Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Ending the Beginning - #MFRW

How do you know when the beginning of the story reaches the point where the middle starts? When reading Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V Swain, my question was answered. But the answer seemed to be simple so I decided to look at the answer through a story I am blocking out in the rough draft.

The end of the beginning of the story starts with a decision. The problem the hero or heroine faces needs to be faced and solved. What I realized was in writing a story with more than one focus character the problem each faces may be different and for that character their beginning may come at a later time. For the hero and heroine of  Rekindled Dreams the problem they think they face may not be the one they really face.

The hero quits his job and the decision to attend the funeral of a man, his relative who hurt him in the past brings his problem into focus. His need for a family. The heroine's decision to attend the same funeral, that of her ex-husband also brings her problem to the fore. Protecting her soon to be born child from her ex-husband's family.

Now the decisions made where the middle of the story may change and new decisions must be formed, but that's the middle of the story. The desire to take action is what ends the beginning where the character is shown, the setting shown and the problem at least hinted at. The characters may not know what the problem is in reality.

So future tips will look at the middle of the story and ways to keep it from sagging and how to find the road to the end.