How to start the first episode?

My story isn’t completely fantasy, it just has witches, but i don’t know how to start it off. Should I start off the story introducing the setting, and explaining the covens and the problem? Or jump right into the action and have it explained throughout the first episode(s).

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well i love story which explains all the things so i would suggest as introduction at first ! but its your choice

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According to polls on the old forms most ///

the example was dad dies when mc returns from school, the poll was, knowing the dad dies should the author cut straight to the dying scene or show her school day. The poll outcome was about ~ 80% for school day with the idea you get to know the character (s) better.

/// I can’t really say what would work best for your story, but I would recommend explanation before action - unless its like ‘this is Cory. He is a witch’

Don’t do an information dump on the reader. That’s the best way to get them to click out of the story.
Explain each thing as it becomes relevant.
As long as the reader knows what’s going on in that moment and they’re not confused, they don’t need to know every single detail of the world. :slight_smile: Plus, it’s much more intriguing to learn as you go along.

Also, if you can explain things by working them into the story through natural dialogue between characters, that’s usually considered to be more high-quality writing than just straight up narrating everything (that whole, “show, don’t tell” advice). Of course, sometimes narrating things can work better than dialogue, but it’s the writer’s job to figure out what works best where.
Good luck! :slight_smile:

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I prefer to go with minimal narration in my stories. Even good narrating (which is rare) can get boring if it’s long. Try to show as many things possible in action, build them into dialogues, use flashbacks etc. Also I don’t think it is necessary to explain everything at the beginning. I actually like the stories where instead of spoonfeeding, the author leaves a few questions open and lets the reader find out what is the connection between the characters/ scenes/ events.

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This!
You need to find the (sometimes fine) balance between leaving the reader wondering (and therefore, interested), while not leaving them confused and/or frustrated.

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Closing due to one month of inactivity :slight_smile: