Author:
Charles Brown
Date Of Creation:
6 February 2021
Update Date:
1 July 2024
Content
Do you have an idea for a story, but you don't know how to start? There are a lot of articles that explain how to write once you have a plot in place, or how to work out the plot once you have the framework. But what do you do when you have nothing but an idea? This article will help you work out a story from start to finish, whether it's a children's book with illustrations or a seven-part epic series.
To step
Provide an idea. Do you have an idea somewhere, great! If not, brainstorm or create a mind map, or do one of the many other idea-generating exercises you can find on the web. You don't have to turn it into a story right away - but you do need a vague idea. This can start with anything: a phrase, a face, a character or a situation - as long as it is exciting and inspiring to you. 
Turn your idea into a story. Don't forget to give it a bit of a twist, as this is the course of the story. If you're familiar with the snowflake method, or other top-down ideas creation methods, then you will be familiar with this step. So, how do you turn a vague notion of a dark-eyed girl into an idea for a story? First understand that stories are about two things: characters and conflict. Sure there are other things like theme and setting and point of view etc. but at the core of every story there are characters with conflict. So, let's return to the girl with the dark eyes. Now we start to ask ourselves questions, with the aim of creating a character with a conflict. Who is she? What does she want? What's getting in the way of her getting that? Once you have a character with some sort of conflict, you have a story idea. Write that idea down. 
Turn your idea into a story. Now the tricky part follows. You have a clear idea for a story, but how do you turn it into a conspiracy? You can of course just start writing and see where it takes you, but if that is your habit, it is doubtful you would want to read this article. You are looking for a plot. So you proceed as follows: you first come up with an ending. 
Yes, that's right, it end. Is our dark-eyed girl getting her husband? Or will she lose it to that rich girl? Make up an ending first, and if that's not enough to spawn some plot ideas, read on. 
Think about your characters. Now you have a conflict, characters, an initial situation and an ending. If you still need help finding a plot, you should start thinking about your characters now. Work it out. Give them friends, families, jobs, histories, life-changing experiences, needs and desires. 
Work on plot points. Now that you've figured out the ending of your story and your characters, put the characters in their world and watch them communicate. Make sure to take notes on this. Maybe one of them will get that big promotion. Perhaps the dark-eyed girl is competing with the rich spoiled brat in a swimming competition. Maybe her best friend finds out she still loves that one guy. Come up with ideas of what they can do to affect their world and what their world can do to affect them. 
Adjust your plot points in a storyline. Now comes the fun part. At this point, some knowledge of story structure may come in handy. For our purposes, Freytag's analysis is probably especially useful. Stories have five parts: - Introduction - the character's normal life, to the point of the "triggering incident" that pushes him / her into conflict.
- Rising Action - the conflicts, struggles, and pitfalls that the character faces while pursuing its goals. In a three-act structure, this is the second act and usually the largest part of the story.
- Climax - the most important part! The point where anything seems possible, and where the character must decide whether to seize victory or accept graceful failure. The turning point of the story where the conflict comes to a head.
- Falling action - how things unfold after the climax (the hero wins or loses), all loose ends are tied, leading to ...
- The denouement - a new balance, normal life is again possible, but different (or perhaps not so different) from the "normal life" of the character at the introduction.
Place those potential plot points you have come up with somewhere along the storyline, working backwards or forwards. Your ending will likely fall somewhere in the Falling action or Denouement, but if you graft properly (or are lucky) you may have come up with the Climax instead. If you can't come up with a Climax, think about the solution you want, and think about the event that is needed to make that happen. All things that work towards this event from the beginning are part of the Rising Action. All things as a result of this event belong to the Falling action. And anything that doesn't fit into either of these two categories shouldn't be used in your story unless it's a subplot. 
Change or redevelop the plot, if necessary. Now you should have a workable plot. It may not be complex and may not be beautiful, but you have plenty to get started. Once you've decided which scenes best illustrate the chain of events leading up to Climax, you can decide that you want to make additional changes, or even tweak the Climax. Which is good. Writing is a creative process, and such things are never ready-made!
Tips
- Put yourself in the characters' shoes, what would they say? What do they do or how would they react? Rather than answering this as yourself (this wouldn't make the character particularly convincing), answer according to the role you assume. Also hold back when creating the storyline, because if there's just one dramatic event after another, it gets boring and repetitive - you want to amaze the reader. When adding emotion you have to show a range of emotions because human emotions are roller coasters and after all we don't feel the same for years on end? Sometimes we are happy and sometimes angry, so you also have to consider the humanity of your character.
- Balance the emotions in the story. If you're writing a tragedy, put some humor in it too. If you're writing a story with a perfectly happy ending, give it a dash of drama somewhere.
- Keep a list of interesting ideas you have come up with. Some can work to fit your plot. If not, you can save it for a later story. A story needs many different ideas, and it's much easier to start with many than pick one and wonder what to do next.
- Remember that a plot is formed by your character's motivations. Before introducing an important event to your story, put a lot of emphasis on creating your character. If your character's personality is not yet fully developed, how do you know how he / she will react to certain events in your story?
- If you're writing the kind of story that requires a villain, give that one motivation too. Once you have thought of this it will become easier to come up with a plot.
- Once you've made up a character's motivations, stick to them. Trying to force a character into a plot point makes them fake and disjointed. Believe in your character and use their background to resolve the conflict - the story will be smoother that way!
- You can base the story on friends and family, which makes it much easier to take on the role of characters.
- Start with a very vague outline for the story (what happens in the beginning, middle and end) and fill in the further details until the plot is complete. Do not try to work out the plot of the story from start to finish, as it is very difficult and will take a lot of time.
- Don't try to rush. It takes a while to complete, but the more time you spend and the more work put into it, the better the end result will be.
