Writing the beginning to a story is hard.
Thankfully there’s an easy exercise you can do to instantly have an awesome opening to your story.
…just steal somebody else’s!
During the last stream, the subscribers voted that we talk about “how to write a story by stealing.”
Watch the full video here or scroll down for highlights.
Essentially what you do is you copy the opening to a story, word for word, and then step by step transform it into your own completely new thing.
Here’s the the steps look like to transform a “stolen” opening into your own:
- STEP 1: Change the character names, setting locations, easy small changes.
- STEP 2: Change some details, how the characters look, act, etc.
- STEP 3: Add/remove things that your new story is starting to need/not need
- STEP 4: Final touches to remove any remnants of the original opening
The viewers voted that we take the opening to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and transform it into our own new story.
They also voted that we tell this new story using the opening: “Every day, trucks drive through the streets with loudspeakers blaring, announcing that everything is normal. Everything is okay. One day, the streets are silent.”
Here’s what we finally came up with after going through all four steps:
Mr. and Mrs. Winston stepped over the line of tape on the floor. It always felt wonderful to be back in their generously allotted family unit space, but this time was even more special. Tucked under Mrs. Winston’s arm was proof of their good deeds — their third straight “Most Lawful Family” award, which their neighbors were trying to sneak envious peeks at from inside their own units.
Mrs. Winston rolled her eyes in disappointment at her neighbors. If they spent half the time watching out for deviants as they did scoping around for gossip, then their credit scores could be as high as her and her husband’s too. Well… almost as high.
Not that the Winstons needed much help with their scores. They not only had the highest number in the Freedom Flats apartment complex, but in all of Victory Sector, and with that particular characteristic came better jobs.
Mr. Winston was the district supervisor for SafetyFirst Supermarkets, responsible for providing rations to the populace. He was a perfectly regulation-sized man with a 25-inch waist, five inches below the legal limit, which he was silently very proud of. “The less space you take up, the less burden you are on society.”
Mrs. Winston was head of the Freedom Flat’s Community Outreach Club, which kept her very busy every day. Their building didn’t have any indoor walls—like all apartment complexes—so everyone could keep an eye on their neighbors. Like the Truth Trucks always said as they passed by every hour on the dot, “Walls only protect those who have something to hide.” But sometimes, certain individuals needed a little more protection than others, and that’s where Mrs. Winston and her club stepped in.
The Winstons had everything they wanted, just like everyone who was willing to work, watch, and obey.
The two of them sat down at their kitchen table, ready to enjoy a celebratory snack of saltines and cheese-spray. It was 6:59, just a minute before the 7:00 Truck came by. As Mrs. Winston took a bite, she noticed out of the corner of her eye the neighbor Mr. Matthews gawking at the cheese. She made a mental note to report him later. Envy was always an early warning sign of future deviancy.
7:00. The Winstons turned their heads to the window outdoors, ready to hear tonight’s Truth. Mrs. Winston wondered to herself if their names might be announced for winning again. They hadn’t the previous years, but three in a row was quite the accomplishment. Mrs. Winston was certainly not hoping for acknowledgment, she merely hoped that their model behavior could serve as an example to other citizens.
They waited. And waited. Munching on their crackers.
7:01. No sign of the Trucks. They were never late before.
Our opening is completely different from the original opening to Harry Potter, so much so that it’s nearly impossible to tell that’s where we got our inspiration from!
Be sure to check out the video so you can see how the story changed slowly but surely each step along the way.
If you want to join us and help write a story by trolling in chat, or share your own writing for feedback, then we’d love to have you join us on Twitch.
And you missed the stream, you can still watch them on the YouTube channel or watch the full stream reruns.
Hope to see you next time, friend!
Featured image: Pakutaso (edited by me)