All good stories start with ONE good idea. The hard part comes after the idea…and trying to figure out where to go from there. We’ve all been there, “I have a story idea but I can’t write it!” Why is it so difficult to turn an idea into a story?
Because we want it to be perfect the first time round. (Spoiler alert: It won’t be.)
If you can get past the idea that your story needs to be perfect the moment you write it down, then I have some tips on how to kickstart the writing process and develop a story worthy of your time!
IDEA to STORY
1. Write down your idea.
Take ten minutes, write down your idea on a piece of paper (or Google doc) and write down every single thing that pops into your head. Is it the main character? The setting? The climax of the story or maybe just the ending? Is it one random scene that you have no idea where it’s going to go? Who cares. Write it down.
2. Take the piece you love.
Ten minutes later what part of your brainstorming do you love the most. Take that and RUN with it. I don’t know where you’re going to end up (neither do you!) but RUN! Take another ten minutes and see what comes up and where you end up.
3. Repeat.
Maybe you got this already, maybe you didn’t, but repeat this process until you’ve developed a story from your idea. Or at least until you can tell me who your main characters are, or what the plot is, or the socio-economic structures of the planet you’ve created. Repeat until your idea has turned into a story.
STORY TO PLOT
We’ve turned an idea into a story. Now let’s turn a story into a plot. Most stories can be described as either plot-driven or character-driven. (For more on this, check out this Masterclass article.) No matter where you fall on the wide range of story-telling styles, you’ll need an outline to help you turn an idea into a story, a story into a plot, a plot into a completed novel.
1. Organize Your Thoughts
Do you work best with a mind map? Or maybe a Harvard outline, like me? (Here’s my basic outline example.) Maybe you have a fancy computer program that organizes your thoughts best. Whatever it is—figure it out. The KEY is to keep all the information in one place that makes sense to you.
2. Outline
Once all your story ideas are in one place, organize your story into an outline. Create character bios. Write out your scenes and plot structure. Craft your settings and world-build. (Looking for an easy to follow schedule for this? Click here.)
Here are a few things your outline should include:
✨A detailed description of all your characters
Who are your main characters? What do they look like? How does their emotional arc throughout the book change them and the story? Who are the antagonists? How does their emotional arc throughout the book change them and the story? What is the main character fighting for and why? What is the antagonist fighting for and why? Who are your side characters? What do they add to the story (if anything)?
✨ A scene by scene description of your plot
This is self-explanatory. How does your story begin? What happens in the middle? How does it end? The middle part is where most people end up being very vague. They know how the story starts and how it ends but how they get to the ending…not so much. Take some time to start from the beginning and ask yourself, “If X character does X, what happens next?” The middle will begin to form and the ending will write itself.
✨ A list of all places/things of significance
This might feel unnecessary for a romance author writing a book between two characters in a snowed-in cabin. But it is still necessary. This is where you build the world around your characters—from the snowed-in cabin to the far off planet—you should know the details of your world.
✨ Anything else?
Maybe. That depends on you and your story. Do you feel like you should add more to your outline. Then do it! The more detail you dedicate to your outline now, the less detail you have to worry about while your writing—it will come out naturally in the story.
3. Write.
That’s it. After you’ve turned your idea into a story and your story into an outline, the only thing left to do is write it! (If you’re following the #Publish2022 schedule, we’ll start writing in April!)
Turning an idea into a story feels momentous in the moment—it also feels like it will never be complete until the moment it is. Trust your gut when developing a story. Your idea will turn into a story when you work with it. It won’t happen overnight but that’s the reason we spend 3 months outlining in #Publish2022. Three months is more than enough time to sit with an idea and turn it into a book.
