So how do writers use questions in their story development? Let’s hear first from Ian Creasey, whose short fiction has appeared in magazines such as Asimov’s, Realms of Fantasy and Weird Tales, and has been reprinted in several Year’s Best SF anthologies.  His excellent collection Maps of the Edge was published last year. 

Stories Are Made Of Scenes

 by Ian Creasey

I’d like to begin by thanking John for the opportunity to write a guest post about the technique of using questions to help create stories.  This is not a “where do you get your ideas?” post.  Rather, it assumes that you already have a basic idea, which you want to develop into a complete story.

I’ll use one of my own stories to illustrate how the question technique works in practice.  The questions themselves are sufficiently general that they can be applied across a whole range of stories.  What tends to change is the order in which they are asked.  I find that stories sometimes start from an idea for a specific detail, in which case the process involves working backwards to develop the appropriate context.  In other cases, the initial idea is rather abstract, and the task is to flesh out the premise with sufficient detail.

My example story is “The Report of a Doubtful Creature”, which was published in Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show (November 2009).  I mention the publication date, because this was actually the seed for the story.  The year 2009 marked the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth, and also the 150th anniversary of the publication of Origin of Species.  I live near the Yorkshire town of Ilkley, which Charles Darwin visited just before the first edition of Origin was published.  I therefore decided to write a story about Darwin’s visit to Ilkley, with the aim of getting it published in November 2009, exactly 150 years after the first edition of Origin of Species in November 1859. 

So I had a story I wanted to write, without any notion of what its plot might be.  The technique of asking questions helped me to shape the story, and I’ll list some of those questions here. 

Who is the story about?

For my particular story, the answer is already in the premise: it’s about Charles Darwin.  But other times, it’s not immediately obvious who a story might be about — for instance, if the initial idea is to explore a technological or social development, then there is a wide range of people who might be affected.  In this case the standard advice is to ask, “Who is the most hurt by this development?  Who has the most to lose?”  That person is often a suitable protagonist (or antagonist) for the story.

What is the story about?

In this example, it’s fairly obvious that the story has to be about evolution.  There’s not much point in writing a story targeted for the anniversary of the Origin of Species, if it’s not about evolution!

What is the conflict?

The Origin of Species is a famously controversial book, symbolising a clear conflict between science and faith.

Wow… so far it looks easy, doesn’t it?  It may appear that I’ve cheated by starting with several questions to which I already know the answer.  But in fact I’m illustrating the point that if you have the germ of an idea for a story, then there are already some questions and answers implicit in your premise, no matter how vague it may initially seem to be.  It can be useful to state these answers explicitly, to help crystallise the starting position.

What is the specific example?

This is what John calls a “power question”, a key question that can be widely applied, and which cuts right through to the essentials.  The question “what is the specific example?” can be asked in many contexts (e.g. in considering how to show characterisation), but I find it particularly useful when framed as, “How does the conflict manifest itself?”

This isn’t mathematics: there’s no right or wrong answer.  But you need some kind of answer.  It’s a classic beginner’s mistake to write a story entirely in abstract terms: telling the reader about the conflict, without showing it.  Stories are made of scenes.  There should be at least one scene which dramatises the overarching conflict by putting a specific example onstage.

A short story will typically hinge upon a single scene that illustrates the core of the conflict.  A novella or novel may require more instances, e.g. a small-scale scene near the beginning, and a large-scale scene toward the end.  But the principle of needing specific examples still applies.

If I say that I’m going to write a story about evolution, and the conflict between science and faith, I’m speaking in general terms.  I need a specific example.  The device I chose was to have Darwin encounter a strange creature, which might possibly be a fairy.

What are the stakes?

This is another “power question”.  It’s a way of saying, “Why does this story matter?  Why should the reader care?”

There are different ways of addressing the question, depending on whether you develop the story on a top-down or bottom-up basis.  If you start from specific details, then you may need to establish that those details represent important issues.  Conversely, if you start from the big issues, then you need to establish that your illustrative details are sufficiently representative.

For my story, the question of evolution (i.e. science vs. faith) is already a high-stakes issue.  So the crucial task was to establish that my specific example adequately represented the issue.  Basically, if fairies exist — so what?  Why would that affect evolution?

Here is the answer from the story, in Darwin’s words:

“My theory of natural selection requires that life proceeds by common descent.  All creatures are related, however distantly.  So any particular creature must possess living relatives, of some kind; and ancestral forms should be preserved as fossils.  Any beast, however unprecedented to man’s eyes, must fit somewhere within the Linnaean taxonomy.

