101 Writing Tips from an Exhausted Reviewer

Planning Your Story

This chapter wasn't originally going to be about planning a story. It was going to be overcoming Writer's Block (which may be coming soon, depending on whether people still want to see that).

However, this chapter was inspired by one of my readers asking me:

"I have a beginning, and I get so excited to write it. Then, I lose motivation. How do I make it to the end?"

It's a broad question. For some, they lose motivation because they have another story idea they want to work on (whether they lose interest in that one, too, is another question altogether). For others, they simply find themselves struggling to balance time with writing.

But, after asking around, this is what I've found:

Most people have a beginning. They have a very climactic end.

But they don't know what goes in between.

So, in other words, a lot of the time, people lose motivation because they haven't planned their idea out enough. So, for today, that's what we're going to focus on today.

Of course, to do this, we're going to plan a story. And boy, will this be interesting.

Please note that, before we continue, there are many ways to go about planning a story. Everyone has a different method. Some people like to plan every moment in dot points, some people like to draw mind-maps, and some people like to create little characters using paddle-pop sticks and force them to make-out with each other so they can get inspiration for their One Direction fanfictions-- oops, I'm getting carried away again.

I'm going to keep these steps as broad as possible, and keep it to the fundamentals. So, yes, you can keep making your paddle-pop sticks make-out. I'm not judging. I swear.

STEP ONE: PREMISE.

Most people already have this step nailed down before they even begin writing. This is your premise -- your story idea. What is your story about? What genre is it? Who is the main character? What is the conflict?

It's almost like coming up with a pitch for your story. You just need the following:

1. Characters

2. Goal

3. Stakes

4. Setting

So, after thirty-two seconds of listening to Taylor Swift, I've come up with an excellent premise:

A goblin is taken to be a slave for a wizard named Aberycusgentylis because she is the ugliest goblin in Custardille. Instead of cooking and cleaning his tower, though, she decides to steal his books and learn magic so that she can save Custardille from The Rock -- the big mountain that awakes at night and turns goblins into stone.

But little does anyone know that the goblin, the wizard, and The Rock are more connected than it seems...

My God. Sunshine has truly lost it.

... That being said, she really wants to write this. I already have a title: The Goblin, The Wizard, and The Rock. I should have done this for NaNoWriMo.

Also, watch me continuously spell the wizard's name wrong. Watch me.

Okay, but seriously, that aside, we have a premise. Our protagonist is our goblin (who I am yet to name). Her goal is to learn magic so that she can save her village from The Rock. The stakes are that, well, The Rock is literally turning goblins into stone. And the setting is Custardille.

STEP TWO: BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END.

Now, we take that premise, and create a beginning, a middle, and an end. We don't need to work out every single chapter just yet, but we should create our mountain -- where there is a clear climax and resolution.