Need help starting a story

[Husk]

I've had this idea in my head for over a year now for a story, that I would like to turn into a comic one day, but the problem is I can't seem to get started.

Every time I try to sit down and put something down, I immediately become disinterested like "Why even bother?" I guess it's this defeatist attitude that I've developed over the passed few years, but I really want to get this story down because it's always with me.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Dusty]

Welcome to the forums!

All I can really say is work through it. I know the funk, I get it a lot when I rp. The best thing you can do is set a regimen. Say "I AM going to write a page or a chapter today" and force yourself to do it. You gotta unclog the creative pipe As you go it will get easier.

[Tha_Pig]

Don't begin at the beginning.
Start your story in the middle of the most interesting part, where it will capture the attention of the reader (and stimulate your own interest) then move ahead with the action and explain the previous events with a character's flashback or some other resource.

[Wolfgang of Borg]

There was a neat Neil Gaiman bit i read once about motivation, and though i can't find it now the gist was the same as his pep talk to nanowrimo participants.

> Don't begin at the beginning.

... start from the end and preferably five thousand feet underground on a dark day and then don't tell them.

[SliceOfDog]

Don't begin at the beginning.
Start your story in the middle of the most interesting part, where it will capture the attention of the reader (and stimulate your own interest) then move ahead with the action and explain the previous events with a character's flashback or some other resource.

This is excellent advice. You can get the same effect by starting with an event set before your beginning. You might start in a battle scene or a murder which has a knock-on effect to the rest of your story. If you're struggling to start but you have a good idea about the world you're setting it in, you could also have your protagonist be new to the situation. Common ways of doing this are amnesia (although please for the love of god avoid that is possible), entering a new culture or returning to an old one which is now different. Seeing as you mention comics; The Walking Dead, The Arrival and Batman are respective examples of these being used. Basically, this allows you to describe your world in detail through the eyes of your protagonist, because it is new to them as well as your reader.

You could also start in the middle of a conversation, which is one I quite like, and isn't all too often used. It's an interesting one if you have 2 characters talking and you only write the dialogue. You might open on something like;

"Are you sure it's finished?"
"Yes. I checked myself"
"Well check again"
"Why? I said I already -"
"I heard you. And I said check again"

You could go into narrative from there.

On the flip side, if you know what you want to write but you're just never feeling like it, go for a walk. It sounds stupid and the kinda thing a mum might suggest, but it really helps me. Just go out, clear your head for about 5 or 10 minutes, and then start running the story through your head. Try to construct sentences while you walk, and when you get struck by an idea, go home and write.

Also, I can't speak for anyone else, but I find writing on paper is much easier than writing on a computer as far as inspiration is concerned. Somehow staring at a blank screen is more discouraging than staring at a blank page :/

There was a neat Neil Gaiman bit i read once about motivation, and though i can't find it now the gist was the same as his pep talk to nanowrimo participants.

Ooh, that was awesome and pretty helpful. Thanks for sharing

[Husk]

Thanks for the advice! I sat down last night and started putting some stuff down and re-writing what I already had. This is what I came up with...



EXT. – GALL CANYON CITY – NIGHT
The battle had been raging for days with no signs of letting up, and the constant gunfire, artillery barrages, and sonic booms of the mech suits flying overhead were a constant reminder of the carnage that the Canid and Feline militaries were inflicting on one another.
Gall Canyon City had once been a bustling town built off of the rich Endainium vein that had been struck near-by by the Canids. The city had everything a worker’s family could need; shopping centers, grocery stores, comfortable homes, etc. But, within a day of the Felines’ attack on the mine, the city had been reduced to a post-apocalyptic hellhole.
Buildings had been turned to rubble and towering infernos, the streets were nearly impassable by any type of vehicle save for a mech suit or heavy troop transport, and the dead bodies of both species, military and civilian alike, were littered everywhere. You could hardly walk without tripping over a corpse, which was exactly what Corporal Janus Muellner did as he ran across a rubble-strewn street to get to the rest of his 5-man squad that was huddled behind a partially collapsed brick wall. His gray fur hidden underneath the dark gray helmet of his armor was soaked with sweat and matted with dirt and mud from having not showered in the past 3 days.
A bullet buzzed by his ear, barely missing him, as he vaulted himself over the wall and rejoined his squad, coming to seat next to a young, golden-furred private clutching his rifle.

JANUS:
Why the hell don’t you have your damn helmet on, Private, you looking to get shot in the head or something?

PRIVATE:
No, sir! Sorry, sir!

The young canine quickly picks up his helmet from the ground on his right side and places back on his head.

JANUS:
Anyway, the situation’s not looking too good. Our orders are to make it to the evac point…

He reaches into a small pouch on his left hip and pulls out what looks like a small GPS with a black screen. He holds it so that the screen faces the sky as he presses an oblong grey button on the side causing a green three-dimensional hologram of the city in its current state to hover a few inches above the device. A small green blip appears on the hologram outside the city, and Corporal Muellner points to it with his free hand.

