I have the biggest problem when starting off a story. Half the time I don't even notice when I'm doing it. I always try to basically explain away how person A got to point B.

It's really beginning to bug me. So I thought I'd pose a question here to see advice I could hopefully get for this problem. Seriously, I noticed I had done it on another snippet I was writing earlier and literally slapped myself.

Anyway, plot I was working on was for a Naruto/Fairy Tail crossover. - The premise being that after defeating Madara and the Juubi Naruto ends up in Earthland, the problem is his chakra is gone, both he and Kurama are in separated once again and Kurama has also lost his chakra ending up as nothing more than a normal sized fox that can talk and has 9 tails.

To survive they need to make money, and the only thing Naruto really knows how to do is missions. But the problem is he has no chakra reinforcing his body now. So in the end they need to learn how to use magic.

This is where my problem started because I ended up 'telling' how they ended up in Earthland and what they were hoping to achieve. But how would it go over with readers like you guys if I instead went with entirely show but started it off after Naruto has gained access to style of magic he wants?

For reference sake, Naruto doesn't have years to be wasting on developing a magic style of fighting and instead wants a shortcut. He uses the one skill that nobody in Fairy Tail seems to have, stealth. He breaks into the prison, murders Cobra and extracts the Poison Dragon Lacrima. Like a real damn shinobi should.

But the plot doesn't really matter. My question is mostly thus - would it be fine to start off a story like that and reveal the how and when bit by bit as the story progresses?

 

Yes, revealing backstory through combined exposition, narration, dialogue, and other hints is good practice.

 

Thanks T3t. Like I said, it's been my biggest problem up to this point. And trying to branch away from it is harder than anticipated.

 

Problem with your plot is that the how and when really take a backseat to the why.

Why would Naruto murder some dude just for power? I'd care more about getting that explained, than how he ended up there in the first place.

 

He's a shinobi for one. I prefer to do more realistic takes on how things would go down for Naruto as one. And the simple fact is that Cobra was a Dark Mage who slaughtered innocent people. It'd be wholly out of character if he started randomly killing innocents but killing what he would most likely refer to as 'scum' isn't out of the spectrum of norm for the kind of Naruto I would expect if Kishi wasn't as hung up on that spiel about love and friendship and all that jazz.

 

I always find the starting of a story to be simple, but maybe I have the wrong approach? I'd say, the first paragraph tends to be a broad stroke - try to paint lots of detail to set the scene. Use the rest of the chapter to provide the elements the set-up the story. Hint at the theme, show a taste of the main conflict you'll be delving into, and introduce the protagonist in a memorable way. Is this too vague?

Don't get too 'telly'. First chapter should be pretty 'showy' I think, though maybe the first chapter allows for more 'telling' than most other chapters would - it's acceptable to give more background if necessary, though I'd advise it through a creative context.

 

Sure, but you're still deviating from his canon personality, which either needs to be explained or handwaved. And since handwaving rather goes against this writing exercise of yours, it needs to be adressed.

 

I'd recommend either "first person chatty" or "third person omniscient" narrative as the best ways to pull off this kind of story. It allows the reader to feel like they're being told the story by an older version of the character in question, or some other third party, looking back upon past events. This allows the narrative to smoothly transition between various time periods with the neat mechanism of the knowledgeable narrator changing direction.

See any book by Khaled Hosseini for a masterclass in how to pull the "slow reveal of backstory through the narrator reminiscing" technique off.

 

Honestly, I'd just take what you've written and delete the first 5-10 pages. You'll start further into the story, revealing backstory as it becomes relevant.

 

I didn't say it wouldn't be addressed, no worries about that. Just that How Naruto ended up there, and how he became like he was would be revealed bit by bit as I got further into the story.

https://forums.darklordpotter.net/showthread.php?p=716832#post716832 - I posted my first draft of the prologue for the story I began in the WBA thread.