Wattpad India Awards 2021

Learn: Planning Your Story

Once you are hit with an idea, planning your story can be a daunting task. Everything is possible. You can take your story in any and every direction, and you feel the tug to do so.

You might even be tempted to skip the planning altogether and just start writing. However, trust us when we say - it doesn't matter if you're a planner or a pantser, you're going to plan your story in some capacity. You can't fully skip this part. 

You will need to cover some basics, and if you're more of a pantser, you may go back to your original plan and alter it or deviate from it along the way; but you at least need some concept of what is going to happen in the plot.

And so, this week, we've brought you some best practices on planning your story.

First questions first, "what should you plan?" 

Here are the major things you should be able to answer before you start:

What's your character's goal? 

The goal should be very simple and generally personal to them. A goal like "find true love" is quite vague. Instead, it could be more like "get over their anxiety so they can find true love." Similarly, "Become a superhero" isn't as interesting as "discover the reason behind strange abilities (which results in becoming a superhero)." Also you'll notice all of these are just a few words long. That's the simple part.

What is the major conflict? 

Or, what will block your protagonist from achieving the goal? Or, what will challenge them on the way to achieving the goal? Remember, the conflict has to be related to the goal so that the plot can have a resolution.

If someone wants to stop being so anxious so they can find true love, their conflict can be resistance to therapy or meeting a love interest who is constantly giving them even more anxiety.

How will the goal resolve? 

The answer to this can be very vague or very specific depending on where you fall in the planer-pantser spectrum. But you should have an idea that the goal will resolve in some way.

Do the characters achieve it? Do they fail? Do they achieve some of it? Do they fail but feel okay? Do they achieve it but at great cost? Does the goal lead to something bigger?

This part is very flexible, so don't worry about being held to it forever. You can always go back and change any plans as you learn more about your story and characters.

What will give you an edge? or Why would someone pick your story over any other?

This is a tricky question and it has many possible answers. 

It could be the writing style. It could be the type of characters. It could be humor. It may be flawless execution. You just need to know why someone is going to read your story because you're going to have to show the reason right away when your story begins.

Where does it begin? 

This should be a whole lot easier if you can answer all the above. The beginning is going to need to establish all of those earlier things and if it doesn't do that, then maybe it didn't start at the right point.

Your opening is going to make clear what the goal is and set up the major conflict (the day they discover their powers and begin questioning things around them), which is going to imply the possible outcomes (only you know which one will come true), and will showcase the edge your story brings to the market. 

See, planning a story is as simple as that ;)

Of course it is much more complicated than that, but this will get you started and turn the wheel of your thoughts. So, pick up a pen and paper and dive right in!

<< Fun activity >>

In just one line, mention the goal of the main character of your story.

(Mention in the comments. And don't forget to mention the name of your story with it.)

Let's see if you can attract the readers with just this one line!

Next week, we'll learn how to create a practical plan to finish your story on time. 

Till then, happy writing :)