Storyworld First

In this episode, I . . .

Tackle the first topic in the Brainstorming Stage: how to come up with an idea. We’ll discuss:

-Premise, which is the gist of your story, the idea, and how you explain what your story is about.

-All the different ways you can come up with story ideas, like:

* Look around you. Ideas are everywhere.

* Asking a “What if . . . ?” question.

* Opposites attract. Combine two unrelated things (something familiar and something strange).

* Build off your own storyworlds. Write spin-offs, prequels, and sequels.

* Use what others have used. If you are itching to write a concept or story trope that has been told over and over, find a new way to tell that story and make it your own.

* Retellings like, ancient myths, fairytales, classics, history, etc.

* Get ideas from other books (not fan fiction, but be inspired by other stories and come up with your own).

I hope this will help you come up with a variety of really good ideas.

 

In this episode, I . . .

-Give an overview of Stage One: Brainstorming and everything that goes along with it.

-These are topics we’re going to discuss in the weeks to come. I’m going to do a video/podcast on each one.

-Here is the general breakdown, though I might add in some more videos if ideas come to me.

The Brainstorming stage has two parts: Idea and Logistics

IDEA

-Where to get ideas

-Combining ideas

-High Concepts

-How to pitch your story

-Genres, subgenres, and genre mashing

-How to pick a genre

-Define Your Reader

-Story Models

-Alternative Story Models

-Stand-Alone or Series?

-Main Characters

-Antagonists (or other opposition)

-Side characters & the role they will fill

-Point of view

-Archetypes

-Storyworld Elements

-Knowing your ending (or the gist of it)

 

LOGISTICS

Logistics has four main areas: plot, character, storyworld, and theme

Plot:

-Work out the plot

-Genre conventions

-Story model tropes

-Outlining Your Plot

-Series Plotting

-Storyboarding

Characters:

Create a cast of characters, complete with:

-Physical attributes

-Personal backstories

-Personality

-Purpose, motivations, and goals

-Fears, traits, quirks, and habits

-Skills, strengths, and weaknesses

-Unique ways of speaking

Storyworld Building:

-Decide what is necessary to worldbuild

-Geography

-Environment

-Cities and Towns

-Naming places

-Government

-Demographics and Economics

-Landmarks and Buildings

-Civilizations and Cultures

-Racial and Ethnic Groups

-Physical and Mental Attributes of certain people types

-History of the world and its people groups

-Occupations

-Religions

-Technology

-How to create your own language

-Storyworld slang

-Magic

-Creatures

-Current-Day Problems

-The logistics of battles and wars

-How it all interacts in your world

-Ways to work storyworld information into your story

-How to avoid Storyworld Builder’s Disease

Theme:

-What stories changed your life and why?

-Stories that speak about life and humanity.

-Stories that reveal the human condition.

-Stories that illustrate a universal truth.

-Stories that inspire readers to a higher level of humanity.

-Stories that appear as allegory.

-Stories that speak to a certain issue.

-Theme can pose a question

-Ways to work in theme.

Other brainstorming logistics:

-Making maps and floorplans

-Creating timelines

-Story bibles to keep track of all your work

I look forward to the weeks to come.

In this episode, I . . .

-Share the three stages of writing fiction: Brainstorming, Writing, and Editing.

 

-Brainstorming has two parts: Idea and Logistics.

-Idea is everything from coming up with a story concept to deciding genre and whether or not you’ll have magic, more than one point of view character, and storyworld ideas, etc.

-Logistics is going into more detail with character development, storyworld building, outlining the plot, storyboarding, etc.

-Writing is getting that first draft written. It also encompases the Discovery process, which is when you discover new things about your story and characters as you are writing that first draft.

-Editing is a little bit rewriting, a little bit refining, and a little bit perfecting.

No novel is ever perfect, but you do your best. And that happens in the editing stage. Next week we’ll get an overview of Stage One: Brainstorming.

 

In this episode I . . .

Define story.

-A story is: Character(s) + Life + . . .

Here we have some characters living life. First, Jack and Jill are going up the hill to fetch a pail of water. That’s life for them. Next, Little Red Riding Hood is taking a basket of goodies to her grandmother’s house. Then we have the Pevensie children, tagged and ready to be shipped off to live with relatives in the midst of World War II. That was life for many children in London during that tumultuous time. And finally Frodo. He is excited to see Gandalf, who has come to the Shire to celebrate Bilbo’s birthday.

-A story is: Character(s) + Life + Problem

All our characters have stumbled into some problems. First, Jack fell down the hill, and Jill came tumbling after. Ouch. Red Riding Hood meets a wolf in the forest. Uh oh. Back to the Pevensie children, while playing hide and seek, Lucy hides in a wardrobe that takes her into a magical land, which isn’t a problem until Edmund goes over and meets the White Witch. And Frodo inherits a ring. A ring that brings with it all kinds of problems.