JANUS:
…here. We’ve got one hour to get there and hook up with the rest of Dog Company, or we get to find our own way back to the Stations. Now, this appears to be the best route to take.

Again, using his free hand, he traces their intended route to the green blip on the hologram which causes a thin green line to connect from their current location to the blip.

JANUS:
Expect opposition! Those damn rat-eating bastards are all over this city.

The Private next to Janus grips his gun harder, a sign of his obvious fear.

PRIVATE:
But, we’re gonna have air support, right, Corp?

Janus turns off the device and places it back into the pouch from whence it came.

JANUS:
Sorry, Varkis. The Suits are getting hammered pretty badly up there, which means we’re on our own.

He notices Pvt. Varkis start to look around slightly franticly, almost as if he were surrounded, places his hand reassuringly on Varkis’s .

JANUS:
(to Varkis)
Hey! Don’t you wig out on me now, Varkis! You’ve done damn good to get this far, and I will be damned if I’m going be the one to drag your corpse back to base.

(to the rest of the squad)
Don’t worry, guys. You stick with me, and we’ll get out of this. Now, get your shit and let’s get to the evac site. Besides…

He stands up and, using his right hand, pulls back the cocking lever on his rifle that’s located on the right side just above the hand grip.

JANUS:
…We’re too pretty to die.

As they get up and begin to move, a scruffy-looking, white-furred soldier wearing the insignia of a Sergeant presses a small button on the right jaw of his helmet causing the black visor to appear and conceal his face. Then, he speaks up.

SCRUFFY SERGEANT:
Level with us, sir. How bad are we hurting?

JANUS:
You sure you want to know that, Niktumi?

SGT. NIKTUMI:
Yes, sir. I am, sir.

They walk for a few feet in silence before Janus finally speaks up.

JANUS:
Well, our ground forces have sustained forty –five percent casualties.

NIKTUMI:
Jesus!

JANUS:
And, that was BEFORE today.

PVT. VARKIS:
And, what about the Suits, sir? What’s their percentage?

There is a pause as they keep moving.

JANUS:
Sixty-five.

PVT. VARKIS:
Holy - ! But…the Wraiths are doing all right, aren’t they? No one can touch those guys. They’re the best we got, right, sir?

No answer.

VARKIS:
Right?

JANUS:
Seven dead as of noon today.

NIKTUMI:
Seven?! But…but that’s almost half of their squad!

JANUS:
You don’t need to remind me of that, Arcturo. This situation is quickly becoming FUBAR.

In the air the suits dueled desperately. The lithe feline vehicles ducked and dived nimbly. The clunky canid equivalents couldn’t match their agility, but could pack more of a punch when they hit, if they could hit them. A canid suit in urban camo pattern, with 13 painted on one chest plate and the reaper badge of the Wraiths on the other ducked behind a ruined office block as a torrent of heavy caliber rounds cut up the air where it had been, tracking into the building.

The vixen inside was panting hard, she was struggling to keep up with the maneuverable felines. It was only a matter of time before Lt. Ro Nalwa went the same way as her colleagues.


LT NALWA:
Oh-Eight? Oh-Eight! Zooba where the hell are you? Zooba!

MECH’S COMPUTER:
CONTACT!


EXT:
13 flew sideways but the beam of focused light lanced through its flank, its armor vaporizing instantly. Nalwa gagged as fumes filled her crampt cockpit. There was a sucking sound as it was instantly cleared. Her moment of distraction would cost her. Spinning she fired blindly in a circle to try and distract the feline suits. She felt her suit judder as high caliber rounds drummed into its back, power readouts flickering. She continued to rotate her suit around, trying to keep the felines from looking on, releasing a flurry of flares.
The felines circled menacingly, enjoying the struggling canids frantic last moves. The lead suit extended its arm, the tiger inside smiling toothily as he activated the energy blade. Righting herself, Nalwa turned to face the energy blade, activating her thrusters at the last second, she managed to drop a few feet, the blade plunging through the suit like a hot knife through butter and just missing her compartment.
Pulling the blade clear, he watched 13 tumble down the side of the building, Nalwa struggling to control it. He laughed to himself and let rip with his Gatling gun rounds riddling the torso and head of the canid suit. The heavy suit shook violently before lying still.

Please let me know what you think!

[SliceOfDog]

Hey, that's cool
Keep us updated when you write more, you're pretty good!

The only thing that stood out to me to con-crit is the mention of Jesus. Is this some kind of far future or alt-timeline Earth? Because if these Canids and Felines are from completely different planets to Earth, surely they wouldn't know who Jesus was?
Other than that it seems fine.

Oh, and this isn't a criticism, just curiosity: Why did you format it like a movie script if you're intending it to be a story or a comic? Again, I don't mean to sound like I'm criticising, I'm genuinely wondering

[Husk]

I honestly didn't even think about the Jesus bit. That will need to change.

As for why this is in Script format; It's because I would like to make this into a comic evetually, and most artists find it easier to plan out a comic's panels when their material is in script-form.

Also, thank you for the kind words. Glad you like it, and you can thank the Killzone 2 soundtrack for helping me get the mood and environment I was going for.