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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48214
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48214
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Have you ever noticed that most main characters seem to be "special" in some way? It might be destiny, super powers, a rebellious attitude, or maybe they're just unlucky and got targeted by the bad guy.

This is because every story is about a conflict, and in order to tell the most compelling story we choose the person who is most affected by that conflict. _The Lord of the Rings_ wouldn't be the same story if it was told from the POV of Sam's old Gaffer. Or from Bilbo's perspective while stuck at Rivendale. We get the eyes of those who are in the middle of everything.

Scope works the same way. In order to tell the most compelling story, you have to start at the best moment to centralize your conflict. Everything in the story should revolve around it. That's how you make your decisions. What should you describe? What should you leave unsaid? Which characters should be present? Whose POV? Does this particular scene belong?

And, yes. Where should you start?

I appreciate Jedediah's answer which dissects The Lord of the Rings, but the part they left out is this: we actually do have all of those early pieces of story, just elsewhere. We have the _Silmarillion_, _The Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle Earth_, the histories, and so forth. Each one is properly scoped for itself. If _Silmarillion_ was 20 chapters of history and then ended with 10 chapters that was LOTR, you'd have a problem.

In order to tell your own story, you must decide which characters are past figures (settlers, emperors, ancestors, and even the recent past like parents), and which are present characters. You must decide whether the merging of Upper Nell and Lower Nell, or whether the great earthquake of 2103, is relevant to the story.

In essence, you should decide which pat of your main character's memory is trivia and which part is **working** memory. Expalin what's necessary, allude to what's past.

The same goes for choosing your beginning. Start early enough that you can include everything that directly affects your central conflict. Your character's personality and skills need to be shown, and their normal world, so that's why most stories begin with a characteristic moment that shows us who they are before we see them face the real challenge of the conflict to come.

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