-Characters are who the story is about.

-The problem is what happens, which is also called the plot.

-A plot is the events that happen to your characters that move the story along toward solving an end goal.

And that’s the gist of a story. You need a character living life, and then a problem comes along, and they spend the rest of the story trying to solve that problem until they reach the end and succeed or fail.

Doesn’t that sound easy? Then why is it so hard?

If you’re overwhelmed, forget everything else and just keep writing.

 

 

 

In this episode I . . .

Talk about how to avoid writing a boring book, including:

-Author Shannon Dittemore‘s brilliant reminder.

-How to make your character likable.

-Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat moment.

-A look at the movie The Fugitive.

-Giving your character a problem to solve.

-Putting obstacles in your character’s way.

These kinds of things up the stakes. It makes things interesting. It makes your reader care.

 

 

 

In this episode I . . .

Explain how different writers create in different ways and talk about:

-Seat-of-the-Pants writers compared to Outliners compared to Hybrid writers.

-My writing process: I need to outline a little, otherwise—squirrel!—I get lost.

-How I storyboard my novels before writing my first draft.

-The benefits of learning to write fast.

-National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and how it can help you with your writing craft.

Writing novels is an art form. No two people do it exactly the same way. So gather tools, but if something doesn’t work, throw it out of your tool box. You don’t need it.

Do what works for you.

In this episode I . . .

Share my own personal journey to publication, including:

-I started writing seriously in 2004 and didn’t get published until 2009.

-Overconfidence can blind you from learning and improving.

-How to find a publishing house and editor that’s right for your book.

-How to find an agent.

-The best place to meet editors and agents.

-Learning what a pitch statement is.

-How not to pitch your book.

-How to “Respect Your Dream” of writing a novel.

-Books on the craft of writing that helped me, such as:

          The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman

          Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King

          Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain

          On Writing Well by William Zinsser

          Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

          Getting Into Character by Brandilyn Collins

          Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

          The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler

          Stein on Writing by Sol Stein

          On Writing by Stephen King

          How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card

-My first book that sold wasn’t the first one I’d completed (The New Recruit). It was the sixth book I’d completed (By Darkness Hid).

No matter where you are in your journey to publication, know that you won’t stay there forever. So, respect your dream. Don’t take shortcuts. Learn what you need to learn to improve and work hard. Above all else, have fun.

Enjoy yourself.

In this episode I . . .

Discuss the so-called “writing rules” that people are always talking about and why you should—or should not—care. The highlights are:

-If you write for yourself, for fun, to journal, or to entertain friends and family, then you don’t have to follow any rules.

-If you write because you want a publishing house to pay you or you want to self-publish and earn money, you need to learn the writing rules.

-Writing rules set you apart from the amateurs.

-It took me five years to learn the rules until it became second nature.

-To become a professional at anything takes practice.

-Once you learn the writing rules, you can break them on purpose.

-I will discuss the different writing rules one at a time in future episodes.

So respect your dream. Put in the hard work and time it takes to learn the craft of writing fiction.

You can do this. I believe in you!

In this episode I . . .

Answer the question: What are Storyworld Shorts? And I share why I decided to embark upon this new adventure.

I explain all the ways to follow Storyworld Shorts, such as:

1. Subscribe to my YouTube channel. Be sure to change your settings so you get notified when new videos are posted.

2. Follow my blog by filling out the “Get new posts by email” box on the right-hand size of the footer in this website. (Scroll to the bottom of this page and look right.)

3. Subscribe to my monthly newsletter, which you can do by clicking on this link or by filling out the sign-up form, which is right below the “Get new posts by email” box on the right-hand side of the footer in this website. (Scroll all the way to the bottom of this page and look right.) Those who sign up for my newsletter get my free PDF booklet How To Finish a First Draft.

4. Subscribe to the podcast. The sign up buttons are in the center of the footer. (Scroll to the bottom of this page and look in the middle.)

5. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, where I’ll post announcements with links to new episodes.

Storyworld Shorts are by nature short. Each week these episodes will build upon one another and eventually give you a thorough understanding of how to write a novel. Some of the topics/series I will discuss in weeks to come are:

-How to come up with a great idea

-Creating compelling characters

-Different types of plots

-How to outline and plan your novel

-How to add themes to your story

-Tackling a major rewrite

-How to edit your book

I’ll also be doing a monthly Q&A Live video, in which I’ll answer listener questions. Submit your questions by clicking “Contact Jill” in the menu above. If you are new and don’t know where to start, check out the Archives page to get a list of all the episodes.