How do you flesh out your story ideas?

[DarkCosmos]

Sometimes I'll get a neat idea for a new writing in my head and I'll want to explore it. Only problem is, I only really have a concept, not an actual story. I'll come up with some ideas for scenes and moments that may happen in the story, but there's no real solid narrative or plot structure yet. The big overarching question becomes "Okay, but where is this gonna go?"

How do you flesh out your writing ideas? Do you have a process for forming an actual story or do you mostly just write by the seat of your pants?

 

[EmilyMiller]

Think of a character - one you can see being in the situation you have thought up. Maybe it’s two characters, or more.

Ask some questions.

What are your characters like?
How will they react to the concept?
How did they come to be in the situation you have in mind?
What will happen next?
Do their past experiences, or character traits inform their reactions?
If so, how and is that interesting?

And so on, keep asking questions,

If it’s not working, try different characters.

Em

 

[MillieDynamite]

I think about them, write a bit, and think about the concept. Eventually, I have a basic plot, at least in my head, and then I write, write, and write some more.

 

[NotWise]

I devise the opening, decide how it will end, and then work out the bits in between by writing a detailed synopsis of the story. Sometimes the idea doesn't work out, and that lets me find that out before I commit to writing the whole thing.

 

[Euphony]

Think of a character - one you can see being in the situation you have thought up. Maybe it’s two characters, or more.

Ask some questions.

What are your characters like?
How will they react to the concept?
How did they come to be in the situation you have in mind?
What will happen next?
Do their past experiences, or character traits inform their reactions?
If so, how and is that interesting?

And so on, keep asking questions,

If it’s not working, try different characters.

Em

I've always felt many authors overfocus on novel concepts and situations.

I've read plenty of ho hum, tropey scenarios that rise above through fascinating, detailed characters.

Feels like you can spoil even the lushest fantasy world or engaging life setting with flat characters yet rescue even standard boy meets girls will they won't they fare with people who you find fascinating (and maybe even come to root for)

Everybody has their own way staying motivated but mentally interviewing characters with a genuine interest in learning (then telling) their story has paid the most dividends for me.

 

[ronde]

Sometimes I'll get a neat idea for a new writing in my head and I'll want to explore it. Only problem is, I only really have a concept, not an actual story. I'll come up with some ideas for scenes and moments that may happen in the story, but there's no real solid narrative or plot structure yet. The big overarching question becomes "Okay, but where is this gonna go?"

How do you flesh out your writing ideas? Do you have a process for forming an actual story or do you mostly just write by the seat of your pants?

The way to answer "where is this gonna go", is to write the ending so you know where it's going to go. I believe most successful authors do it this way. They think of a concept first and then write or at least conceive of an ending to the story. Then, they write some characters who have differing personalities. Once they have the characters and the ending, writing the story is a matter of putting those characters into situations that will result in them achieving the ending desired by the author.

I know some here claim to just start writing and keep writing until they get to the end, but if that is indeed their method, I would suspect they do a lot of editing once they've written the ending. I don't know how any writer could just start writing and make sure to direct the characters where they need to go unless he or she already knows where they need to go. I suppose that would work for a short, stroke story where the ending is obvious, but for anything work with an actual story, I think you have to know the end before you start writing.

 

[djrip]

I work through immersion. I try to put myself there. I'm picturing a room, light curtains moving in the breeze, or a brick lined walk under leafy trees. Who's there? Who do they run into? What do they look like? What do they think about each other? I'll work toward a vague, general overarching concept, like my current WIP is 'new pledge seduced by her entire lesbian sorority.' But other than that it's one foot in front of the other, one step at a time, fully immersed in the imaginary scenery, what do I see? What do I, via various characters, want to do? What do I wish would happen if I were in the situation as it's developing, here, now? Ok, now what next? And then what? Apart from some scene ideas I want to get to sometimes, it's like feeling my way forward through dense fog that only reveals a few steps at a time.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Think of a character - one you can see being in the situation you have thought up. Maybe it’s two characters, or more.

Ask some questions.

What are your characters like?
How will they react to the concept?
How did they come to be in the situation you have in mind?
What will happen next?
Do their past experiences, or character traits inform their reactions?
If so, how and is that interesting?

And so on, keep asking questions,

If it’s not working, try different characters.

Em

^^^THIS^^^

It sounds like more work than it is, but creating a storyboard (not an outline) that builds your characters and their personalities, traits, strengths and weaknesses allows you to flow much easier within the plot situations as they come to you. At least get the basics down that allow your characters to develop along with the plot if that's the best you can do at planning.

Also, be patient. Don't be too anxious to start posting or you could end up handcuffing yourself if new ideas come to mind, yet they won't work now because of what you have already published.

 

[Voboy]

How do you flesh out your writing ideas?

