WriT Day - Developing an idea into a story

This week I'm focusing on the beginning of the writing process rather than the end since I'm starting new projects in the next few weeks and months. Specifically, developing a story.

I have two big ideas for NaNoWriMo next year and now I have the difficult task of deciding which one I want to focus on in the months building up to November. With Transformation, I didn't have time to fully develop the story before I started writing. I went in with a general idea, but the story really wrote itself over the course of 30 days.

This year, I want to be more prepared. I really want to have a tight grasp on who these characters are before I capture them in writing. But, I have no idea how to proceed.

The idea of developing an entire story before I write is overwhelming. There is so much to think about and consider. So, naturally I turned to my good friend Google.

My search for help proved frustrating though. There was a lot of information and tips available, but they were HUGE articles and I found it frustrating to sit and read through them. I definitely prefer information to be kept nice and simple.

On that note, I did find two sites that were exactly what I needed. The first was nice and short, which I loved, and full of helpful tips. My favorite was one of the last. They suggest that you picture your pick finished, in a store. What would the back of the book say? Write the back first, then develop the story around that.

This is a great idea, though also slightly frustrating. Writing the back of my finished novel was difficult, and I already knew exactly how the story went. But I'm thinking that it will be easier to write what you hope the story will be rather than what it actually is.

The second focused on character development. The suggestion was made to actually have character interviews. I love this idea. It forces you to embrace the character and think the way they think. Write down what they look like, their physical traits, then write an interview. Use actual dialogue and include the reactions to the questions. Think about those little physical quirks. Does your character raise his/her eyebrow when they think? Does he bite his lip? Does she twirl her hair? These are all things that will help you see your character better.

It is overwhelming, but it's exciting as well. I'm so excited to dive in and create these new characters. Especially now that I will be conducting interviews with all of them. I'm thinking I will be having lots of conversations in my head, and I'm loving it.