“If fairies exist as material creatures, what genus do they occupy?  Where are their fossils?  (The fossiliferous strata contain an imperfect sample of past organisms, yet surely we could hope for one example to be retained from the entire fairy lineage.)  If the traditional description be correct — like a small man with wings — it is clear that fairies cannot fit anywhere within the existing genera of Mammalia.  We could only accommodate them within Animalia by supposing an entirely separate line of descent, one which has left no close relatives, no intermediate forms, and no fossils.  The evidence does not support it.

“It would be simpler, therefore, to suppose that fairies were a separate creation.  After all, why should we require all creatures to be related?

“We indeed require it, for if we allow that any creature may be a separate creation, then we must allow the possibility to all creatures.  How could I argue that a wolf must have descended from canid predecessors, if I cannot argue likewise for a fairy?  Any opponent could simply say, ‘The wolf was independently created in its current form, just like a fairy.’  I would have no refutation for such a critique.  Even those who accepted the Wolf might balk at the descent of Man from simpler progenitors, if given the excuse of the Fairy.

“My hypothesis must explain all creatures, or it explains none.  Everything, or nothing.  The thought burned in my mind: If this fairy truly exists, it will destroy my whole Theory.”

What choice does the protagonist face?

This is another “power question”.  A story tends to feel more meaningful if the protagonist faces a genuine choice — a difficult decision.  The nature of the choice obviously depends upon the overall conflict, but its onstage manifestation is determined by the specific example that illustrates the conflict.  So when deciding upon an example, it’s helpful to bear in mind the choice that the example implies.

In my story, what choice did Darwin face when he encountered the fairy?

“A thought struck me that it would be simple to let the creature escape, thus avoiding the revelation of what it might be, and what it might imply.  The temptation seemed to hang in the air before me, needing but a single step to reach out and grasp.”

Where does the encounter happen?

Once the specific example has been selected, and its importance has been established, our questions move to the realm of practicalities.  We must decide how the example is “staged”.

Stories are made of scenes.  The scene begins when the protagonist encounters the situation, whatever the situation is.  So the author’s task is to decide where and when that encounter takes place.

For my story, I needed Darwin to see a fairy.  How could that happen?  Maybe he goes out for a walk, and simply happens to see one.  But that feels rather coincidental: too obviously contrived by the author.  Also, at the time the story takes place, Darwin is ill: he’s in Ilkley to take the “water cure”.  So he’s not likely to be wandering very far.

I decided to introduce a secondary character: a woman who had captured the fairy.  She knew that Darwin was a famous naturalist, so she asked him to come and see it.

It’s important for a short story to remain focused, and not become cluttered with too many characters.  It’s dangerous to answer every question by introducing a new character.  But in this particular case, it was a useful solution.  I started off with only a protagonist, Darwin.  He didn’t have anyone to interact with.  By introducing a secondary character, I allowed myself scope for dialogue, interaction, and contrast.

Conclusion

I’ve deliberately ended this post on an anti-climactic note, because although stories conclude with a climax, this doesn’t mean that the climax is the last thing you work out when writing it.  Personally I find it easier to begin by shaping the overall structure of a story, including the ending, before I work out all the nitty-gritty staging details.

The questions that I’ve listed here are, obviously, not exhaustive.  But I hope they give an indication of how an abstract idea can be turned into a detailed narrative.  In my opinion the most important thing to remember is this: Stories are made of scenes.  The most useful questions are those which help you envisage a particular scene.  Once you can imagine the scene in your head, half the task of writing it is already done.

John sez . . .

So are you curious about his story yet?  If so, ”The Report of a Doubtful Creature” is available to IGMS subscribers at http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=issue&vol=i15&article=_003 . You can also learn more about Ian and his work at www.iancreasey.com.

I’d like to thank Ian for taking the time to write up his process on this story. I though he made a number of interesing points. Did you notice what he said about envisioning scenes? Did you see that at least one of his questions is particular to this story and might not be used on any other?

Understand the core principles. Get a list of core questions. But then realize you’ll need to use creative Q&A as you go with all sorts of questions, large and small.

For more in this series, see How to Get and Develop Story Ideas

I realized I needed to blather a bit more on this topic to warn you against something before I bring the other authors on.

You’re going to be tempted.  You’re going to be tempted to seek for some Holy Grail list of magic development questions.  Some of you are going to be tempted to compile some big old honking list of “the questions that will produce a killer story every time and all I have to do is ask them.”