By writing the story.

Do you have a process for forming an actual story or do you mostly just write by the seat of your pants?

The writing of the story IS the process.

That's what the story is: the fleshing-out of the idea. In my experience, if you write good characters and leave yourself open to what's true to their natures, they'll flesh the story out for you.

 

[KeithD]

mostly just write by the seat of your pants?

As close to this as anything else in my writing. My mind has done a lot of work on a story before I sit down to write. I more or less go with that flow.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I wish my flow were going right now.

As close to this as anything else in my writing. My mind has done a lot of work on a story before I sit down to write. I more or less go with that flow.

 

[KeithD]

I wish my flow were going right now.

Mine was disrupted by nearly four months in the hospital and rehab. I could do review in that period but not write. This week, though, I sat down to write and a story just flowed out as it had been doing before being laid low.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I typically put whatever I can down ‘on paper’, so to speak, then seize on some part of it, like a character or a place. From there, I search online for images. Let’s say one of my characters is to be a middle-aged fireman. I check that out until I find an image who meets my initial thoughts.

A good photo gives more than mere appearance. It can also speak to character, quality of life and so forth. With it, a bit of the story seems to be revealed. On to another character or place…

My actual writing pattern is to write down those bit and pieces which seem fairly clear. I might, for instance, write a dozen paragraphs with my MMC buying coffee and meeting an attractive woman in the shop. Details, dialogue, thoughts, etc, write them down.

I eventually have a good idea of the characters and half a dozen scenes laid out. From there, it’s a matter of connecting them into a semi-coherent whole. Sometimes a general plotline comes into play, but equally often I let the story chart it’s own course.

That’s my journey, but I’m certainly not saying it’s the one best suited to anyone else. No doubt it would be scorned by most creative writing profs, but it works well enough for me.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Usually I get an idea for a scene and I brainstorm the scene. Then If I think it;s worth exploring I write it down. If it inspires more I start working out how plot could go. At this point is use point form, often ridickaliss amounts of point form. The point form then forms a skeleton and I bounce around those bones putting flesh to whichever joint inspires me the most, then repeat. As I go, I will often add more bones and even move them around.

The main challenge is changing your focus from the details (the flesh of each scene) to the big picture (your plot) without losing track of either. You can't write it as fast as you can think it, but you can point form it almost as fast, and once it's written down you will never lose the ideas if you change focus and forget them.

If you want a purely technical tip, point form is your absolute best friend. Get your thoughts into ink fast.

It also helps for writer's block. There are two kinds of writer's block, not much coming out and too much bottlenecking in. When there's not enough, you're not getting full images and sentences aren't forming well. Then just jot down a couple of point form notes and come back to it when things are flowing. When there's too much and you can't write it fast enough, point form it, absolutely. You'll get it down faster.

 

[AchtungNight]

I write fanfic so I further research the subjects I intend to write about. I observe characters on screen and in print, find concepts and ideas. I incorporate these things into my work as best I can. I frequently put a creative original twist on the situation. Example- in my story Passion 3 a movie director casts two actresses in a movie and wants to feature a lesbian kiss between them as a ratings stunt. The actresses are both straight, or so they think, before the kiss. Both have flirted with the idea of lesbianism but neither has accepted the possibility they are into women sexually. The kiss changes things. Where is the line between acting and reality? And where should we place our tolerance? That’s what I was trying to explore. You can read the story (link in my profile) if you want to know more. Think about how you can do similar things in your own writing and see where your muse leads you. Good luck.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I'm going to echo Bobby and Em and everyone else who said - characters. Good, engaging, relatable characters. And the best way to do that is to base them on people you know or from your own experiences. Then put them in your situation.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I wish my flow were going right now.

Tarps or bullets? hehe

 

[MillieDynamite]

Words.

Tarps or bullets? hehe

 

[AchtungNight]

I'm going to echo Bobby and Em and everyone else who said - characters. Good, engaging, relatable characters. And the best way to do that is to base them on people you know or from your own experiences. Then put them in your situation.

Agreed. And if you’re writing fanfic, let your thoughts regarding the characters and concepts you’re exploring come out in your work. Build the characters you want to create, whatever their base. The themes you illustrate will echo in your readers’ minds. Make them think, wonder, and laugh, as a good friend once advised me on influencing people. Then slowly but surely, as long as you are comfortable, lead your readers to a good idea. If it’s the same idea you have, good!

 

[PrincessArianrhod]

I start with my 2 main characters and spend a little time getting to know them, allowing their personalities to develop.

Then I imagine a rough outline of a scenario for their first meeting.

Then the story writes itself. If it gets bogged down, I put it on a back burner until it shouts me again, then carry on.

I have no idea how they're going to end until the ending suggests itself, which depends entirely on where the story leads. It's almost a self-guiding subconscious process.

