So.. I was only wondering if anyone else has had trouble starting a story. I have the whole story pretty much outlined and I know what I want to do to begin the story but I feel like convincing the charactes to comply is impossible(Kagome and sesshomaru make me think of stubborn children when I try to start the fanficiton. I feel like they're whining over having to start this story they've already lived in my head.)! And if its not the characters then it's the viewpoint, and then I think Im not describing it right... I don't know. I was only wondering if anyone else had this kind of problem and if so, how did you get around it? (Ive been trying to start this story for about 2 months now and i've deleted what I wrote and tried again atleast thirty different times. Ive listened to inspiration music, reread some amazing fanficitons to see how they started, and still..nada.)Any help is appreciated. Thank you
-mandy

This is gonna sound like something that impossible. It really is, but to fix this. Just start writing. It doesn't matter how the first bit turns out. You can fix it later, but once you start you should be able to find it in you to keep it going. So just start. That's the best way to say it, it might read like crap or it might be a masterpiece. Like all things... that's what beta's are for... I shouldn't be talking I'm my own beta.

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate you taking time out to reply to me and I think your right. I'll try to tune out the annoying voice at the back of my head and just try pushing through. Thank you again Knight of Disorder

My advice is this, as i tend to have the same problem... First, make sure your fingers are on the right keys then shut your eyes, envision what you want and GO. Write until you feel better then go back and fix it or add things you need. It works for me and might for you!

I have this issue a lot when it comes to writing. I don't know if it would help for you, but I've found that if my creative juices won't cooperate while I'm typing - I write instead. I take a notebook and a pen and I just started hand writing, not exactly how I want the next chapter to go, but key quotes, key scenes, the major point I want to get across. Writing it down and having it in my hand just makes it easier for me to visualize. After I've gotten it all out, I then go back and type it one the computer. This may seem like double the work - but it sure helps me. Hope you get "unstuck" soon!

I agree with all the advices given so far, even though I actually can't hand write a story - my hand isn't fast enough to catch up with my thoughts and I tend to lose them, but I've typed at most 114 WPM so it works out wonderfully for me.

Another thing that helps, especially if you have an outline, is to start in the middle of the story. Or maybe the second chapter. Anything but the start - anything that you actually feel most inspired to write. After you've written that one scene, you'll get a much better sense of the tone to your story, your character's personalities, etc. and it will be a lot easier to go back to the very beginning and start there.

For example - ;

My (completed) original story was written from Chapter 8 to the End. THEN, I went back to write the Beginning until Chapter 7 - Because I had a plot, but I didn't know how to start it and was completely lost. So the first scene I ended up writing was the scene that inspired the whole novel and from there, it just took off. I came to understand my characters and witnessed the character development throughout the last third of the book. Because of that comprehension, I could better plan for the starting scene and that just made everything a lot easier.

I think you've gotten some great advice thus far. (And it's also interesting to see how others handle this little writing issue :]).

Personally, I do two things. I'll sit down with a notebook and write an outline, never too much, just something to help me order my thoughts because sometimes even when you have a plot the little details can still be jumbled. Anywho, after that if I still can't write the "opener" I fast forward to what I can write. I find that once the creative juices are flowing everything else tends to come easier. Eventually the "opener" will just magically come together because I'm in "the zone" lol so I just end up going back and filling it in.

No worries though. It's definitely not just you who has this problem and with time you'll get it solved. Just try a few strategies and before you know it the story might just be writing itself

I've never had the problem starting a story; writing is basically my life HOWEVER what I have the tendency to do is chose one scene in the story that you really want to get into and just write up to that one scene. I find it is very helpful because you're so stoked about that one scene that the rest just comes easy.

I tend to do things in a rather unconventional way, that actually seems to be more normal than I ever thought: start somewhere random. Have a scene in your head? Write it out! Do things piece by piece and then put them together. That is how about 75% of the things I write are actually written.