That list doesn’t exist. If you seek for it, you’re going to waste a lot of time and end up having to fight killer rabbits and fetching shrubberies for weird knights.

Don’t fall for it.

But, John, didn’t you say there were core questions?

I did.  You need answers for those.  But you need to also understand that a writer will ask a great number of development questions when writing a specific novel, some of which he might only ask once.

Last year I was out on the forum at CodexWriters.com and one writer asked the rest of us how we approached developing our stories.  He was looking for some kind of development map, e.g. I have this piece of the story, now I need to develop the rest–how does one go about that? 

That discussion led directly to this series on getting and developing story ideas. My thoughts then were that you need to define and understand the basic elements of story.  Knowing the key story principles behind each element leads us to a handful of core development objectives and questions.  But–

I DO NOT think there’s a comprehensive must-do list. 

Why?

Because it’s been my experience that no two stories are exactly the same, and so no two stories require the exact same questions. And even if stories are similar, questions and techniques don’t always produce the same results each time. One question or technique might prove fruitful one time, but it might be unfruitful the next, or even unnecessary.  So the point of this is NOT to get a checklist of a hundred questions that will lead you to generate the whole story in your mind before you write.

Look at the many setting and character profile question lists that float around. As I’ve used those, I always run out of steam because while some of those questions are interesting and helpful, quite a few of them just don’t apply to the project at hand. They bore me. Maybe I felt a spark of life with one question, but instead of following it as the way into the story, the whole checklist format suggests I need to move on to the next one and fill in the blanks.

But my goal isn’t to fill in blanks. My goal is to make the story come alive in my mind.

So while I think looking for productive questions is important, and I DO think there are some core questions that need to be answered every time, I think a person will be more productive if they step back and identify the key things they want in the story, the scene, the particular character.  This means we’ll have some standard questions and techniques based on how stories work, but it also means we’ll learn how to do the creative Q&A process on the fly, following the zing for the current project, coming up with questions that we could never predict we’d use. 

For example, when finishing up my last draft of Curse of a Dark God, I wrote the opening to a big battle chapter. I know that for things to be clear to the reader, I need to set the stage, have a hook, give the what, why, where, etc. I need to transport them as best I can. Those are my objectives. The questions, while not formally stated, flowed from them–what are some options for a good hook, how do I want to set the scene, etc.

These are fairly standard objectives/questions. They’re story fundamentals. And there weren’t a lot of them. You can get overwhelmed with too many niggling objectives and criteria. I’ve found it’s best to focus on KEY things. To ask myself–what are the Pareto factors, the handful of things that really have the biggest effect in story with character, plot, scene? Once I identify those factors I can easily turn them into questions.

So I had those handful of objectives. But I had some others that were very specific to that scene that I probably won’t use in any other scene ever.  And I couldn’t have really even known about them until I got to the point where I was writing the scene.

For example, one was how to introduce the Dogman of Toth and his pack of maulers in a way that makes the reader say “ho-lee crap those guys are screwed!” Another one was how to introduce the kitemen in a cool way. Another was based on a feeling I was getting from my Spidey-sense that the scene I was writing was going to undercut a later one if I made the hero’s objective to kill one certain character. So I had to ask, what is the right progression of these scenes? Who should the hero attack here so it feels right, like a progression?  Another objective was to make this whole battle scene awesome, thrilling. That’s certainly something I’ll want to do with other battle scenes. But not on all scenes.

With the very next scene I was asking–how can I make this scene tender and heart-breaking? These ad hoc questions about the Dogman and kitemen and the story progression are all great questions flowing from objectives, but they were for that one particular scene.

So I think there are some core objectives or principles of how character, setting, problem, plot, and text work. These are based on key story factors. I listed those out in the last post and in my series on suspense. You can make a “standard” list of objectives and questions out of these. For example, one of those key objectives is for the reader to care about the hero. Another is to find him interesting. I can indeed translate these core objectives into some standard POWER QUESTIONS that might be put on a list.  Along with some core questions, there are favorite techniques (tools) we each use to help us work up what we need and get into a story, scene, character, problem, etc.

But I think a lot of writing is using the creative Q&A on the fly because it’s just impossible to think up all the objectives and questions you’ll encounter before you get into it. 

Have I said that about twenty times now in this post?

Let me suggest you not try to develop everything up front before you begin to draft.  Some development questions occur when you’re sketching or outlining. Others when you’re in details of draft mode. It’s a mistake to try to get it all up front in some list.

