This is the first in a series of planned articles on learning to write. In these articles, I will detail my writing journey and things I have learned or am still learning.
Start with a notebook and a favorite pen. I, personally love using the Dollar Store Composition Books in whatever size I happen to find first. I write Titles on all my notebooks. This one I title: Simple Fantasy/Sci-fi Outline.
First, list story ideas in your notebook. Try to pick several different ideas, as you can always come back to this list. I have a notebook for each genre I write: Fantasy/Sci-fi, Mystery/Adventure, and Education/Writing. Choose one or two of these and continue to the next step.
Next, ask yourself, “What major events could happen?” These events could be war, death, strange illness, major crime (murder, theft, embezzlement, etc.) Pick a couple and ask yourself the following questions:
Why did that happen?
Who did it? Or who was it done to?
When did it happen?
How did it happen?
Now go on to more detailed questions:
What effect did it have on the world?
How did it affect the people around it?
These answers will form the major ideas in your plot. As an example, for my book, Girl of the Prophecy, here are my question/answer notes after choosing my idea of a young girl going into a fairytale country to help save it:
What events could happen? a war between good and evil or an evil curse on the land
Why did that happen? Evil dwarves kidnapped the King and took over or an evil wizard cursed the land
Who did it? Or who was it done to? A Dwarf Lord or Wizard with powerful magic
When did it happen? Many years ago
How did it happen? The King befriended a lonely dwarf, who later took advantage of him or the imprisoned wizard escaped and took revenge.
Now it is time to begin creating your main character (MC or Protagonist). Ask yourself what kind of character would best work with your chosen events. Then look at the following list:
Human or non-human?
female or a male?
What’s his/her role in the story?
Define main personality traits, without going too much into detail. Do you want to make a very realistic character? We will save that for later.
Create your “bad guy” (Protagonist). Answer the same questions as you did for your MC. He/she will be blocking the MC at every turn, so try to make his goals and personality traits the opposite of the MC’s. Make your protagonist believable and seemingly stronger than the MC.
Next, it is time to figure out where your story will take place. If it about humans, they probably live on earth, or maybe a parallel universe, or a colonized planet. Without going into a lot of detail, describe what this world will look like. Who rules it? What race inhabits it? Just jot a few notes and we will return to more about world building later.
Now, we are going to begin to “flesh out” the plot. Pick your major event and twist it until it feels believable. Gather other characters to interact with the MC. Does he/she have a family or friends? How could they help with the MC’s journey? Make this a story of the journey of your MC. This can be a physical journey from one place to another, or an internal journey from helpless to strong. Get the idea? You have a major event; it is time to add in some secondary events. These could be things like a love story, a birth or death, or other personal events. These events will help make your story realistic and also can be used to twist the plot. Make your characters grow and change. Long journeys, falling in love, near-death experiences will all change your MC in different ways. After the secondary events, make subtle changes to your character’s personality. Add in some obstacles. Do not make it easy for your MC to reach the goal. Make him/her WORK for it. After all, who wants to read about a perfect character who never has any difficulties in life? Don’t forget to name your character!
Next, it is time to start world building. Even if your story takes place on Earth, think about how you could adapt Earth to your story. Print out a map and start adding alterations. I used a map of Australia for my inspiration in Girl of the Prophecy. I flipped it on its side and started drawing in mountains and rivers and lakes. I added a few scattered cities and some other land features and created my country of Ailarts’ua. (Note: I cheated a little on the name, if you look closely!) After your map is done, consider adding in post-its to mark important events or places. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just have fun!
Now plan a chronology for your book. Remember to think about past events that may have some bearing on your story. These can be woven in to the story if needed, but can also be part of the “back story” which the author may or may not need to reveal. Your characters can mention a past event or find a relic that helps move your story forward. You, as the author, need to know the complete history of your world, but the readers won’t need to know it all.
Now, you can flesh out your MC. What are they afraid of? Where and when were they born? What are their flaws, strengths, and quirks? Dig deep into this part because the MC’s actions and reactions are what makes a story interesting. Don’t spend a lot of time on physical description, but have a picture of them in your head. I try to find pictures online that match my idea of the character More about that at another time.
Using your map, mark the character’s journey and main points of interest. Fully describe each major place of interest. Again, I have pictures of the main places in my story. From Hoogandam Hall to the Megadanz River and from the Hidden Castle to the Lone Tree, all are in my ‘Places” File. I will describe this in more detail in another post.
Next write the interactions between the characters. How do they help or hinder the MC? How do the interactions move the story along to the final goal? I wrote several short scenes to introduce each character, then added them to the plot when they fit.
Now, write your story! Weave in the major and minor events, the obstacles and victories, and show how the MC changes from the start to the finish.
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