So you have your story idea, now what?

By Corbyn · Feb 22, 2018 ·
  1. If you've followed along over the last several blog posts, we've not only created a story idea but tested it to see if it could make a novel. Hopefully, by the end of those posts, you're ready to get going on writing that thing. But some of you may not be ready yet. You may feel something is missing, or be concerned that it may not make a good novel.

    Well, have no fear. The only crap novel is the one you haven't written. Anything else is just a matter of editing/rewrites.

    Some of you may be sitting there thinking, now what?

    Well, it's time to flesh this puppy out. That's right, the setting, characters, plot. I'm going to start a little backward. I'm going to run through the How to develop a story idea points for my main antagonist to get a better handle on the character, and what drives him. Mainly, I want to hit the last post of that series for him. The five plot points, you're probably wondering why. Subplots baby! Subplots!

    If you're not familiar with subplots, or your novel feels light, weak, or like a hot mess on the page, it could be because your subplots are subpar or nonexistent in some cases. Subplots give us a better look at the character and how they interact with their world. They can introduce other kinds of tension into the story (like in a love interest, or sibling rivalry). Or they can be a welcome distraction from constant action involving the main plot.

    No matter what your goal with your subplot, it should always, always, always add value to the main plot, and help move the story along. If it isn't, then as a writer you don't need to go there.

    Now for my WIP example:

    Name: Oliver Halle Jr. age: 44 Ethnicity: Japanese-American

    Oliver's mother was Japanese/American who was the neighborhood hedgewitch. She taught Oliver what she could while trying to shield him from racial prejudices in the neighborhood. His father was an American soldier who was killed during a training exercise shortly after Oliver's birth.

    Halle is responsible for the tragedy that befalls my MC. Fifteen years prior, while trying to milk his hedge for power, Halle accidentally caused the death of my MC's cousin and BFF. Currently, Halle is trying to go legit and rise to power in a mainstream coven. He's the right hand of the ailing coven's leader until elections are held. Halle is expected to win by a landslide, providing he can keep his hedge heritage a secret.

    Halle's magical abilities are extremely limited. He's able to fake a certain level of higher power by his impeccable ability to siphon and hold power in objects like jewels, amulets, clothing. He cannot use ley lines without assistance from an outside object, though like most witches he can feel their presence. He cannot craft new spells but has an uncanny ability to learn spells others have created.

    Five plot points for this character's subplot:
    1. Inciting incident: Hedgewitch escapes police custody, where he's detained as a possible suspect in the abduction of a young girl. On the run, he seeks out his old hedge leader for help, knowing that Halle will help him in order to keep his past secret.

    2. Lock in: Halle has a confrontation with his ailing coven leader. The man reminds Halle that he lacks the power to be able to hold a position such as Coven Master. This reminds Halle of all the times he'd been told he would never be good enough, and Halle nearly loses his temper. Instead, Halle decides to do something about his limitations and agrees to help the escape in exchange for some help of his own.

    3. Midpoint climax: Halle is confronted by the police and (MC)Aisly. He realizes how dangerously close he is to being caught. He decides to kill two birds with one stone, and aides the police to get rid of the escapee. He puts a plan into motion to finish out the escapee's plot without him.

    4. Main climax: Halle decides he needs to buy himself time. He visits MC and threatens her to back off. When she stands up to him, he sets a plan into motion to throw her off his track, or at least slow her down. He instigates an accident which leaves MC's mother in a coma.

    5. The missing girls are found, and Halle is linked to them through the escapee. He's forced to make a choice, flee and lose everything, or stay and fight his way out of the situation.
    This is only one of several possible subplots for this piece. But at least in working through the story, I have an idea of what could happen, and where I should go with this idea.

    Last, I'd like to talk for a moment about storyboards. If you're not a pantser and need to see your story outlined in a digestible way, I would highly recommend them. Not familiar with a storyboard? If you youtube them, Shaunta Grimes has a video on their creation.

    A storyboard follows the three-act story. It's divided into eight segments which allow you to put your scenes on sticky notes and move/adjust them along the board as needed. I'm toying with uploading a picture of mine in the future. These can be made out of a white trifold board, but I've gone a step further and created a dry erase board out of an old picture frame. I pulled the white paper out and drew my board on that before hanging it. This gives me a surface I can write on, or move the sticky notes around on. I love it, and it was extremely cheap as I got the frame on sale years ago at Michaels.

    If you have questions, I'd love to hear from you. What would you like covered next? As always THANK YOU for reading, and Happy writing!

    -Corbyn
    jannert and Cave Troll like this.

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