: Re: The problem with beginning I don't mean "sitting down to write", I mean the literal beginning. The story itself starts with my protagonist running. I need to get him to run, then I'll have

@Connie138

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It sounds like you are grappling with the finer points of opening In Medias Res - right slap bang in the action. This is a tried and tested opening move.

What you will be looking to establish right away is the source of the menace (threat). Every scene you write must answer the question, "why should I care?" To do that you must establish what the character's objective is and the problem stopping them from getting it.

Aristotle's theory of drama (very roughly) starts with pity, then struggle, and final catharsis. Your opening is all about us, as readers, having an empathetic reaction to the misfortunate's plight. Show us that.

In an action scene, the objective is either get a thing or get away from something. It sounds like the problem for your character is one or more persons are trying to catch, kill, or hurt the character. Once we know the danger itself, we will care about how they solve they get out of that situation (at least for now). Only then will we start to think about why they were in danger and what they will do about that.

Sure, open with "He ran." It packs a lot of information into a very small package. Just so long as the very next thing you tell us is what he ran from or why he ran. Give us reasons to root for the runner. Centre us in the runner's immediate problem.

For example:

He ran. He loved running. Every morning, those two hours were his only escape from family life.

Is a very different story to:

He ran. The wolves were right behind him. Unless he could find somewhere to hide, he would be lunch.

In the first example, we want to know what is so bad about his family that the guy needs to escape every day. Once we know that, we will be willing to learn how that particular run started and what made it different - why this one matters. These two facts feed into what the character will do next.

In the second example, we want to know how he gets away from a pack of hungry animals. Unless why they are chasing him forms part of how he gets away, we will not care why until later. Once he escapes, we may care about him enough to learn how he ended up getting chased. Those facts feed into what he will do next and take us with them.

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