HELP: Starting a story with the main character waking up

[Greninjaman]

I have looked around for tips and tricks for improving my writing skills. One thing I found is this: Don't start your story with the main character waking up. Why is that? What's wrong with having the character waking up as the start of the story?

 

[Catz]

It's mostly seen as a boring and mundane way to start a story from what I've seen, I myself have been a victim of that trope. I'm not saying to always start with high octane action at all times of course. The details about what happened after they woke up are important, but aren’t very interesting on their own.

 

[Greninjaman]

It's mostly seen as a boring and mundane way to start a story from what I've seen, I myself have been a victim of that trope. I'm not saying to always start with high octane action at all times of course. The details about what happened after they woke up are important, but aren’t very interesting on their own.

What about waking up after being abducted as opposed to waking up at home in bed?
Forgot to mention: There is a difference between waking up in bed and then doing their morning routine vs waking up in a cage after being abducted.

 

[Catz]

Ohhh, well in that case, go for it. Waking up after being abducted wouldn't be as boring

 

[Greninjaman]

Ohhh, well in that case, go for it. Waking up after being abducted wouldn't be as boring

Agreed. Waking up to do a morning routine is boring. You might as well have them already be awake then and in the middle of doing said routine.

 

[YumeTsuki]

Not a fan of the "Don't do this" kind of tips. It doesn't explain why not to do things. And it's deceptive. Because in the end a lot of these "bad" things can be executed very well. It's all in how you present it that makes or breaks your story.

I do not think it's a bad thing to start a story with a character waking up. It's in fact a pretty decent way to cut straight into a scene without any need for buildup towards it. A new day, a new adventure, it's a clean slate to start something. But it has been done a lot so I suppose in a way it's a trope that has been overdone to a point where it's not the most interesting way to start. All that aside. Tropes aren't bad. Tropes wouldn't be tropes if it was ineffective by default. That said, it's certainly an easy pitfall to walk into when you don't fully understand why certain media starts out with something so simple and normal.

What IS important is that you find a way to hook in readers and keep them invested. And the first step in that regard is to familiarise the readers with the world or the characters. Give them appropriate footing to hold on to, so to speak. And with that I do not mean to dump all the info right on top of them because then there is no reason for them to stick around. Rather feed them enough bits to understand on a surface-level who a character is, or what kind of world it is the story takes place in.

 

[Greninjaman]

Not a fan of the "Don't do this" kind of tips. It doesn't explain why not to do things. And it's deceptive. Because in the end a lot of these "bad" things can be executed very well. It's all in how you present it that makes or breaks your story.

I do not think it's a bad thing to start a story with a character waking up. It's in fact a pretty decent way to cut straight into a scene without any need for buildup towards it. A new day, a new adventure, it's a clean slate to start something. But it has been done a lot so I suppose in a way it's a trope that has been overdone to a point where it's not the most interesting way to start. All that aside. Tropes aren't bad. Tropes wouldn't be tropes if it was ineffective by default. That said, it's certainly an easy pitfall to walk into when you don't fully understand why certain media starts out with something so simple and normal.

What IS important is that you find a way to hook in readers and keep them invested. And the first step in that regard is to familiarise the readers with the world or the characters. Give them appropriate footing to hold on to, so to speak. And with that I do not mean to dump all the info right on top of them because then there is no reason for them to stick around. Rather feed them enough bits to understand on a surface-level who a character is, or what kind of world it is the story takes place in.

How is it deceptive? I think I know, but I'm not sure.

 

[YumeTsuki]

"Don't do this" is deceptive because it implies there is no good way to do ever do it right and it should be avoided at all costs, which simply isn't true.

 

[Catz]

yeah that's my bad, I should've probably worded it a little differently. You explained it much better.

 

[Greninjaman]

yeah that's my bad, I should've probably worded it a little differently. You explained it much better.

Hey. Don't worry about it.