I've been planning up this transmigration story for a while now, but i'm not really sure what to write in the first chapter. Making the main character wake up then find him/herself in a different body is kinda boring and very overused. Any suggestions?
what if you make the MC walking on a road, like, maybe when he/she has just come back from work and suddenly they step inside the new world (transmigrating?)
MC finding himself in the Body of a Dirty young Begger, who later look exectly like his original Body, only more handsome/beautiful. MC waking up in a not-human Body, but in a Body of Demon/Elf/Dwarf Race. Or how about a Story where MC has 2 Bodies? His own original Body and when he goes to Sleep he wakes up in his other Body, till he goes to sleep and wake up in his Original Body again.
You could write a couple of paragraphs leading up to the transmigration and if there were any phrases that triggered it. Start off with the MC leaving some place or after a few lines of exchange. You could use that to help the reader empathize with their sudden transfer from one body to the next, since it isn't some anonymous friend/ family member they've only heard about. If the story is instantly plunged into an otherworldly setting then the reader will simply think it's fantasy, so they won't be familiar with the modern world your MC was born in. The point of transmigration will be wasted since any reminiscing by the MC will be ignored, all they'll draw when trying to visualise is a blank. They don't know how good the MC's relationship with their sister is, or how much they miss having a cellphone. I'm kind of assuming it's modern to fantasy, but try and tie some connections to people and things first. No one gets taken away from home and immediately gets used to the new environment
Although i've planned to make the mc lament about how convenient the modern world (or well, Earth), was, i'll have to admit that I didn't think about his family members. I suppose that I'd either make someone murder him for maybe burglary? Then make him have PTSD of that situation and allow him to reminisce about his family from time to time after transmigrating. He'll be happier with his new family, though it'll take some time to get used to despite being influenced by the body of the former owner.This is still just an idea though.
Someone told me once, to start in the middle of something. Start where there is a bit of mystery, and you have the ability to explain later. You clear things up by starting at the beginning like many do, but mystery can lure people in and it is easier to write. For example, one of my stories is also a transmigration...technically? Instead of starting when they get dragged in, I would start on the sidelines of a battle, or if it was a slice of life type, in the middle of an argument or some other event. A chase, stopping a robbery, walking outside to go shopping only to find someone's flowers on fire with your cousin's aunt watching from her chair as her old hated foe's prized flowers burn, just like her own hedges last week after a small comment about the neighbor's son and her foe's daughter, but all you can see is the fire burning in your cousin's aunt's eyes as the fight continues to escalate and you know it won't end here but you pray to any god who tries to care that it will; meeting a new friend, going to a ball or other party, or just picking a major plot point and just going from there. It really just depends on the tone you want to start with, a comedy would start somewhere humorous like getting chased with a broom or someone's flowers on fire, a romance usually begins when the two meet, an adventure or war story would start halfway through a battle, and a sad, bittersweet tale might begin with the mc in pain or getting betrayed.
I've also seen stories where you have one chapter/scene in the new world, and then you go something like "a few days ago, they transmigrated over" i.e. almost like a flashback
I've seen some of those too, but the problem with those kind of books are that normally, a reader wouldn't be attached to the main character in just a single chapter. They might not even care about the backstory of the main character around that time. This is, of course, unless you write to them the mc's backstory first before transmigrating into a new world.
Most transmigration stories don't make use of the fact that the person was from Earth and it's basically just fan service to let people self insert. So unless you plan to heavily use something from the past life you may as well just make it a character of that world. If your main goal is just helping people imagine themselves transmigrating then too many details of the past life breaks their immersion. Mushoku Tensai is one example that made the previous life matter. The MC's character has an arc that spans worlds, and people from the previous world show up. Konosuba is an example where the previous life doesn't matter much, partly because it's going for comedy mainly. After a couple laughs at how he died there is almost no reference to the previous life or need to skills/knowledge he gained in it (up to where I've seen anyway). His main use of the knowledge of his previous life is things like acknowledging Darkness as a M. Most transmigrations I see fall into: oops, I've died and woken in a new world. lets be confused a few pages then start the killing.
Actually, my plan for this story was to make the protagonist think that they transmigrated to another world, only to find out later that it was actually the very same Earth they lived in, just that it's been billions of years later. It was an idea mentioned by a friend of mine, and I figured that it was one with good potential.
this one is good ,you can start in midst of the battlefield as it is a life or death situation the mc can't hesitate.he is fighting and realises something is wrong and in that split second an arrow whooses past him forcing him to fight