First off, congrats to all of you who are starting the NaNoWriMo home stretch! How has it gone so far? How is it going now? If you like, post your answer in the voice of one of your characters and them paste it in your story, which will be fun for the rest of us. (I don\u2019t want you to lose word count!)<\/p>\n
On September 11, 2019, Writing Ballerina wrote, Question for you guys: When you have a lot of story ideas, how do you pick which one to develop?<\/em><\/p>\n As with the last post, a lot of discussion ensued.<\/p>\n Jenalyn Barton: Honestly, I pick whichever one excited me the most at the moment. Not the most sustainable approach (and likely the reason I have trouble finishing things), but it works for me.<\/em><\/p>\n Erica: Either all of them or none of them! Really, it depends on the time of year. I\u2019ve been writing short stories to give my family as presents for a while now, so I often consider who would like what story. You might try something similar. (Also makes sure that I don\u2019t just forget about it.)<\/em><\/p>\n future_famous_author: My friends, who read my stories, but have trouble keeping up, get really mad at me for starting a story and stopping only a couple pages in. I start a new story almost every day now. It\u2019s a problem. I think that if you can find a story that you actually enjoy writing, then just force yourself to stick with it. It\u2019s not everyday you find an idea that really holds your interest, and so you have to stick with them. It can be hard, and my brother and I have had many arguments about which is harder, basketball or writing, but you just have to remind yourself that it\u2019s fun. I really struggle with this, too, and have yet to finish a novel in my six years of writing.<\/em><\/p>\n Writing Ballerina: I like the idea of giving them as presents! Thank you!<\/em> Tell your brother that writing\u2019s definitely harder.<\/em><\/p>\n Kit Kat Kitty: This is something I\u2019ve struggled with for a long time. My best advice would be to write everything down as soon as possible. Usually, what happens to me is that I\u2019ll get an idea, think about it for a day, write a paragraph or two, and then start from scratch with another idea the next day. I think it\u2019s because I don\u2019t develop my ideas, so I don\u2019t get really invested in them. If I had characters, names, faces, and some fragments of a world, it gives me something to focus on and be interested in.<\/em><\/p>\n So I\u2019d recommend developing the first idea that comes to mind, and seeing where it takes you. If the idea is \u201cWhat if people were once dragons?\u201d Then write that down, and branch off from that. Stories are really just multiple ideas combined into one. (Though it\u2019s a lot more complicated than that) So it could be, \u201cWhat if some humans knew this, and wanted to become dragons again for evil purposes.\u201d Then, it could turn into, \u201cWhat if the hero had to figure out how to become a dragon first to stop them, but if they became a dragon, they wouldn\u2019t know how to become human again, so they might have to leave their family and X love interest behind, even though their family means everything to them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Just stick with it, and try to focus on one thing. Write things down, and don\u2019t be afraid to say: \u201cThis isn\u2019t working for me.\u201d and move onto another idea.<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s also okay to be developing an idea and to write down as many ideas that come during that time. It\u2019s about not letting the ideas float away, and really making them more than just a sentence or two. Ideas are, in a lot of cases, a dime a dozen. And if one doesn\u2019t work (after you develop it, of course) then it\u2019s okay to move on. Besides, if you at least write things down, you can come back to them later.<\/em><\/p>\n future_famous_author: A lot of times I end up writing down a page or two of a story and then starting a different one. I wish I would do that and then go back to the one I had before that. But, then, it\u2019s better than having no ideas.<\/em><\/p>\n I love, love, love Kit Kat Kitty\u2019s \u201cwhat if people were once dragons\u201d idea, whether or not it ever becomes a story. It\u2019s so much fun to contemplate what that might have been like, the literal fire in the belly, the joy in flaming. And flying! The pleasure in terrifying other creatures who aren\u2019t dragons.<\/p>\n And fun is wonderful. If it\u2019s fun to try out lots of ideas, then that\u2019s a fine thing to do. Relaxing and waiting for the one that will sustain us is okay. I think that one will come.<\/p>\n Early twentieth century novelist Thomas Mann once said, “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” If I were to try basketball, it would have to be in the under-five-feet-tall league, so I can\u2019t compare the two, but for me (and for many but I don\u2019t think all) writing a novel is super hard. I don\u2019t know why that is\u2013we know how to form words and sentences, and we know hundreds of good stories, and we understand story shape, but yowser!<\/p>\n So we can take comfort in the absolute fact that we\u2019re rising to a challenge when we write.