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From Idea to Story By Megan Crewe
Ideas are fickle. All it takes is a comment overheard, an article in the newspaper, or a glance through the window of a bus, and you’ve got one whispering in your ear. "There’s a brilliant story in that. Don’t forget it. It could win you a Pulitzer." Seduced, you pull out your notebook or your pocket tape recorder (or the scratch pad in your head, if your memory’s better than most) and take it down. Later, when you’ve got time to write and you look up that idea, does it come running with that same bright spark of inspiration? Oh no. "What?" it says. "'The man walks in the snow in his sandals'? Beats me what you’re going to get out of that."
You know you had a story there, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. As shiny as an idea might have seemed, it’s no good to you as a writer if you can’t turn it into more. If you’re lucky, the story will pop out at you with a little prodding. Many will give you a harder time. What do you do with an idea that won’t open up for you? Here’s the trick: you have to ask the right question.
Q: What’s your problem?
A story needs conflict. You’ve got plenty of types of choose from: a character can be fighting his or her own thoughts and emotions, with other characters, or simply for survival. If you’ve gotten a character out of your idea, think about what s/he might want. To trust his son? To stop her co-worker from ruining a project? To make it home? Discover the story’s problem and the rest may become obvious.
Q: And then what?
You’ve got a scene to establish the conflict, but now you’re stuck. You can’t end here-- nothing’s happened yet! What’s your character going to do to resolve the conflict? What obstacles might end up in his or her way? Brainstorm until you come up with actions and reactions that fit. When you know what your characters will be doing, it’s much easier to see where they should go.
Q: Is there something different about you today?
Sometimes you can come up with a dozen conflicts and resolutions, but an idea will still seem flat. So ask it, how will the characters or their situation change between the beginning and the end? The story’s events should affect your characters in some way. At least one of them should come out thinking or acting differently than s/he did before, or readers may wonder what the point was. Try to identify elements of the story that would be meaningful to your characters. What would it take to put them on another path? To keep them on their current one? That thing could be the key to revealing the entire story.
Q: Have I got the right person?
The character you’ve envisioned as your story’s lead might not be the best person for the job. Is there someone else who would experience the events more vividly, or be more affected by them? Maybe you’ve imagined a spectator, watching the events from outside. Looking at the action from the point of view of someone in the middle of it could spark your creativity. It’s also possible to pick a character too close to the action. How the events would appear to someone who didn’t totally understand them? Think about all of the people that would populate your story, and what their individual stories would be. The real story might be a personal struggle on the fringes of a much larger conflict. Whatever the case, if you can’t see the story through to the end from the eyes of your chosen character, another may give you the view you need.
Q: Can you step a little closer?
Some writers, like me, may find their ideas have so many complications they could become novels. That’s great if you want to write a novel, but if it’s a short story you’re after, you’re going to need to change your focus. Trying to cram a hundred pages worth of story into twenty will only make your head hurt. Stop and consider all those complications. Which one is most important? Which one most excites you? Pare away anything that’s not essential to that part of the idea, and voila! The idea’s the size you need. Don’t fret about cutting scenes or characters you enjoyed. Keep them in your idea bank, and you can use them later.
On the other hand, some writers may find their ideas are too slight, little more than a single moment or image. With an idea like that, it’s best to let your imagination run free. Look at the idea closely. Examine every bit. Play the moment in your head like a movie, then have it play on beyond its end. If you like where it takes you, great. If not, rewind and give it a nudge in a different direction.
Q: How about a change in scenery?
With any idea, you can have your choice of genres. An idea that’s stale in one may burst into life in another. What would your mainstream story look like if it was set in the future? In the past? You could replace scientific elements with magical ones, or vice versa. Got a monster? Try making it humorous instead of horrific. Look for the sadness in a story you expected to be funny. Retell the story to yourself in any mode you can think of. Different lighting could be all it needs to bloom.
Q: Who’re you talking to?
You may never meet them face to face, but the audience you write for shapes your writing. If you can’t expand an idea into a story that would appeal to your usual audience, try it out with another. Could the idea for a children’s story be matured for adults? How about aiming your teen story at middle-graders? When you shift the audience you’re thinking of, your approach will shift, too. It’s easier to feel comfortable with an idea when you’re sure you’re setting it up for the right readers.
Q: Could you tell it to me from the end?
Most stories start at the beginning and finish at the ending. Not all stories work best that way. If stretching your idea into a straight-forward narrative is boring you, give it a twist. Open it with a bit of the ending, then show your readers how you got there. Write it backwards from end to beginning. Replace your usual narration with journal entries, chat dialogue, or magazine articles. Even if the twist bends the story out of shape, it’s given you a glimpse of the possibilities.
Occasionally, you’ll go through all of the above, and still be stuck with the same stubborn, storyless idea. No need to despair. Stick it in the back of your head to play with all the other idle ideas. Eventually, it’ll collide with just the right one, and ping! You’ll have your story.
Megan Crewe is a freelance writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Her stories have appeared in such publications as Brutarian Quarterly, Son and Foe, and On Spec. She can be visited online at MeganCrewe.com.
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