The key, I think, is to have our handful of CORE development objectives/questions and ALSO expect to use the QA process along the way. This allows us to move forward in the creation without needing to develop everything up front, which is impossible (no, it really is impossible), and then step back and formulate questions when the need arises, based on our objectives of the moment, and use any number of methods to generate the answers until we have something that rocks.

But John, how do you know when you’re ready to move forward?

For me I need to have generated the story concept–the basics of the character, setting, and problem.  At this point I’m usually beginning to “see” things, although certainly not everything.  Often I’ve envisioned a couple of moments or scenes.  Maybe some dialogue, etc.  When I get to this point, I’m able to write a Story Setup statement.  And then I generate a sketch of the plot with a working outline.  I DON’T have all the details, but the story’s alive enough in my mind to proceed. 

Sometimes I begin to draft what I sketched and find out it doesn’t work.  And sometimes I have to draft to get my story concept. Eloise McGraw (I love her book The Moorchild) usually found she had to draft seven chapters before she really knew what the story was about. That’s fine. The key isn’t to use a certain set of tools in a specific sequence. The key is to get to the point where you understand the story you’re telling. If I can do that with a bit of sketching and a little drafting, great.  If I need to do a bit more exploratory drafting to have the story come to life in my mind, that’s fine too.  The key is to know what I need to know about the story and work until I know it. This is writing that’s based on objectives, on principles, not on procedures.

So there ARE core questions you’ll need to answer for every story.  But it’s also true that you will be hunting mythical rabbits if you look for a secret magic question procedure that lists all the questions you need to ask, EVAR!  Having said that, I’ll now let these other authors finally get a few words in edgewise.

For more in this series, see How to Get and Develop Story Ideas

Folks, it’s been almost six months since I added anything to my series on how to get and develop killer story ideas.  There’s a reason it’s been so long—I’ve been heads-down trying to develop my own stories. 

I have allotted myself only so much time for writing each day, and when things have to give, unfortunately, it’s my blog that goes first.  Actually, the social media goes first, which is why I have such a lame Facebook and Twitter presence. Of course, if anyone contacts me directly using the link in the sidebar or comments on a post, I always respond promptly.

Anyway, I wish I had more time, but I do have a day job.  I also have wonderful wife and four daughters, and I simply can’t miss my opportunity to enjoy them while they’re here.  For example, we just did an eight-hour roundtrip trek out to Roosevelt, Utah to attend the commencement ceremonies of my daughter who is graduating with her Associates degree from one of the state universities one month before she receives her High School diploma.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It’s all part of the concurrent enrollment program we have that’s a godsend for those of us who live in rural areas.  That was also the day of my 23^rd wedding anniversary to a most excellent and wonderful wife and mom, who would like to think of herself as a large cat, something like a jaguar, but who is more like a horse—sleek, beautiful, and good for something.  Nellie’s a rock. 

So all that blather to say I haven’t had much time, but I am happy to announce I’ve got something for you today.  I think you will find quite helpful. 

The Framework

One of the problems new writers run into is that they don’t know where to start or how to proceed.  This is the same with any complex endeavor.  In my day job, I’ve been teaching some fairly complex things for a number of years, and I’ve found that when you give students a framework for learning, it makes everything SO MUCH EASIER.  Show them the forest first, then the trees.  When you give people a structure, a mental schema, it frees up their working memory so they don’t get overloaded. 

But it’s useful for more than learning about something.  When we try to do something complex, it’s so much easier when we break the task down into its parts and outline clear objectives, guidelines, and tools for each part.

I realized that I haven’t really done that here.  I’ve given the general framework for the three things you need to learn to write stories—(1) what stories do, (2) how they do it, and (3) how to develop them.  But I haven’t given one for development. So here it is.

There are three parts to the framework:

1. The development OBJECTIVES.
2. The development PRINCIPLES for each objective.
3. The development TOOLS you use to help you with each objective.

Each post I’ve made about writing stories and each post I will make in the future will explain some part of the framework.  For example, the 27-part series Key Conditions for Suspense that I wrote for SFWA explains key principles and concepts for character, problem, and plot.  The post in this series on the Story Setup explains a tool that can be used to help you develop your story’s problem. And so on. What the framework should give you is a map, a guide to help you know what to do and how to do it.

The Development Objectives

Let’s start with the objectives. A story is made up of just a few main parts.  I’ve found I’m most productive when I keep the objectives for those parts foremost in my mind and when I keep the list of objectives simple.  Having too many objectives makes it almost impossible to move forward. Here are the objectives I have when I’m developing a story.

