When you open a discussion with someone, do you lead with “Once upon a time I lived in Michigan. I was twenty-four. I was working at the mall and was trying to figure out my life.”
No. BIG YAWN. You don’t start with the backstory. Frankly, I’d bet you’d be embarrassed to start with the backstory, because you know before you spit out the words that nobody really cares.
No. You start with some sort of energy, because after all, you want someone to listen to you.
“On the way home from work, a car sideswiped the van in front of me, running us all off the road!”
“In my first job I found myself in a room full of people twice my age, and without notice the boss asked me to sing because his wife heard me in the restroom.”
What do you lead with? Do you lead with the action or the introduction that put you in that position?
When figuring out how to write a story, imagine yourself telling it aloud at a party. Which do you think will work best? Same goes for the written word, whether you’re talking novel, nonfiction, or a magazine piece. People expect writers to tell the story the best way. . . from the beginning.
So far the best introduction I’ve ever read! But I wanted to read more.
Sometimes I start with backstory at least i writing to get it out of the way. Then before I know it the real story can be told. I have many journal entries of back stories before the meat of a story.