 

[KeithD]

I'm going to echo Bobby and Em and everyone else who said - characters. Good, engaging, relatable characters. And the best way to do that is to base them on people you know or from your own experiences. Then put them in your situation.

Plot is paramount with me.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Sometimes I'll get a neat idea for a new writing in my head and I'll want to explore it. Only problem is, I only really have a concept, not an actual story. I'll come up with some ideas for scenes and moments that may happen in the story, but there's no real solid narrative or plot structure yet. The big overarching question becomes "Okay, but where is this gonna go?"

How do you flesh out your writing ideas? Do you have a process for forming an actual story or do you mostly just write by the seat of your pants?

This sort of question has come up before, which is basically "how do I write?" It's kind of difficult to answer because it's an intuitive process, perhaps, that starts below the level of consciousness.

Usually, I have the characters living in some specific time and place and since I'm sixty-eight, the time is usually not the 21st Century. I know less about how people (younger than me anyway) now think. For the "geek pride entry," I finally went up to the year 2017. (I wanted it to be pre-COVID, although that is already starting to recede into the past I think.)

 

[pink_silk_glove]

The big overarching question becomes "Okay, but where is this gonna go?"

In a word: motive. All (good) plot is motive driven. This is why your average run-of-the-mill unicorn stroker has no plot. It's just unicorns acting out a kink. There's nothing wrong with that, but that is all you will have, a plotless wank-sheet.

Characters do things for reasons. Get into your characters' heads and figure out what their motivations are, what their needs or desires are. Then you can figure out how they would act to try to fulfill them. It could be something so simple as, they came in from the snow and it was cold inside so, he stoked up a fire in the fireplace while she put on the hot chocolate and brought out the big snuggle blanket, or it could be something big like poisoning his hot chocolate so that he wouldn't spill the beans of her affair.

What do your characters want/need? How does that make them think/feel? How do they act upon those thoughts and/or feelings? This is motive. Get good at these things and your plot will start writing itself.

 

[ElectricBlue]

The way to answer "where is this gonna go", is to write the ending so you know where it's going to go. I believe most successful authors do it this way. They think of a concept first and then write or at least conceive of an ending to the story. Then, they write some characters who have differing personalities. Once they have the characters and the ending, writing the story is a matter of putting those characters into situations that will result in them achieving the ending desired by the author.

I know some here claim to just start writing and keep writing until they get to the end, but if that is indeed their method, I would suspect they do a lot of editing once they've written the ending. I don't know how any writer could just start writing and make sure to direct the characters where they need to go unless he or she already knows where they need to go. I suppose that would work for a short, stroke story where the ending is obvious, but for anything work with an actual story, I think you have to know the end before you start writing.

I'm going to disagree with everything you've said (for me only, mind you).

I'm a pantser, full blown. I rarely, if ever, know how a story is going to finish when I start writing, and even when, on occasion, a last sentence turns up half way through, I rarely know how I'll get to it.

I have a rolling edit process, reviewing my last writing session before starting my next; but even then, it's words and phrases, rearranging the occasional sentence. It's rarely ever paragraphs or new text. I write pretty much stream of consciousness - I reckon that 97% - 98% of my raw draft is in my final. I usually write long stories (15k - 30k not uncommon, my longest is 104k).

My characters come steaming up from my subconscious, demanding to be written. They've appeared in the length of a paragraph at times, and proceed to dominate a story. They write themselves. My job as writer is to keep up.

My subconscious keeps busy, obviously, but my writing process is to start, keep going in sequence till I stop, read it over once or twice, and publish. All the edit and rehash, character sheets and plot outlines that people do - I do none of it. Yet my story profile is pretty strong - around 120 stories/chapters, of which 80% (at last look) are Red Hs.

I think my approach is unusual, but it works for me. I'd die in a ditch if I tried to write the way most people write.

 

[XerXesXu]

In a word: motive. All (good) plot is motive driven. This is why your average run-of-the-mill unicorn stroker has no plot. It's just unicorns acting out a kink. There's nothing wrong with that, but that is all you will have, a plotless wank-sheet.

Characters do things for reasons. Get into your characters' heads and figure out what their motivations are, what their needs or desires are. Then you can figure out how they would act to try to fulfill them. It could be something so simple as, they came in from the snow and it was cold inside so, he stoked up a fire in the fireplace while she put on the hot chocolate and brought out the big snuggle blanket, or it could be something big like poisoning his hot chocolate so that he wouldn't spill the beans of her affair.

What do your characters want/need? How does that make them think/feel? How do they act upon those thoughts and/or feelings? This is motive. Get good at these things and your plot will start writing itself.

I'm the inverse of that. The story (plot) comes first. Save that the story requires it, my characters will neither need nor feel anything.