 

Area	Development Objectives
GENERAL	Make the story come alive in my own mind
GENRE	Define the overall type of story I want to write
CHARACTER	Develop characters who move and delight me
SETTING	Develop a setting that interests me and feels real
PROBLEM	Develop a story problem that I find compelling
PLOT	Help the reader hope and fear for my character
TEXT	Evoke the story in the reader’s mind

 

Your job is to develop the story, making it come alive in your mind, then write it in a way that will evoke it in the reader’s mind. You do that by focusing on the objectives you see above.

Note that I do NOT develop these areas in any special order because ideas for any of the six parts could come at any time. And because I’m focused on the objectives, I don’t get trapped into activity for activity’s sake.  I don’t do character histories because a big name author said that’s what I should do.  I don’t do outlines because everyone I know does them.  I don’t do any activity just because it’s on some list.  I work to accomplish something.  And the things I want to accomplish are listed above.

Development Principles & Concepts

Once we know what we’re after, we need to understand the principles and concepts that will help us develop those things.  For example, what kinds of characters “move” and “delight”?  What makes a story problem “compelling”?  What makes readers hope and fear for a character?

If I don’t understand the principles and concepts that underlie each of the objectives, I’m going to have a difficult time meeting that objective.  So let’s add in the key principles and concepts I’ve found that help me meet those objectives.   

Area	Development Objectives	Development Principles & Concepts
GENERAL	Make the story come alive in my own mind	Focus on developing the 6 core parts of story (genre, character, setting, problem, plot, text) in no special sequence
		Gather zing: use a drag net and hunt with a purpose
		Generate my own zing
		Develop in iterations
		Practice farmer’s faith
		Write what you care about and believe in: listen to your personal Spidey-sense
		Make enough time
		Relax and have fun
GENRE	Define the overall type of story I want to write	Reader expectations
		Tropes and patterns
CHARACTER	Develop characters who move and delight me	Sympathy
		Deservingness
		Interest
		Types and roles
		Cast sizing
SETTING	Develop a setting that interests me and feels real	How things work
		Telling details
		What’s necessary
PROBLEM	Develop a story problem that I find compelling	Hope and fear
		The 3 main types of problems
		Character goals
		Opposition
		Problems that speak to the reader (theme)
PLOT	Help the reader hope and fear for my character	Suspense
		Surprise
		Curiosity
		The 3 phases of a story’s problem structure
		The story cycle
		Patterns
TEXT	Evoke the story in the reader’s mind	Telling to evoke
		Clarity
		Working memory limitations
		Stimulus-response order
		The story cycle
		Scenes and summary
		Point of view
		Beginnings & endings
		Poetic devices, Sound and rhythm
		Mechanics

 

Now let’s see how I’d use the framework.  Let’s say I want to work on developing character.  Sometimes my drag net pulls in great character ideas without much effort on my part at all.  But sometimes what I drag in needs some development.  And sometimes I don’t have anything in my net at all and need to generate something from scratch. 

When it’s time to develop character, I’ve found that if I focus on the key things that trigger my sympathy for someone, my feeling that they deserve reward or punishment, and my interest in them, it’s much easier to develop a character that rocks, one that moves and delights and thrills me.  It also helps me to think about the roles my characters play.  So I’ll apply the principles one way when developing a sidekick and another when developing a villain.  Finally, there are only so many words in a novel. I need to manage my stage time.  If I have too many characters, I might not have enough stage time to develop any story in a satisfactory way.  If I have too few, I might run into problems with structure and plot.

Let’s say I want to work on my story problem.  Well, I’d focus on the things that make readers hope and fear for my character.  I’d brainstorm options for the three main story problem types.  I’d make sure my I knew what the goals were for my protagonist and antagonist.

Do you see how this works?

Once you get enough material developed in each of the story categories (character, setting, problem, plot, and text), the story will come alive in your mind.  And then it’s just a matter of finishing the text so that it evokes the story in the reader’s mind. 

Some may wonder why I included text as part of development.  Don’t you develop the story first and then translate it to the text?  No.  A lot of development happens as you write the text.  For example, it’s hard for me to get my character’s voice and attitude without putting him or her on the page.  

If you go back and look at the list again, you’ll see that the principles and concepts supporting the objectives for genre, character, setting, problem, plot, and text have a lot to do with how story works.  On the other hand, the principles supporting the general objective of having the story come to life in my own mind focus on how we develop stories.

