How thrilling it is as a writer to settle your fingers on the keyboard and type “Chapter One.” But even when filled with the exhilaration of new-story-itis, starting a book-length endeavor can often be intimidating.
Whether you’re a plotter, a seat-of-the-pantser or something in between, it never hurts to launch out on a story journey with a roadmap in hand (or at least in your head). Yes, you might take some detours along the way, but giving serious thought to your destination in advance can pay off in the long run.
I find nailing down 5 core elements before I start writing helps immensely, and I try to approach them as FUN, not something that will strangle my story-telling freedom. In fact, I find working through “fun size” starters actually energizes my storytelling confidence and enhances my writing freedom.
· Goal, Motivation, Conflict (GMC)
· Story Concept
· Story Premise
· Moral Premise
· 500-Word Synopsis
For me, none of these “fun size” starters are stand-alones. I can start out with any of them and they feed off each other. If I’m trying to decide whether ideas have enough “umph” to carry them from beginning to end, I’ll run them through a few of these “filters” to see how they hold up.
It doesn’t take long to throw a few less promising ones back into the idea ocean—and for one or two of them to catch my imagination as possibilities. Once I’ve decided on the core idea, then I move back and forth among the five elements—playing, building, tweaking—until the idea solidifies into a story I’m excited to tell with an engaging beginning, rock-solid middle, and a satisfying end.
It doesn’t take long to throw a few less promising ones back into the idea ocean—and for one or two of them to catch my imagination as possibilities. Once I’ve decided on the core idea, then I move back and forth among the five elements—playing, building, tweaking—until the idea solidifies into a story I’m excited to tell with an engaging beginning, rock-solid middle, and a satisfying end.
Goal, Motivation, and Conflict (GMC) – We all know how important it is for our protagonists to possess GMC. Lacking even one of them—or having a weak one—seriously sabotages our efforts. Into this GMC bucket, I like to throw giving thought to greatest flaws and fears—and the source of them, the worst that could happen if goals aren’t met, the lie my characters tell themselves, and how they will change by the end of the story. It’s fun, too, to give them a secret!
To get the juices flowing on GMC, I often simultaneously play around with the other 4 elements—and I do mean PLAY. This is a fun way to make the development of GMC somewhat less painful. I’m not one of those gifted writers to whom a full-blown story appears in my mind like a big screen movie and I just transcribe what I see. Coming up with a viable story can often be grueling, so anything I can do to break the struggle into more “fun size” pieces, the better things go.
Story Concept – There are a lot of conflicting definitions regarding concepts and premises, etc., but for my own purposes I personally like to think of the concept as the 1-liner idea that first sparked my imagination. The very high-level story question. For instance, this is where my upcoming April 2018 release, “Mountain Country Courtship,” started:
Can an abandoned-at-the-altar city guy and a small-town runaway bride find the home of their hearts in each other’s arms?
Not a lot of detail there, but it hints at conflict…and romance.
Story Premise – I think of the story premise as more detailed, involving a little GMC and plot. Again, this is not a “textbook” definition of the word – this is just what I do when I’m trying to get a grip on a new story that’s formulating in my mind. This was one of my first shots at it for the same book:
With opposing agendas and a mutual need to prove themselves, an abandoned-at-the-altar city guy and a small-town runaway bride are stuck working together renovating an old bed & breakfast inn as they race to beat the clock to accommodate an all-important wedding that could make or break their future—and their chance at love.
Just added some detail that made me give further thought about GMC and plot.
Moral Premise – I like to think of this as what the core of the story is REALLY about under the surface of the action and dialogue. Knowing this as you write can greatly strengthen the story as you subtly weave it into your scenes.
Wrestling the steering wheel away from God in order to control life’s outcomes leads to directionless confusion and distancing from love. Turning the wheel over to God leads to inner peace and room for love.
This moral premise established for me the characters’ current inward state—and how they need to change.
500 Word Synopsis – 500 words is about one single-spaced page or two double-spaced, so you must stick to the bones of your story. It forces me to pull the other “fun size” pieces AND critical plot points together to reveal if the story holds together for the long haul.
This mini-synopsis quickly spotlights areas that are weak, that haven’t been thoroughly thought through, and that aren’t yet solid enough to carry the story successfully to The End. Discovering those things early on with a 500-word investment (and performing needed triage) is so much better than getting blind-sided halfway through writing the book.
For a seat-of-the pants writer, this short synopsis on the page or in your head may be all you need to get rolling. For a plotter or planster (or a pantser who must submit a full-blown synopsis with a book proposal), it’s a great foundation for writing a longer, more detailed synopsis.
For me, spending a little upfront time solidifying the high-level plot and characters—while having a bit of FUN—can make all the difference in the world as to how I approach Chapter One…and journey successfully on to The End.
Please share with us today how much YOU need to know before you start writing in earnest. Do stories come to you full blown and ready to transcribe as the “movie” rolls through your mind? What, if any, pre-planning do you do? How do you get your ideas to “gel” enough to determine if they hold sufficient substance for a book-length story?
If you’d like to be entered in a drawing for a copy of my latest release, “Mountain Country Cowboy,” please mention it in the comments section!
Glynna
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