If you’re the type of writer who writes by the seat of your pants (pantser), there are times when you have to sit down and plan. How you plan out your story depends on which method suits you as an individual. I know writing by the seat of your pants feels comfortable, but when your story starts getting away from you, that’s when you know it’s time to stop, take a deep breath, let it out, and organize your plot/subplots.
Category: Plot/Story
Story Tension
One Line Premise
The definition of a one line premise— It is a one line summary of your story plot.
Three Elements of a one line premise
| Three Elements | Definition of each Element |
|---|---|
| Protagonist | Said in two words. E.g. headstrong woman or a narcisisstic man |
| A goal | What does the protagonist want or need? |
| Crisis | A situation or crisis the protagonist is up against or in. |
Example
- A headstrong woman seeks to find the truth about her parents but discovers a sinister family secret going back to the Magi that could ultimately destroy her.
In the above example headstrong woman is the protagonist. Seeks to find the truth about her family is the goal. Sinister family secret and could ultimategly destroy her is the crisis.
Keep Them Reading
In writing a story, remember something; keep the reader reading. How do you accomplish that? I equate this to dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit. Dangle information by leading the reader on but give them just enough to make them curious. After all, curiosity entices the mind to seek closure. When they seek closure, that means they are turning pages.
Increase tension within the story. Create a question or two but don’t answer it (at least not yet). Up the ante by increasing the stakes in such a way that it appears there’s no way out. The reader will have to turn the pages. They will just have to know. I can’t give you exact information as to what you should write, because I don’t know your story/stories. All I can do is give you something to think about.
Story Seeds
Plant your “seed” onto the page and watch your story grow.
Hot Air Balloons and Stories
That moment when you start reading a book and the story lifts you up and carries you away.
Backstory or Bust
Your main character’s backstory, or history, is presented in the first act. Sometimes in act 2 but never in act 3. The bulk of it gets inserted in act 1. I like to think of the backstory as a spring board for what is to come. Will all of it have a bearing on the main story? No. Some of it will work toward the reader getting to know your character and even creating empathy for your character within the reader. But how do you introduce backstory, and what will your character’s backstory be? I will tell you how I did it, and you can take it from there.
So far, I have had to create backstory for three main characters. Once in book 1, once in book 2, and now in book 3. Each time I accomplished this, I did it a different way. In book 1 I used a flashback and introspection with the main character to convey her personal history. By doing this, the reader gained insight into the main character’s state of mind and the relationship she had with her mother. It also conveyed insight into her past behaviors. Where did I get her backstory from? I used a little of my own history and embellished it.
In book 2, we meet Kyle Stevens as our main character. For his backstory, I presented it in a vision he had while in another realm. So, he was actually seeing a memory being played out in front of him. Mixed in with it were memories he had no idea he had. Everything he saw in that vision played an active role in the story to come, physically and mentally. Later in act 2 more backstory is peppered throughout but sparingly. Remember that. Kyle’s history just jumped at me as I was writing it. I made it up as I was going along. That’s a rare thing. I had so much fun writing book 2. Can you tell?
Now, I am in the middle of writing book 3. John Cummings is now the main character. He was a side character in books 1 and 2, but we never gained any real detailed information about him. Until now. The way I present his backstory to the reader is through verbal means. In other words, he has to tell the love of his life about his past. So this time it comes out in a way that’s straight forward. The back story for book 3 I am still working out. I have a journal I write notes in, so this morning as I was working on my manuscript, I got to the part where John is to tell Maggie about his past. I had an idea, but it wasn’t coming clear (not like it did for Kyle in book2). So I sat thinking about John and the other players in the story and the events thus far. Ideas started to click but not to the point where I could make it up as I went along, as before. So I pulled out my journal and jotted down notes about John’s history. That’s where I’m at with that at this point.
Do you have to do what I did? No. You can if you choose, but take my ideas and use them as springboards to other ideas you may come up with. We’re all different and do things in ways that work for us.
Creating Empathy
On October 6, 2021 I wrote a blog post entitled Connections. Toward the end of the article I talked about a character, Mary, who was in a heated argument with her boyfriend as they were walking along. They had come to an area or clearing where the sunset could be seen much better in all of its glory. The boyfriend didn’t notice it. He could’ve cared less, but Mary noticed it and enjoyed it so much that for a moment she forgot about the argument. In this post I said that the sunset itself had nothing to do with the issue at hand, which was the argument. It was a random occurrence. But it had everything to do with creating empathy for the character of Mary. Add to this the dialogue between the two. Maybe Mary’s boyfriend said something nasty to her. The reader will be affected by these words to in that they will feel for her/have empathy for her. Mary may not be hurt by his words, but the reader will feel for her anyway. Well, most readers anyway.
Creating empathy for your characters is what draws your readers further into your story. Feelings, as we all know, have a strong connection to empathy. The two go hand in hand. As a side note, not everyone feels empathy, so don’t worry if your characters don’t connect with some readers. It’s just the nature of the beast.
Empathy, or even lack thereof, also gives incite into your character’s personality. In the above scenario we come to understand that Mary loves the beauty of sunsets even in the face of angst. It also hints towards her sensitivity. In addition, deep down she doesn’t let something like an argument with her boyfriend get to her. This indicates strength to get through it and not dwell on it. It could also indicate she feels as though the situation between her and her boyfriend will get resolved. The point being, in the ugly face of an argument, she saw beauty.
What drives the feelings within your characters? The situations they are thrust up against. Let’s say we have a character named Jack. He’s 31 years old, a successful corporate lawyer, and married with one child. He finds out his wife is cheating on him. Over the eight years they’ve been married, he has given his wife everything. He supports her in all that she enjoys doing. There isn’t anything that indicated to him that she had been unfaithful. Until he walks in on his wife and her lover when he comes home to surprise her (I know. This is a typical scenario, but it works for the point I’m trying to make). Already the reader feels empathy for him, and we haven’t gotten to how he is feeling yet. Although, his feelings will be interspersed throughout the scenario anyway.
Everything, the feelings and situations, even the words characters say to one another can create empathy within your readers. They will be pulled into your story. You want this. Of course, there are other ways besides creating empathy that can pull a reader in as well. Here again, that’s another blog post.
Story Trees
The beauty of a tree is intricate. There are so many parts, yet they are all part of one trunk. Everything comes together to make up the whole. We see the individual parts, but we also see the one.
Stories work much the same way. There is one main story, but within it are ‘branches’ or ‘offshoots’ of smaller stories that, when you put them all together, make up the main story. The end result is one story with many parts within it. They all connect. With a tree if you take a part of it and replant it, it grows into another tree. The same applies to a story. If you take a part of the story, you can create another story.
Developing Story Ideas
Steps to developing your story ideas don’t have to be difficult. Here are some ways to do this.
Create a Character
Describe his/her physical attributes, personality, their likes and dislikes. You can include their race and ethnicity. What is their job? What other details about them are there?
Identify Your Character’s Desire
What is it specifically that drives your character into action?
Choose a Resistance
What or who will stand in your character’s way?
The Change
Decide on how your character will grow throughout the story.
Captivating Settings
What is going on in and around your character’s world?
Putting it all together
When you first start your story idea, the above will work as a guideline. Jot down some ideas in a journal or notebook for each of the above areas to get yourself started. Then go back and develop each area in more detail. Continue this process until you have enough details written in each of the above areas to bein your story. However, when you begin writing, your story will be up to you. Everybody is different. You may not need many details to start, but others will.
WRITE TIME AND AGAIN 