In this series, I’ve been focusing on the principles of how we develop stories.  But you’ll also want to continue to enlarge your understanding of how stories work.  For more on the principles for character, problem, and plot, see my 27-part series I wrote for SFWA on the Key Conditions for Suspense.

Development Tools

Now that we’ve identified what we’re supposed to develop and the principles that support those objectives, it’s helpful to see the different types of tools we can use to help us meet our objectives.

A tool is just that—something we use to accomplish some objective.  Chimps use sticks to help them fish termites out of holes. Bakers use beaters to help them mix batters. Mechanics have tools to help them turn screws and nuts. Writers have tools to help them do what they need to do.

I’ve listed the tools I’ve found useful. I know you may not know what a number of them are. That’s okay. In the series I’ll explain what each is and how to use it.  For now just look over the list.  And because I can’t figure out how to make my blankety-blank tables look snazzy with the WPress template and controls I have, I’ve provided a PDF of the framework here instead. Click on the link below to download it.

John Brown’s Story Development Framework v2012-05-12

Did you notice that for each set of tools I also list “Other . . .” That’s because there are many tools that authors find useful.  Try them.  Keep the ones you find productive and toss the rest.  This isn’t an exhaustive or mandatory list.

And remember that the key thing isn’t the tool.  The objective is.  The tool is simply a means to help you meet the objective.  And so you don’t have to use all the tools.  You don’t have to use any of them.  Because the goal is NOT to use a tool.  The goal is to develop the story.

For example, if you already have a rocking problem, there’s no need to use a tool to get one.  If you’re doing a character history and suddenly hit gold, you don’t have to finish all the prompts in your history document.  You don’t have to because this is NOT about filling out forms.  It’s about making the story come alive in your mind.  Sometimes you need only a little development to get the ideas, sometimes you need a lot.

Bottom line: focus on the objectives.  Keep developing material until you have enough in each of area that the story is bucking and kicking in your hands.

And, again, don’t worry about developing the objectives in a certain sequence because there isn’t a best sequence.  With one story you might start with a little character, then a bit of setting, then some text, then more character, then problem, then plot, the back to character, then setting again, then something else, a bit here, an idea there.  On another story you might start with a scrap of text or something somebody said and go to plot then character then genre and then back to each one again and again, building up line by line in some other way.

There is no golden development sequence!  Just keep the objectives in mind, and keep your eyes open for ideas that you can use to meet each objective.

Where to start

Having laid the framework out, I know some might be wondering where to start, especially after I told you it didn’t matter where you started.  You’re wondering this because the fact is that it IS nice to have some guidance.

And because it really doesn’t matter how you meet the objectives, and because most ideas come when you’re on the move, then there’s a great benefit in simply starting with any method you have at hand.  So let’s not fall prey to an attack of dithering brought on by option overload.  If you don’t know where to start, try this.

1.    Take Stock

First, identify a number of slots this week and next when you can work on your story. Try to get at least ten hours each week. You may find your slots in the morning, during breaks, at lunch, late at night.  Just find some times that work for you.

When that first time slot comes, take stock of the ideas you have right now, the zing you’ve gathered or generated to this point, and make a rough summary.  Do you have any bits of character, problem, or plot?  Have you delved into your setting?  Do you have an idea of the story genre?  Do you have any inkling about the type of story this will be, e.g. is this going to be a story about cyber security, love, friendship, vampires, spies, World War 2, two old fisherman and the mafia?

Summarize what you have in just one or two pages. Or maybe you only have one line. That’s okay too.  Write it down.

2.    200 Words

When you’ve finished step one, ask yourself what genre of story you’d like to write.  Maybe you have two or three genres you’re interested in.  Maybe you want to write some mix—a cowboy science fiction, an epic fantasy comedy, a romantic thriller.  Think about what kind of story you would like to read.  Think about the kind of characters, plots, and settings you enjoy.  The kind of experience you would love to have when reading.  Write two paragraphs summarizing your thoughts. 200 words or less.

3.    ID Some Patterns

Third, identify two or three other stories that are kind of like the one you think you might want to write.  Write the titles of these stories down even if they’re only vaguely in the ball park. Now answer these questions about them:

1. Size

• How many words or pages was in each book?
• How many chapters?

2. Characters

• How many main characters did each have?
• How many points of view?
• What did you like about the characters?
• What would you do different with the characters?

