Story + Character: Tips and Tricks to Enhance Your Writing

Getting Started

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~On Starting Now~

You are the oldest today that you've ever been, and the youngest you will ever be again.

There is no "perfect" time or moment.

If you're not living your values or pursuing your dreams, are you even living?

Really?

I'm a huge advocate of small first steps. Stop thinking about what could go wrong, and start thinking about what could go right.

Get those words on the page!

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~The Creative Process~

English social psychologist Graham Wallas, in his 1926 book Art of Thought, argues there are four stages to the creative process.

Preparation

This is an investigation stage. This is the stage where we're gathering ideas. We're reading, watching movies, thinking about the project, and taking notes. I liken it to the gardener who preps her soil for the growing season. It's all of the groundwork that happens before a seed can be planted.

Incubation

The second stage may look like procrastination on the outside, but might not be. Incubation occurs when we've gathered the information we need and now our brains are stepping in to process and make connections. This is the stage where the seeds are planted and the gardener is watering and making sure there's enough sunlight, but, on the surface, at least, it doesn't look like anything is happening.

Illumination

After we've gathered the necessary information and our brains have finished processing it, we'll have a flash of insight, where suddenly we know exactly what needs to happen or how to solve the problem. At this point, the seed is a plant, and it's just pushed through the soil. The fruits of the preparation and incubation processes are visible.

Verification

The verification stage is where we bring our ideas to fruition. This takes a conscious, deliberate effort. It's where we re-work the scene. Compose the poem. Write the article. The plant is now growing into something amazing.

What stage are you in?

They're all crucial to the process, but without verification, what was the point?

Action is Required.

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~Which Came First?~

The chicken or the egg?

Or . . . . which came first?

The character

The title

The climax

The first sentence

The last sentence

A funny line

A tragedy

A name

An interest

A desire

A need

There is no wrong place to begin brainstorming a story.

For Cross My Heart, the idea came from a song ("November Rain"), and Jaden (as a perfectionist) arrived first. For Rise, Fallon's name came first, and that she was a musician (a rock star violinist) second. For All I Never Wanted, the idea about a girl in a rehab facility came from a movie I'd recently watched, and for my latest WIP (work in progress), the villain arrived before anyone else.

The point?

Ideas can show up anywhere and at any time, and while they rarely show up fully formed, there is no right or wrong "first."

There is no order in creativity.

The act of creating is messy.

Anything that pops into your head can be built upon, so take that little nugget from the universe (a gift, really) and make that story happen.

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~Where Writers Fail~

According to John Truby (The Anatomy of Story),

"Nine out of ten writers fail at the premise."

What is a premise?

The premise is your story stated in a single sentence. In screenwriting, this would be your "logline."

The purpose of the premise statement is to present the central characters and conflict in order to give the reader a solid idea of what happens in the story.

Truby gives the following example for the premise of Casablanca:

A tough American expatriate rediscovers an old flame only to give her up so that he can fight the Nazis.

Here we have the main characters (an expatriate and a love interest), the central conflict (will they get together or won't they?), and the outcome (he's going to walk away).

The premise of a story is the foundation. Everything that will be developed within the narrative will serve as proof for the premise.

The success of any story depends largely on the premise because if, as writers, we can't boil the key idea down to a single statement, then it's likely we don't have a firm grasp of the overall point/purpose of the tale.

The scenes may be in the right order, the climax might work, the characters may be well-rounded, and the writing is stellar, BUT if the overall premise is weak, the story is already lost.

Nine times out of ten, the story is lost at the premise.

It's worth it, then, to give premises the attention they deserve--to nail down the key concept before the story words are even on the page.

Premise:

"A boy from a privileged, upper-middle-class family falls for a girl in a rehabilitation facility accused of murdering her best friend."

(All I Never Wanted, Katie Klein)

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~But What Do I Write About?~

Write about something you know--some small aspect of your life--a personal experience or a world you're familiar with. Something that requires no research. Forget the facts; tell the story.

Don't worry about being perfect; just make it as good as you can.

Writing is hard.

That doesn't mean you're not capable of doing it or shouldn't give it a shot.

It just means that it's hard.

Take your idea and let it run. Now's the time to experiment, try new things, take risks: make things happen.