I have been having trouble...finding a good beginning for my stories...basically how it starts as far as the setting and place more-so...not really the story itself...

For example a particular story I have exists on a world that has only forests, jungles, rain-forests, and arctic forests...with bodies of water as well...the problem I had was I asked the question well how did this planet or world start? What was its beginning?

Is this the right place for a question like this?? Not sure.

I'm pretty sure that this is the right place. Other than the 'deus ex machina' answer to that, maybe humans/other races didn't arrive on this world as soon as it was made? If left untouched for centuries, I'd imagine that without anyone to chop them down, there wouldn't be much to stop the advance of the forests. Maybe if humans had also spent the first centuries underground, that would also help to explain the unchecked rampant growth of the forests...

Thanks Aratrea!!

Hmm this really helps...I guess in a way it's like asking what came first the egg or the chicken....in this case I wanted the beginning to be original but I didn't want it to be cliche or just sound like a retelling of the creation in terms of the Bible. I still wanted the biblical influence though just more indirect...

I like the idea of it being created and then just left untouched for centuries...maybe before it wasn't all forests...

Everyone has a different approach, so mine may not work for you, but I'll explain and you can try it on.

I take a more evolutionary approach to such things (not the controversial biology theory, but just that my ideas develop slowly over time rather than in a focused sit-down session). I just start writing and see what works and what doesn't. It means you have to be willing to throw away what doesn't work, which can be painful, but I like the results it produces. And, in truth, nothing really ever gets thrown away. It just gets recycled ... reused ... somewhere else.

Just sayin', I'm better at critiquing a story than background data. It doesn't have to be a complete story. Working with snippets is OK too.

Thanks resha that is actually similar to how I write...

Appreciate it!