If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.
Margaret Atwood
Today, I’m going to cover the main aspects of how to get started with story-writing. Many people love imagining stories in their head, but get stuck when it comes to writing them down. That’s why I’ve decided to post a short article on how to sort out your mind and get down to actually writing a book!
#1: Develop a plot
The most important part of a story is its plot. By developing your plot, and writing it down on a piece of paper, you get closer to completing your goal. Other good ways of writing down a plot are by creating mind-maps or flowcharts. When I say develop a plot, I mean defining its:
- Exposition (introduction)
- Rising action (the events that lead to the climax)
- Climax (the most intense/important part of the plot)
- Falling Action (events that follow the climax)
- Resolution (the conclusion of the story; a solution to the problem/conflict is usually found)
#2: Create characters
It is just as important to create characters as it is to develop a plot. Creating a variety of characters and writing down who plays what roles helps a great deal in organising your story plot. You can also use mind-maps or flowcharts for developing characters. Some crucial things that you should include in your character’s description are:
- Name
- Age (doesn’t have to be specific, could be “teenager”)
- Where they live (real country/imaginary place)
- Role in story (protagonist/antagonist)
- Physical description (height, facial features, build etc.)
- Inner conflicts (what conflicts they struggle with inside themselves)
- Outer conflicts (what conflicts they face from others around them)
- Changes throughout story (changes in personality, looks, views, beliefs etc.)
#3: Establish a setting
A setting is where your story takes place. It is possible that your story spans over a number of different places, so it’s important that you jot down descriptions of these places. Details may include climate, surrounding places, natural areas etc.
#4: Begin writing!
I would say that starting to write is the most important of all the steps I have mentioned. Because if you don’t begin writing, you’re never going to end, are you? Simply getting too much involved into niceties and perfections is not going to get your anywhere. As soon as you get an amazing story plot in your head, start writing! I assure you, even though you may feel hesitant of yourself at the beginning, once you start, the words begin to flow naturally.
#5: Enhance your story
As you write, make sure to add things to enhance your story and make it more appealing for readers. Such “things” include:
- Dialogue (speech of characters)
- Emotions (of a character)
- Figurative devices (metaphors, symbols, etc.)
- Use the 5 senses to convey an image – sight, sound, touch, smell, taste.
- Conflicts (arguments/fights between characters, self-arguments of a character etc.)
#6: Proofread your first draft
Once you’ve successfully followed the tips above, you’ll obviously end up with the first draft of your story! The next step is to proofread it. Now, you could ask someone else to do this, if you don’t have the time, or believe the other person will do a better job. Whoever does it, proofreading is still an essential part of story-writing, as it helps you to assess your work and improve it to make it more suitable for your intended audience.
So I’ve come to the end of this article on how to start story-writing easily! Hope you found these tips useful, and if you did, please feel free to leave a comment below 🙂
Click here to subscribe to my mailing list!