin, there are some narrative tropes that continue to melt hearts.
Among them; consider the implication of an oncoming challenge to one of the story’s love interests, a dramatic change in circumstances, or a blatant threat to a character or a relationship between characters.A common route here is a moment in which danger or the threat of danger are recognized or experienced by a character who will be featured prominently in your story. , Another great option for starting your story is choosing a moment that will immediately pull the reader into the story line with a compelling action sequence in the opening scene of your story.
Make sure that any initial action sequences are readily comprehensible.
There doesn’t even have to be any actual danger; it is more than enough to simply convey a sense of peril that the reader can relate too.
Though you may be tempted to get the story line really rolling, keep any initial action sequences relatively simple.
Maintain a focus on luring the reader in, without asking them to do too much thinking as you get the story started. , In order to actually portray the moment most dramatically, consider why the moment is worth starting your story with.
Literally ask yourself, “Why should my story start with this moment?” List all of the reasons, including the specific relevance of the moment to each major character and to your anticipated plot developments.Look over the list to help you identify the most compelling links between this moment and other aspects of your story to guide the way in which you convey the moment to the reader.
About the Author
Timothy Hernandez
Timothy Hernandez specializes in non profit and has been creating helpful content for over 3 years. Timothy is committed to helping readers learn new skills and improve their lives.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: