Hey there! This is Sriya. As a writing enthusiast, I’m always trying to find something new and exciting to write about! I love to read about different things and use what I know to put my ideas on paper. As fun as that sounds, there are a TON of hurdles that pop up along any writing journey, and these obstacles can be discouraging at times. If you’ve ever been in the same boat, you may know what I'm referring to. Here’s a good example of what I mean: say you get a great idea while in the midst of falling asleep or while in the shower. You think, "Wow that…would actually make a great book or movie..." and then you may think, "well...what if I did that?" If you’re like me, your immediate thoughts will go to the drawing board, or what I like to call, Google Docs on my computer. The problem is, we have all these AMAZING ideas but have trouble charting them out and writing them in a way that we and our audience will love and understand.
That being said, as the New Year has (finally) arrived, I have a whole list of possible story ideas I want to begin working on for this year and I have no idea where to start. Thinking of this and how you may just be a similar dilemma, I decided to write this blog post on some different tips and tricks to help me and you write up a story where we can jump over these snags and land smoothly down on the ground. Even if you're not looking to start a story but rather learn about some different writing tips, I'm sure there's something in here for you! Hope this helps!
Tip #1: Create & Develop A Plot
A problem that lots of writers find themselves in is the issue of outlining a plot from start to finish. Sometimes, we don’t know where this is going to end, and honestly? That’s okay! But in order to write a successful story, it’s best if you know some of the major events and where your story begins and ends. My suggestion is to use a plot chart to help you out. There are many different kinds of plot structures, all used for different kinds of stories. My suggestion is to familiarize yourself with some of the main aspects of all plot formulas so that you can easily work with any kind of plot structure. Here's a brief outline of some of these characteristics:
Exposition: | The exposition introduces your characters, setting, and any other background information necessary. |
Conflict: | Conflict is the struggle between two opposing forces. This can be between two characters, a character and society, character and nature, character and supernatural, character and technology, character and fate, character and self, and more. This is the source of your entire story. We can often identify the conflict through the inciting incident. |
Inciting Incident: | The inciting incident is when the domino effect to start your conflict begins. |
Rising Action: | The rising action is a list of events that lead up to the ultimate point of the story, which is referred to as the climax. |
Climax: | The climax is arguably the most important part of your story; it is the turning point where your characters in conflict will face off in an important battle. |
Falling Action: | The falling action of your story is the events that deescalate the climax and will eventually lead to the resolution. |
Resolution/Denouement: | The resolution is the solution to the conflict of your story. The denouement (or dénouement) is the "tying up of (most) loose ends throughout the story." |
To see some of the major plot maps, what aspects are included in them, and in what kinds of stories each one is best used for, check out this VERY helpful post by one of our former contributors, here.
Here are some examples of plot maps:
Please remember that not all stories will incorporate these elements in them! Every tale is different and special and you certainly do not have to exactly follow by these guidelines with your story.
Plot maps always helps me get an idea for how my story will move. It helps me write out the events building up my conflict and how to eventually get the readers to the end of the book while tying up loose ends. I strongly suggest making your own story map or sketching something out with short points to help you write your story too!
Tip #2: Design Character Profiles & Plan Character Development
This step of the writing process is always one of my favorites! Creating character profiles is essentially where you write out all the different aspects of your characters, from physical appearance, to personality, to background information, and finally character development. If you haven’t heard about the term “character development” it’s just a fancy way of talking about how your character changes over time. Do they overcome flaws? Do they learn from their past mistakes? How does their attitude towards others change? These are all questions authors ask themselves while creating characters.
Now the reason I chose to include this in the post is because character creation is a crucial and easily confusing process. With so much material to work with, we writers often don’t know where to start and how to keep going. Sometimes we have trouble balancing characters' personalities or giving them realistic limitations and/or abilities. Sometimes we don’t know how to make our character change throughout the story, let alone if we even want them to change. Regardless of what dilemma you may be in with designing your characters, I always find these strategies to be helpful:
Write about your character’s purpose in the story. Why are they here? What are their motives/goals? What do they want in the end?
Create your backstory. Did they have a tragic or happy childhood? Did they face struggles? What were the aspects of the environment they grew up in? Think about how this impacts their actions in the present.
Define importance. Is your character a protagonist, antagonist, or secondary character?
Establish a signature. This doesn’t mean a written signature, but rather a prominent feature of your character. It can be something in their physical appearance, such as brightly colored hair, a special pair of shoes, a birthmark, etc. It could be the type of attitude or personality the character has too. Maybe they’re known for their quick temper or fast-paced speech. Make this signature something so important that the reader will always keep this in mind while reading.
Outline fatal flaws, insecurities, fears, or other problems the character faces. Help the reader understand what they are going through and how that impacts them.
Using the key elements from the tip above, write about how your character will overcome their problem or learn to cope with it. This is the first step through the path of character development. Use this to carve your character’s journey out and add little pieces of this journey to your story to show the reader that the character is changing.
Using these tips, you can help yourself and your readers truly understand your characters and their purpose in the story. Some other techniques that can add to your character profiles include a drawn portrait or a little snippet of monologue or a dialogue between your character and something else. This will help you envision them better.
Tip #3: Apply A Theme Or Moral
This last tip is about how to apply a theme or moral you can work with to your novel. Please keep in mind that not all novels have a single theme/moral or any theme/moral at all. A theme is a universal idea that can be understood from the text. A theme is usually a statement on a certain topic being addressed in the text. A moral is a message being sent through the actions of characters throughout the story. An author typically adds a moral to teach a lesson to a reader.
My suggestion for incorporating a theme or moral into your book is to choose a concept that you personally can identify with and believe in. This makes it ten times easier to merge that theme or moral into your story and help your readers understand the statement or message you are trying to convey.