I wrote up a proposal yesterday, which meant developing a complete story idea to the point that I could sit down and write the entire thing without getting hung up or lost. It crossed my mind that this is what those getting ready for National Novel Writing Month might need help with, so here’s how I put together my idea.
The request for proposal came with a theme, so I was already halfway there. I’m a theme writer. The theme was one I could relate to, one that fired my imagination. If you’re having trouble getting started, try on a few themes and see if one grabs you. But if you never can identify your theme until the story is finished, or not even then, that’s okay too. Everybody works differently.
Next, I needed my characters and my basic situation. The characters came very easily, and the basic situation unfolded out of who they were and where they were and the time of year the story is set in. These two things actually represent multiple parts, so I’ll try to break that down. My story is an erotic romance, so the characters had to have traits that made them right for each other. Their discovery of these traits as the story unfolds is what makes the romance believable. And since it’s an erotic romance, the erotic element has to be built into the characters and the basic situation, not spackled on. Through the erotic aspect, these traits will be unfolded and revealed to the lovers.
The basic situation has built in internal and external conflict; opposing forces that have to be resolved. This is the plot.
So there are the pieces: theme, setting, characters, plot. It’s not necessary to know every detail about a story before writing it, but it’s good to have some idea what will happen, how the characters will get from A to Z. If you can imagine the key scenes along the way, you have your plot outline. For some reason with this story I have a pretty complete plot outline, which is rare for me. Often I only have the basic situation defined and how it’ll be resolved is a mystery. Probably I have such a firm grip on this plot because it’s not a full-length novel. If you’re plunging into NaNoWriMo, don’t be dismayed if you don’t have a detailed plot outline. If you know who your characters are (or at least have some idea of what their driving characteristics are) and a basic situation in mind that puts them into conflict, the plot will naturally unfold as the result of the characters’ actions.
There’s still plenty of time to prepare for Nov. 1, so if you want to try to write a novel in a month and don’t know where to start, start with these basic building blocks, add your imagination, and you can develop a solid story idea.
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