Monday, September 26, 2011

Plot Development



        The question I am asked most frequently is: Where do you get your ideas for stories? This question is not easy to answer because there is no one answer.

        My ideas come from everywhere. From reading the newspaper, to observing what's going on around me, to my imagination, to dreams, to conversations, to movies, to...well, you name it. Once I get an idea, I write it down before I forget. 
       

        But an idea for a story is not a story; it is the seed from which a story might grow. 
How does one go about developing an idea into a story? Again, there is no one way to do this and everyone has a different technique that works best for them.
       

        Following are some ideas you might want to try:

Work Backwards--If you know how you want the story to end, try working backwords, developing the events that would lead up to the ending. 
  

Conflict--For a story to be interesting, the main character must have some conflict or trouble to resolve. His/her problem could be internal like shyness, or external, like getting lost in a scary forest.What problems can you create for your characters?
  

Link the Events--The events and characters you write about must be linked in some way. In other words, everything in the story must have a reason for being there that ties it to the story.
  

Suspense--Your writing should suspenseful, making the reader want to know what is going to happen next.
   

Make a List--Another way to come up with a story is to make a list of five events and/or people that are not connected. Now think of interesting ways to connect these events and people. 

                                             

  

        Suppose you list an old woman selling vegetables by the side of the road, a beautiful mansion with a gate around it, a fancy red sports car, a rich young girl, and a squirrel. 
   How can you combine these five things and people to make a story?
  

        Suppose the young girl is riding her bike when a fast moving red sports car swerves to miss a squirrel in the road, knocking the girl off her bike. The car doesn't stop, but the old woman comes to her aid. 
  

        The old woman manages to get her to the front door of the mansion. The door opens mysteriously and once they enter, strange things begin to happen. Or, perhaps, the driver of the car lives in the mansion. 
  

        You can take this anywhere you want--it's your story. 
       

        I hope this has been helpful. Have fun and write often.    

        What ideas do you have for developing stories?

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