3. Problem & Plot

• What was the protagonist’s main problem?
• What did the antagonist want?
• What were the cool plot points or surprises?

4. What else was cool about the story?

Now go the extra mile and outline the plot in two pages or less.  Just do little bullet points.

Did you get any ideas for your story from this?  Anything you want to copy or twist?  If so, write it down.

4.    Go Zing Hunting

Fourth, identify the main character, setting, problem, or plot ideas that are drawing your interest.  Decide to go hunt some zing with a purpose.  Pick one of the ideas you think will be a big part of the story, go to the library, and get some books on that thing.  Start with books for juveniles if they have them, then work into more hefty tomes.  Identify some documentaries or films on the subject.  Check them out.  Or get them on Netflix.  Read and watch, keeping your eye out for ideas that might work for your six core story objectives.

Is there someone you can talk to who has first-hand experience with this thing?  If so, call or visit them and ask them some questions.

Can you go experience it first hand?  If so, do it.

Did you get any ideas for your story from this?  If so, big or small, write them down.

5.    Review

Fifth, review the zing you’ve captured to this point.  Note anything that pops out to you.  Can you write your story concept down yet (the character, the setting, the goal, and the main opposition and obstacle he or she will face)?  Give it a try.

If not, no biggie.  Review the seven development objectives to fix them in your mind.

6.    Generate Some Character and Problem

Sixth, flip a coin.  Heads you’ll start generating character.  Tails you’ll start generating story problems.  Review the principles for the part of story the coin toss determined you’d work on, then begin generating as many options as possible for that part of story.

If you’re generating character ideas, list all the types of characters commonly associated with the big idea you’ve been researching.  Try to get at least ten on the list.  Maybe you’ll include some specific people you ran across in your research.  Then list a bunch of types of characters not commonly associated.  Maybe throw in a few people you know who might be fun to base a character on.  Identify characters from each list you think might enjoy writing.  Generate a few more.  Let’s say three.  Don’t be afraid to be wacky.  If you have to, include Chuck Norris as the last one.

If you’re generating problem, list the threats, opportunities, and mysteries commonly associated with the topic you’ve been researching.  Get at least ten.  Make sure you include some big, significant ones that really speak to you.  If you’re going for comedy, add in some smaller ones.  Think of your favorite comedy show, e.g. Jerry Seinfeld, and ask the types of problems those characters might run into here.  Now list problems that are not commonly associated with this idea.  Try for at least ten.  Identify problems from both lists you think might be fun.  Generate three more.  Don’t afraid to be a bit wacky.

Now switch.  If you did characters first, do problems and vice versa.

Did you get any ideas for your story from this?  If so, write them down.

7.    Generate Some Plot

Finally, think about the type of problem your character is facing.  If you have a couple of problems you’re deciding between, or perhaps a story where a character has a couple of story lines (maybe an inner one and an external one), choose one to work with.  You can develop the others later.  

Write up the character’s goal in 50 words or less.  Now list out the steps people like your character would usually take to solve the type of problem you are working with.  Try to avoid having your character do dumb things.  Let them be smart.  If you have no idea how anyone would go about solving that type of problem, go do some research.  Talk to someone who might know.

Once you’ve sketched out those general steps, generate a list of at least 12 disadvantages, obstacles, conflicts, or surprises your character could run into that would make it really hard to solve the problem and reach his or her goal.  Some of the items on your list can be small; others might throw the character for a major loop.  Again, if you can’t think of any obstacles or quickly run out of ideas, go do some research.  Talk to someone who might know.

Now look at this from the antagonist’s point of view.  What’s his goal?  Write up the antagonist’s goal in 50 words or less.  What are some common steps a smart and determined (maybe ruthless) person like your antagonist would take to go about removing the problem the hero is causing? 

Did you get any ideas for your story from this?  If so, write them down.

And Now?

At this point, you should be well into the development of your story.  It’s up to you how to proceed.  Maybe you want to write an exploratory draft of a few chapters to get the character’s voice and start defining the setting.  Maybe you’ve discovered you need to research a bit about something specific like sharks or Cessna airplanes or the tactics of Napoleonic armies.  Or maybe you feel it’s time to sketch out a general outline of the plot.  Or maybe you want to review the principles and concepts of one of the story parts.  Or maybe it’s not that at all.  Maybe you want to watch or read some stories in your genre to see how they did it.  There are a lot of things you could do.

Pick something and do it.  There’s great power in simply getting to work.  Continue to develop the various parts of your story.  And if you feel ready to start writing a draft, then start writing the draft, even if you peter out after only one scene. 

