Are Slow Starts Too Boring?sl

[Arch9CivilReactor]

I was just working on a second attempt at my opening chapter and realised that the story might be going too slow. What happened was that a five year old Awakened his Gift and was immediately told he has an undesirable power.

The MC awakens ‘Blood Ignition’. You might think it’s like Demon Slayer’s cool mix of Blood Manipulation and ignition but no… It’s basically self-combustion. Labelled as a Cursed Gift has no value. Paired with a good talent in magic.

Since there is no explosive incident other than crying because he thought he’d be separated from his friends, I wanted to have him go through the story with an unusually smart mind and complicated thoughts unlike his fellow peers.

Because he is gaining fragmented future memories the story is supposed to expand as he gains more knowledge, but I’m unsure if this would be good. A lot of good stories I like start with a visceral level of emotions in some way.

Mushoku Tensei had the MC die after living a pathetic life. While not having explosions, the death extremely strong. Other novels also have similar levels of explosive openings, so I’m unsure of how to make this story gain momentum early on.

Should I have him remember his hated enemy? Die and regress again? Not sure… Or is a slow start okay since I can build upon it naturally?

My indecision is growing again.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Which one would be better for the themes of your story? LotR and the Hobbit both start slow, because one of the themes of the stories is that a humble life is worth protecting. I assume the stories you're thinking of have different themes. Are they similar to your story's themes, or are you just trying to follow a popular story's choices without thinking about it?

 

[Senx1l]

I was just working on a second attempt at my opening chapter and realised that the story might be going too slow. What happened was that a five year old Awakened his Gift and was immediately told he has an undesirable power.

The MC awakens ‘Blood Ignition’. You might think it’s like Demon Slayer’s cool mix of Blood Manipulation and ignition but no… It’s basically self-combustion. Labelled as a Cursed Gift has no value. Paired with a good talent in magic.

Since there is no explosive incident other than crying because he thought he’d be separated from his friends, I wanted to have him go through the story with an unusually smart mind and complicated thoughts unlike his fellow peers.

Because he is gaining fragmented future memories the story is supposed to expand as he gains more knowledge, but I’m unsure if this would be good. A lot of good stories I like start with a visceral level of emotions in some way.

Mushoku Tensei had the MC die after living a pathetic life. While not having explosions, the death extremely strong. Other novels also have similar levels of explosive openings, so I’m unsure of how to make this story gain momentum early on.

Should I have him remember his hated enemy? Die and regress again? Not sure… Or is a slow start okay since I can build upon it naturally?

My indecision is growing again.

You could continue the story as it is and perhaps have someone around him.. die? This will push for his development and maybe have him awaken some memories due to something traumatizing like that? A slow start is not horrible as long as it’s prefaced to the readers and if it’s done right.

I love Mushoku Tensei as an example because the way he died, the way he was presented to us, drove the story in the direction it did. It started off slow developing Rudeus and his new family then it just went from there.

Now for the questions you asked, personally I’m leaning towards your original idea, a slow start as you build upon it naturally.

 

[Bartun]

I hope not, my story starts slow too

 

[naosu]

Well... the problem is more like you won't attract that many readers till quite a few chapters are up anyway. I don't think a slow start is a downer, but a BORING start is. For example, you could start saying this is an underdog story and that the MC will take time to get his strength. But you can still make it interesting by making him cleverly evading death as he gets strong OR... whatever other character trait you want to make.

A problem I see also is that people can make a character so strong that they end up breaking the story because its like... the character got too big for his own story so everything gets too hard for readers to place themselves in the story.

 

[Koko_Wei]

I think a slow start, with a build up of characters and settings is not an issue right away. But you might have to deliver a captivating tone to keep the readers interested. A bit of humor, little details that seem irrelevant but make your characters interesting and accessable, a fluid writing pace.
These things can help to look over slow tension building

 

[Premier]

Find the first time in your story he uses his powers and start there.

No one wants to read a story about a guy who gets cool powers and then cries about it.

 

[melchi]

Yes

 

[BearlyAlive]

My story starts so slow, I can now only write it in super slow motion.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Too slow is boring. Remember that the first chapter is a hook and should be ignored by how purposefully flashy it is. Second chapter is how the rest of the story goes. Third is to confirm the tone and pacing of the second.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Slower starts can be considered boring but that doesn't mean that it is wrong. Every book has a different beginning and end. What matters is how the start hooks readers in.Even the slowest start can be good with the proper use of hooks and pacing.

 

[GeppettoNoir]

I know your plight. I worry about the same thing, especially with what I'm working on now.

I find a lot of the things I do are really odd, so forgive me if this isn't helpful.

For me, when you're writing there's like this flow. Almost like an energy or a current humming in the background. It's like watching one of those sound wave things on your mp3 player warping and twisting to the beat of the music. When the line grows still, we grow restless.

So bump the line, right? But if there's no conflict, how?

There's always conflict.

Abrasive thoughts. Intrusive desires. Uncomfortable reminders.

Example 1

Charlie picked himself up from the dirt. He brushed himself off.

"That was close," he whispered to himself as he patted at his clothes. Tiny flecks of dirt and debris showered down.

He looked up. The hiking trail was too high to climb back.

Not good.

Example 1a

Charlie picked himself up from the dirt. He brushed himself off. The grains of dirt were sharp against his palms.

"That was close," he whispered to himself as he patted at his clothes. Tiny flecks of dust and debris showered down onto his shoes. He could hear his mother's voice.

"It's all I could afford. Please take care of them."

He looked up. The hiking trail was high. Too high to climb back.

"Come on, Charlie!" His memories echoed in his skull. They beat against the dull throb of a possible concussion.

He remembered every fence. Every gate. Every time he and his friends ran laughing and playing. It seemed like everyone else could jump or climb fences. Not him. He was always the one left behind.

Charlie stared at the trail above. He could almost feel the other hikers walking to and fro. Oblivious to his plight below. Their ghosts sauntered by, leaving him behind. Alone. Again.

Not good.


So, you would have to be the one to tell me if you think something like that might help. Be careful taking any advice from me, though. I'm nobody great and I struggle with bloat in my writing.

I think that helps break up monotony if you can make a connection with the reader somehow, give them something relatable, then twist it like a knife. Or warp it somehow to spark curiosity or intrigue about the character or their situation.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

It depends on how slow and what your goal is. If you're trying to establish a pattern of normalcy (to disrupt later) then a slow start is a good idea. If you're using it to build up an emotion (usually "dread") then a slow start is essential. But, if you just want to explain this cool new world and put the actual story on a back burner, then it's almost always a bad idea.