A Novel Idea

One of the most frequent questions writers are asked is, “Where do you get your ideas?” I don’t know about you but many of the stories I invent come from a very simple approach.
Writing Tip for Today: It’s not exactly a formula, but my way of finding a story involves these steps:

  • Start with a Character. They say character is story, and story is character. My first impressions of a novel begin with a person, possibly a tad out of focus, having achieved or wishing to achieve something. I say out of focus because as I learn more about this person, I can see more clearly. Some advise journaling your character or other exercises to find out what drives that person. I try to be sure I have an inner goal (psychological or emotional) and an outer goal (objective reality).
  • All Buts About It. I next proceed to the things standing in my character’s way. She wants to find true love BUT is spurned by the society she’s trying to access. He wants to find out who the killer is, BUT inept police work or his own fears keeps him distracted. You can try a little formula here: Character + Want + Obstacle (buts) + Action = Goal. Be sure to do this for both the outer goal and the inner goal of the character.
  • Start Close to the Action. Many times novels are drafted from too far back in the character’s time line. The Wine Glass Analogy helps me remember that my story begins JUST BEFORE the Inciting Incident. Analogy goes like this: If a waiter is serving red wine to a woman in a white gown, there is no danger until the wine is actually arcing out of the glass on its way to ruining the dress. Similarly, the story doesn’t begin until just before the one thing happens which changes everything. Do you have a favorite story making process? Do tell. 

About Linda S. Clare

I'm an author, speaker, writing coach and mentor. I teach both fiction and nonfiction writing at Lane Community College and in the doctoral program as expert writing advisor for George Fox University. I love helping writers improve their craft and I'm both an avid reader and writer of stories about those with wounded hearts.

5 comments on “A Novel Idea

  1. I start with the germ of an idea and try to express it in a synopsis form. Then I dig into the characters, profiling them, doing tarot readings to prompt my subconscious and describing them physically. I figure out my Goal/Motivation/Conflict for the main characters. Then I start plotting out the action.
    This is an iterative process. As I discover action, it means something new to the character.
    Before I start the first draft, I know my characters, I know more or less the plot and I can just write.
    I find the last thing I define is the starting point. Often this gets changed during revision because the real story starts about 3 scenes in when I get to the end of draft one.

  2. How soon in the novel does that thing need to happen? This is where I struggle. Im always afraid to make it happen too soon, but then I worry Ive made it too late!

  3. Jan, not sure which “that thing” you mean, but in general the inciting incident should be almost right away. In some “journey” type stories, it’s necessary to portray the “ordinary time” of the charcter, but most often this set-up traps the writer into back story. If you meant the first reversal or plot point (where the character meets the first “and then things got worse” scene) it should happen by a quarter of the novel’s length.For an 80K novel, that would mean approx. 20K words or about 10 chapters. Hope this helps. ~Linda

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