<\/p>\n As you know, I\u2019ve recently started my next novel, which is based on Greek mythology, the prophetess Cassandra, the Trojan War, and the fall of Troy, plus the warlike Amazons who come to Troy\u2019s aid. Before I started, I went through a process of considering which of my ideas to work on. Here\u2019s what happened, which may help with your own process, too:<\/p>\n I\u2019d like to write more books about the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and I continue to read on the subject, but I haven\u2019t yet found the right story thread.<\/p>\n The fairy tale \u201cAladdin\u201d has interested me for years, and I wrote pages of notes about how I might approach it, but what stymied me is that Aladdin and the princess are married for most of the tale, which I think lessens the story’s appeal for young readers. I hope to figure out how to deal with that, but so far I haven\u2019t. Maybe Disney has solved this, but I stay away from Disney movies because I don\u2019t want their solutions to get into my consciousness and make me, unintentionally, use something of theirs.<\/p>\n The myth \u201cCupid and Psyche\u201d and the related fairy tale \u201cEast of the Sun, West of the Moon\u201d fascinate and irritate me, which is usually a combination that gets me writing, but in this case, I\u2019m stuck. In both, the heroine is made to think the owner of the castle is a monster, and her sisters and mother are made to appear jealous when they warn her against him. One source of irritation is because I think the sisters and mother are probably genuinely alarmed for her. They have every reason to believe she\u2019s in danger, and they\u2019ve gotten a bum rap for centuries!<\/p>\n The other source comes from the hero, and this is the one that has me stumped. The hero, who\u2019s either in monster shape or is pretending to be a monster, is deliberately causing the girl he loves to be frightened, to make a choice for the sake of her family that she wouldn\u2019t make otherwise, and even to see them let her make it. In my opinion, this guy is seriously flawed, and I haven\u2019t yet figured out a way to forgive him and make him likable.<\/p>\n What I love about these stories is the wind that our heroine flies on, and the love story aspect.<\/p>\n As for, Cassandra and Troy, I hope I\u2019ve thought of ways to work out the kinks, but I\u2019m worried that I\u2019ve chosen wrong. The fall of Troy and all that happens before it falls is tragic, and I have to thread my story through the misery.<\/p>\n The point of all this is that, even as a pantser, I think a lot about what I\u2019m going to write before I jump in. I always fail to catch everything, but I try to anticipate the problems that will pop up along the way. So that\u2019s the first strategy: even if we don\u2019t outline, we think deeply about our story before we jump in\u2013which may be hard. If you\u2019re like me, you enjoy the writing, and planning is as unpleasant as standing on a mile-long line at the supermarket.<\/p>\n I wrote up to here on the train to New York City, and while I was walking in Central Park, this post walked with me, and I came up with the steps that I seem to follow from idea to story.<\/p>\n First, boing!<\/em> the idea. Excitement about the idea, and turning it over and upside down and inside out in my mind. This is the necessary first step. The others can arrange themselves in whatever order works best for you.<\/p>\n Second, notes in the what-if stage that Kit Kat Kitty describes. More boing!<\/em> moments as we discover what delights us and where our story might go.<\/p>\n Third, notes about characters who can carry our story, who will take it in the direction we want it to go. Like, with the dragon idea, would we want an arsonist as an MC? Maybe, maybe not. Do we want someone who\u2019s afraid of heights? Afraid of getting angry? Angry all the time? The answer will depend somewhat on where the story is going.<\/p>\n Four (not everyone needs this one, but I do), a tentative ending, which involves knowing what the major story problem is and how it might be resolved, happily or not.<\/p>\n Last, notes about where to start.<\/p>\n Begin!<\/p>\n Going through these steps, I think, will get us to a story we can stick with, at least for a while.<\/p>\n After that comes patience, the virtue writers need most. Do basketball players need patience? Just wondering.<\/p>\n Here are four prompts:<\/p>\n \u2219 Let\u2019s suppose the humans in a story used to be fairies, but somehow their wands were taken from them, and they need them again, or the MC does. Try the steps above and begin the story. If you like, keep going.<\/p>\n \u2219 Find a fairy tale or myth that both fascinates and annoys you. Follow the steps. If the first fairy tale turns out not to be story material, try another one. Keep going until you find one that leads you on to a beginning. Write the story.<\/p>\n \u2219 Using Erica\u2019s method, think of a friend or a family member and the kind of story he would like. Follow the steps and write the story.<\/p>\n \u2219 Think of someone you know\u2013friend, frenemy, or villain\u2013and build your story about aspects of that person. Write the story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First off, congrats to all of you who are starting the NaNoWriMo home stretch! How has it gone so far? How is it going now? If you like, post your answer in the voice of one of your characters and them paste it in your story, which will be fun for the rest of us. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[91],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1106,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105\/revisions\/1106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}