Hey! ok so i have been working on a story for years now. i got the idea when i was about 10-11. ( im 18 now). but the thing is i haven't been really actively working on it. Like it's something that i constantly think about in the back of my head and every once in a while an idea will pop up and i'll write it down and tuck it away for later reflection. So after about 7-8 years i have accumulated a lot of ideas. Mostly the ideas concern different characters ( thier past, their present etc...) different settings ( this is a fantasy story by the way so it's set in a different world) and of course some plot points. So all this to say i have gotten a good set up for my story. However this is where the difficulty comes in. I want to begin actively writing ( or working) on my story but im haveing a hard time building on top of what i already have. I have my premise for my story but every time i try to build on top of it i just get stumped. It feels like im trying to build a house of cards and it just keeps crumbling around me. im not sure if i've explained that clearly but its like I have a plot point that i know fits solidly into my story (eg. a girl must flee her home town being chased by unknown men) but then i have trouble finding out why they are chasing her, or who they are. I have spent hours trying different possiblities but i just can't seem to get anywhere. How can i get my story to move forward in the plot from what i already have? Does anyone have any advice? grrrr. it can be sooo frustrating. i feel like i just keep going over the same plot points again and again and again!!!!
ObsidianVale, If I read and understand your post correctly, you have a strong, well-thoughtout cast of characters and a fantasy world with sound underpinnings. You have a good number of plot points (events). What you appear to be lacking is an overall story arc. What is the beginning, what is the stuggle leading to the climax and resolution. It reads as if you have the protagonists but not developed the antagonists. Consider that every event you've jotted down in the past, every cool place or situation, or even character may not fit...keep it for a possible second novel. How you plan your novel based on what you've already prepared depends on how you organize things. One way is to get all of the events on index cards and place them in order of events in the story. Have characters under them that would be involved. See how it fits into your overall story arc, then begin writing. Hope that helps for starters. Good luck. Terry
Forgive me for getting all new-age-hippie on you, but stop thinking - listen instead. It sounds weird I know, but trust me. For example, maybe your girl doesn't know why those men are chasing her. Maybe she finds out as she's running from them, and maybe you'll find out as you're writing. I had much the same problem with a pair of my own characters. Then it hit me, right out of the blue as if the characters themselves suggested it for me. (What about murder?) Then everything made sense and I had a plot. Terry's right as well, organizing what you have will help. Try maybe a quick time line, and see if you can write what happens in the gaps. I do hope this is helping, and good luck. I'd be very interested in reading your story.
Outlining certainly always helps. What you could do, if you don't have much of a middle, is brainstorm from the beginning and the end. You know how the story begins, right? Now figure out how it ends, figure out the last few scenes. Then, ask yourself, how did it end up in those ending scenes? And work reasons for that and go back. Hope that helps a bit.
Three said just what i was thinking, I was thinking to, what if? what if she doesnt know why she is being chased, atleast that is enough to make a reader want to find out. could carry atleast a few chapters. As you said, you have chracters with past and presents and in different settings, So making it intertwine is your main concern or you will have rabbit trails that lead to nowhere. She could also be the last decendant to a Royal Family, unknowingly livfing a modest life. She could be the only woman on the planet, needed to produce the the offspring of a new generation. She could be carrying a plague, she could be the antidot for a plague, she could be just a woman to rape. Seeing how this is a different world, maybe its a world that lacks understanding?
