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.
Tag: Story
Setting Map
Below is a compilation of the main points I’ve talked about in my articles/posts about story setting. The articles each was pulled from is given in each bubble. The links are given below the table.
Story Tension
Story Collage Idea
One of My Fans
Out Now
For those of you who have seen and read my short stories I posted on this blog in the past, as you know, I deleted them off of here so I could put them all together into a collection and publish them. Well…..I published my collection of short stories. They came available on Amazon today February 9, 2024. The link is below.
However, I slightly changed some of the stories that had been on this blog. Plus, I added new short stories never published on this sight. I hope you check them out. Have fun reading.
This collection of short stories holds a mixture of fantasy, mystery, and intrigue, so dive into some mind-gripping strangeness that will leave you scratching your head and wondering. Find out what happens when you are never happy with what you have in The Moving Room. Be careful, you just might find out you’re someone else in Time’s Illusion. Have you ever seen eyes in a pool, and they’re following you? You will in Lights of Fantasy. Sometimes treasures are meant to stay hidden in Time’s Wind. Jump into these and other fantastical stories. Your fate awaits you.
Journaling
Keeping a journal is important when writing a book. I have one for each book I’ve written. How do they help? They’re a great place to write down your ideas for your story, characters, setting, random thoughts and ideas, and much more. When you get stuck, and you will, you can refer back to it for help in getting those gears running smoothly again.
Some of you might think this information is rather obvious. To a seasoned writer, it is. But those of you who may be starting out will find this helpful. At some point the ideas you’re going to have about your story will come smashing down on your brain, and you will want to put them somewhere. A journal will help.
Story Starters Part II
On July 15, 2020 I posted an article entitled Story Starters. In that article I talked mostly about the What If statement, and many examples were given. One example mentioned was: what if you stumble upon your parents who aren’t your parents but they look like them? In this article I would like to give you a variation of the What If statement.
Maybe the What If statements aren’t the way you come up with story ideas. That’s ok. We’re all different. Here’s another way you can do that without using the What If.
| Setting | Character | Action | Disaster |
| A Farm | Jeff (the owner) | He’s milking the cow | He receives word that his brother died. He has no brother… |
| A high school classroom | The teacher | She is teach a math class | She is arrested. |
| A park | Mr. John’s and his dog | He is walking his dog | A random woman accuses him of breaking into her house. |
You can see by reading the above examples, there’s much you can do with these general statements. The sky is the limit. But my point here is that the table above (and maybe you’d rather not use a table) is just one way of organizing your thoughts. The way each idea is stated is done in such a way that you can mix and match them. Instead of the teacher being arrested, Mr. John’s could get arrested in the park as he’s walking his dog. You see how this way is more versatile?
Feel free to use any and all ideas I present on this blog. Happy writing. Have fun.
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.
WRITE TIME AND AGAIN 