by Velda Brotherton
Even if you don't like to write a synopsis or outline prior to writing your story, a few things are important to know before you begin. These will help you flesh out the story and prevent any bumps along the way.
1. What genre your story is. There are several reasons for deciding this first. The genre will dictate what type of characters you create, what the conflict is, what kind of antagonist you will need. Sometimes the antagonist is the weather or a particular situation rather than a person. A blizzard, a forest fire, floods, can all be the antagonist. A climber who sets out to reach the top of a peak, falls into a crevice and is trapped. The antagonist is the situation.
2. Who the story belongs to. This is your POV character, or protagonist. So many times I've heard writers say, "I don't know which one is my POV character cause I like them all." Learn early on that a story belongs to one person. You may go into the heads of a few other people who are closely related to the plot, but the story still belongs to one person. Oft times we have sub plots that go briefly into the story of someone else, but we must always come back to the plot which surrounds your central POV character. Choose a villain or antagonist that is a worthy adversary for your hero/heroine.
3. What tense you will write it in. Unless you're an experienced writer, you should choose past tense.
4. Is it first person, third person, or omniscient (not a popular style these days.) Third person is also the best choice for inexperienced writers. But remember to stick to your central POV character. Some like first person, but there you'll have to remember that your POV character can only know what he sees, feels, hears, smells, tastes. Some experienced writers are using both in a book, but don't do that until you really know what you're doing. Stay away from omniscience until you have several novels under your belt.
5. The goal, motivation and conflict of your protagonist. This is important, it keeps your character from wandering around doing ordinary things. It helps create the story arc. She wants this, this is what she does to get it, this is what happens to keep her from getting it. If she wants to get a higher education so she can get a better job (and specify what that is), this goal motivates her to do certain things to attain it. And it offers the opportunity for conflict to deter her. The villain or antagonist in this type of story could be something as simple as a mother or relative who needs care and there's no one else; or it can be an ex-boyfriend who sets out to get revenge, and his threatening actions put her on the run. What you choose for conflict depends on what type of story you're writing, and so it's important to settle on that right off.
Deciding what kind of story we're going to write is often as simple as answering all these questions. By the time you do that, you'll have fleshed out a genre, story arc, characters, and GMC. Then you can begin writing your story.
__________________________________________________________1. What genre your story is. There are several reasons for deciding this first. The genre will dictate what type of characters you create, what the conflict is, what kind of antagonist you will need. Sometimes the antagonist is the weather or a particular situation rather than a person. A blizzard, a forest fire, floods, can all be the antagonist. A climber who sets out to reach the top of a peak, falls into a crevice and is trapped. The antagonist is the situation.
2. Who the story belongs to. This is your POV character, or protagonist. So many times I've heard writers say, "I don't know which one is my POV character cause I like them all." Learn early on that a story belongs to one person. You may go into the heads of a few other people who are closely related to the plot, but the story still belongs to one person. Oft times we have sub plots that go briefly into the story of someone else, but we must always come back to the plot which surrounds your central POV character. Choose a villain or antagonist that is a worthy adversary for your hero/heroine.
3. What tense you will write it in. Unless you're an experienced writer, you should choose past tense.
4. Is it first person, third person, or omniscient (not a popular style these days.) Third person is also the best choice for inexperienced writers. But remember to stick to your central POV character. Some like first person, but there you'll have to remember that your POV character can only know what he sees, feels, hears, smells, tastes. Some experienced writers are using both in a book, but don't do that until you really know what you're doing. Stay away from omniscience until you have several novels under your belt.
5. The goal, motivation and conflict of your protagonist. This is important, it keeps your character from wandering around doing ordinary things. It helps create the story arc. She wants this, this is what she does to get it, this is what happens to keep her from getting it. If she wants to get a higher education so she can get a better job (and specify what that is), this goal motivates her to do certain things to attain it. And it offers the opportunity for conflict to deter her. The villain or antagonist in this type of story could be something as simple as a mother or relative who needs care and there's no one else; or it can be an ex-boyfriend who sets out to get revenge, and his threatening actions put her on the run. What you choose for conflict depends on what type of story you're writing, and so it's important to settle on that right off.
Deciding what kind of story we're going to write is often as simple as answering all these questions. By the time you do that, you'll have fleshed out a genre, story arc, characters, and GMC. Then you can begin writing your story.
Velda Brotherton has a long career in historical writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Her love of history and the west is responsible for the publication of 12 books and novels since 1994. But she's not about ready to stop there. When the mid-list crisis hit big city publishers, she turned first to writing regional nonfiction, then began to look at the growing popularity of E Books as a source for the books that continued to flow from her busy mind. Those voices simply won't shut up, and so she finds them a home. Find out more at veldabrotherton.com
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