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Put some meat on the bones of your story

Here’s a response to a suggestion from duskborne wondering how to flesh out a story idea.

Figure out what’s important in your story

I can hear the questions now-“I know my story idea, why are you asking that kind of a question in a post about fleshing out a story?”

It’s simple. If you don’t know what’s important in your story, how are you going to know where to focus? Consider all the directions your story could go. (Let’s take a simple boy meets girl story, but feel free to adapt the question for your own particular story.)

Directions you could go with boy meets girl story (abridged)

Boy is hired to kill girl, but falls in love.(or the reverse)

Girl meets boy who tries to save her life.

Boy meets girl and falls in love with her brother

Girl meets boy and helps him discover his true calling as a pop star in a boy band.

Boy meets girl and takes her on an adventure in time and space.

(You get the idea hopefully)

Those are all directions you could go with just one simple idea so you can see why it’s important to know what you are trying to accomplish. You have a month, so there isn’t time to play around with ideas.

Here are some questions to help you get a grasp of what is important in your story

What goal are your main characters trying to accomplish in this story?

What are the obstacles?

What are some ideas you have that aren’t really important in this particular story?

Let do some weeding

Now that you have a clearer idea of what your story is about, it is time to get rid of the clutter. Sure there are some great ideas in that clutter, but now is the time to find them, put them on your list of great ideas, and save them for later.

You are going to need some side plots and maybe some “filler” but no matter what you put in your story, it should add to the whole of the story and move the plot forward. If it doesn’t, it should probably get out of your story.

Let’s add some stuff

Now that you have whittled your story down to the essence, it’s time to figure out what you need to add to your story. Here are some questions to help you with that process:

Who are your characters going to be by the end of the story?

What do your characters need to do/accomplish in order to be where they need to be by then?

What minor characters do you need in your story?

Where does your story need to end? (location)

How are your characters going to get there?

Hopefully that gives you some ideas on how to flesh out your story. November and National Novel Writing Month are quickly approaching so get ready. If you have more questions, let us know.

Hi, I'm working on a series but I'm having trouble mapping it out. Any tips?

Hello! I have a few:

Don’t outline every single event before you even start writing the first draft of the first book. You’ll burn yourself out. Know when it’s time to leave some planning for later.

Focus more on how to build up multiple different paths for your story from the beginning. If you only plan for your story going one way and ending one way, your readers will find your story predictable and boring. Leave some mystery for yourself.

Plan the major turning points in the series, and create smaller scenes and subplots that will build up those major events. 

Plan visually. Create a literal picture of your plot and its progression. I recommend making story maps. I make a story map for every single one of my stories and it is insane how much seeing my story physically laid out in front of me helps. Even if you think it won’t do you any good, there’s no harm in trying. 

Keep track of every location, every character, every event, every world detail, etc. and keep that information handy for when you’re planning or writing. When you map out a series, you can easily forget details you’ve already figured out or lose track of characters, etc. You want to know your story inside out, so make that easier for yourself.

Don’t forget to plan your character development. Be intentional with the scenes you plan to reveal character development in. 

Hope this helps! 

x Kate

If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee.

I’d also really appreciate it if you would check out my separate blog dedicated to my current work in progress.

Today I start something new by setting up an account on this site. Not sure what to put but I figure that showing some art I made on MS paint might be a great start. The first 2 made 11 years ago. They are Gallantmon Crimson mode and Takuya. I used some screen shots as references. The last is Yuu x Tagiru, make 6 years ago. This one was for a ship I would have liked to happen. To me a while and a lot of screen shots to figure it out but it was worth the time.