Anyone starts their stories with protagonists waking up?

kyupol 2024-02-29 17:24:30 UTC #7

Started a chapter with protagonist waking up...

hakei 2024-02-29 18:21:38 UTC #8

Not mine but one of my favorite video game franchises starts with the protag dreaming + waking up

xstarx07 2024-02-29 18:41:13 UTC #9

Huh, I think it‘s literally the easiest way to start off a story xP
(Gosh, that screenshot is old), but for my current protagonist, it fit the best to have her sleep through her class in the beginning of the first chapter. And if the reader came from the Introduction right before, it does give a little feel that what just happened might‘ve been a dream or something lol

BoomerZ 2024-02-29 18:59:23 UTC #10

I did. It starts in the early morning.

abigaillmartin 2024-02-29 19:01:26 UTC #11

Hell yeah!

My cousin started it. She used the waking up protagonist cliche before I did lol.

Mallory 2024-02-29 20:43:28 UTC #12

I did!

However the complaint about characters waking up - the legitimate one - has always been confined to the protagonist waking up normally in the normal world, in their normal bed at the beginning of their normal day, grabbing their normal breakfast and going along their normal routines. The reason for the complaint is because this much normalcy usually has no conflict and no stakes yet, and since this our first meeting with the character, we don't care. There is no connection between this waking up scene and the rest of the plot.

However, swap out even one of those normals - like, maybe the character wakes up in a bed they don't recognize, or maybe they're woken up by a dragon tapping on their window... And suddenly, we have a story, and a reason to keep reading.

Otherwise, characters really only have two states - awake and sleeping, and if we eliminate the sleeping, then... what? Every story MUST begin with the character being awake? That's preposterous. Some stories lend themselves better thematically to starting awake, others, waking up makes more sense.

DasIstWunderblyat 2024-02-29 22:16:45 UTC #13

Of course! he also stares at a mirror to assess his appearance.
The next chapter he eats his breakfast with his uncle
He also goes to school and meet his friends in the next one.

Thank god he isn't going to be sold to a (insert popular and attractive public figures here) because his uncle lose a bet! But I almost made it that way

ArtGremlin 2024-02-29 23:13:40 UTC #14

Yes.

But also falling asleep

JackKonnes 2024-03-01 00:50:22 UTC #15

Well, I started my latest work in a similar way.
It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the protagonist's memory is all fuzzed out.

Hope you give it a try! Thanks for your time!

Till we meet again

skidiggy 2024-03-01 02:12:31 UTC #16

Apparent Secrets starts with the main character dreaming and waking from their dream in the prologue.

sams_cartoon_shack 2024-03-01 02:32:43 UTC #17

Agreed, I have yet to begin a storyline with the character waking up, but I certainly have begun a scene like that at the end of a story.

dan_thepainter 2024-03-01 02:32:47 UTC #18

I didn't know this was a trend for comics 🤣 it makes sense when I think about it lol I feel like it's a good starting point to show off what a day is like for the main character. My comic also starts like this but to be fair it is about dreaming

ScribbleJay 2024-03-01 03:06:09 UTC #19

I started my comic with the protagonist hatching from a buried egg. Does that count as waking up…?

NickRowler 2024-03-01 03:33:14 UTC #20

I did it for Crow's Worth.
I don't really remember why I chose to start it this way.

Lensing 2024-03-01 07:40:12 UTC #21

The waking up beginning is almost on one level (for me) with the "to be continued" end.
There are exceptions for this like a story about waking up and being the only human
on earth kind of story, but there would still be more creative options for it

I did a couple of hundreds of those when I was a kid. My brother and
me were drawing comic pages every day and there was a 9 out of 10
chance that the main character was waking up in his bed in the first
panel. The other option was the main character walking down the street.

I don´t want to insult anyone, but for me personally the waking up first
panel is a sign for not having a creative idea

potatogirl 2024-03-01 07:57:47 UTC #22

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

Yangying 2024-03-01 08:13:34 UTC #23

My story starts with the MC waking up from a dream, so, yeah… it happens a good amount

doodlemcfiddle 2024-03-01 16:48:40 UTC #24

I did that once in my first story and I received the worst criticism ever that was too cliche. Now I fear starting a story with the MC waking up or even chapters.

2DLenzy 2024-03-01 16:59:03 UTC #25

At first when I saw the topic, I was like, Nah...

Then I was like crap! Mine do!

Tho technically, my story begins with a rooster getting sliced, but yeah, I think it fits the cliche. But it features roosters, so, I embrace that cliche!

Face of nightmares...XD

allenT 2024-03-01 17:34:58 UTC #26

Man... so many in the same boat, it's a really popular choice