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Q&A Help, I cannot decide when to start the story

As far as we know, in our Universe all stories could start from the Big Bang. Or from the primordial soup if we want to stick to living beings on planet Earth. Does it make sense to do so? Imagine...

posted 4y ago by _X_‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-18T21:34:26Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47289
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T12:42:09Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47289
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T12:42:09Z (over 4 years ago)
As far as we know, in our Universe all stories could start from the Big Bang. Or from the primordial soup if we want to stick to living beings on planet Earth. Does it make sense to do so?

Imagine having a conversation in which you want to relate about an interesting event that you witnessed. At which point of human history would you set the start of your narration?

Now you have a story that you created, where you control all the events. You then realize that certain events logically depend on prior events, and earlier situations. As a writer you need to know these because you need to establish a logical sequence. As a storyteller you do not need that. In fact, when telling a story you only need to know the facts, not the reasons behind them.

There are two very different processes at play. On one hand you construct your story and establish causality, on the other hand you narrate it and simply observe facts. Knowing the facts allows you to show them to the reader. Ignoring why the facts occurred helps you stay clear of telling the reader.

So, kudos for your backstory. Keep it for another book. Now show us what happens in the actual story.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-08-13T12:08:52Z (over 4 years ago)
Original score: 9