[Fiction] Story beginnings...

I always hope to start my stories well. A good beginning not only sells your story, but also showcases your writing talent. It's a chance to show off.

It's something that I forgot when starting work on 'The Seven Ravens'. It is a tricky beginning to write. I have to convey a curse, skip forward by at least ten or more years, introduce my three main characters (one of which can't be named as of yet) and somehow make it catchy, snappy and fun. After all, The Seven Ravens attempts to be nothing more than a romp through Norse mythology with some slash on the side.

I started blandly. I hated it. It didn't fit, didn't flow, felt boring and I couldn't stand how wimpy my main character was being.

Last night I had an epiphany of how to start it though. I'm going to start with my hero decidedly younger, not understanding what's going on around him in a hectic situation where Abigail is desperately trying to find her sons. This explains the curse quite nicely, introduces my main characters and still maintains that element of lightness, as it's told through the point of view of a child.

Fingers crossed that this works.