Remember the objectives.  Keep working on them.  Sooner or later, I guarantee you, the story will open its eyes and look up at you.  It will not come to you fully fleshed out.  But you’ll have enough to switch your focus to drafting.

When I get to that point and my mind is juiced with some interesting characters in an interesting and compelling situation, I usually capture the essence of the story by writing some form of the Story Setup.  Then I write a simple working outline, which is nothing more than a bullet point sketch of how my character runs into his problem, his response, some of the obstacles he faces, and the results of that action, which leads to trouble, which leads to more action, etc.  It also includes the same for my antagonist.  This is story cycle stuff.  I might include a few key details I need for the scenes I’m listing out.  Or not.  Furthermore, I might be able to envision the whole thing at this point and write an outline that reflects that.  Or I might see only the first few scenes clearly and have to be satisfied with a general sketch of what happens later.  That’s not a big deal because development continues as you’re drafting.  The key is that the story is alive in my mind, and I know in general what it’s about and where I’m going.  It’s enough to begin.  And so I begin to write chapter one (if I haven’t written it already).

Good luck!

In the next post I’m going to explain how to generate your own zing using Creative Q&A.  Hopefully, I’ll get to it before another six months has passed :O

For more in this series, see How to Get and Develop Story Ideas

Americans and Reading

The Pew Research Center has just published their findings on reading in America. It’s called “The Rise of E-reading“. There’s a LOT of fascinating information in the report. Here’s a taste:

1. Americans 18 and older read on average 17 books each year. 19% say they don’t read any books at all. Only 5% say they read more than 50.
2. Fewer Americans are reading books now than in 1978.
3. 64% of respondents said they find the books they read from recommendations from family members, friends, or co-workers.
4. The average reader of e-books read 24 books (the mean number) in the past 12 months; the average non-e-book consumer read an average of 15.

Building an Audience

I also want to recommend this week’s post by Kris Rusch on Audience. She has a number of interesting things to say about the dream of being a best seller and building an audience. The money quote comes as she refers to a post by Tracy Hickman:

“The point here is that you do not have to feel as though you are in competition with the entire world. You don’t NEED the entire world to be a successful writer. What you need is an audience—just enough of an audience, mind you—who reads your words, is changed by them and wants to come back for more.”

An audience. More importantly, an audience that reads and “is changed by” your words. Not an audience who loves them, not even an audience who likes them. An audience who is changed by them, and because of that experience, “wants to come back for more.”

Simple. Important. Usually forgotten.

She talks about lots more. Read the whole thing.

My thoughts?

First, there’s no need for authors or readers to worry about wading through ”crap.”

According to Pew, readers only read 15 or 24 books a year on average.  That’s not a lot of books.

More importantly, it takes about 3 seconds to get a lead for a good book.  You hear something from a friend or family member, you look at the USA Today best sellers list, you browse a few books at a store or online, you read a blog and suddenly you’ve found a book. 

Readers fill up their book reading slots much more quickly than they can ever empty them.  That’s why we all have years of reading in our queues.

It doesn’t matter that there are millions of other books out there, a good majority of which might have been written by monkeys. There’s no need for authors to worry that readers will have to wade through a mountain of crap to find a good book. They don’t need to because they have leads for good books coming out their ears.

Second, people purchase books that friends, family, and co-workers love.

Which means that when you deliver a great experience to one person, it’s going to ripple out. It’s probably not going to be linear. It’s probably going to ripple out like viruses do into different population pockets. Or seeds do into different environments. It will run through one pocket, make a jump to one or more others, or it may not jump at all. Some pockets are big, some are small.

The way to keep a virus going is to release it in a lot of places where it’s likely to thrive or in places that a lot of people travel through. And as Kris points out, writing is all about repeat business–making sure you have a stream of good product (something I hope to rectify with my own writing this year).

Bottom line: the best way to build your writing business is to simply write the best book you can, and keep them coming.

Third, the market is BIG. 

If you read Rusch’s and Hickman’s articles, you’ll see that even the mega sellers only reach a fraction of those who read. This is reinforced by the statement made by Thomas McCormack, former CEO of St. Martin’s that you can read here. So just because 100,000 people read one book doesn’t mean 100,000 others won’t read mine.  

Moreover, e-books and online shopping are broadening distribution. Brick and mortar stores only have so many slots for books. Every 8-12 weeks they rotate the old books out (like 12 weeks is old) and replace them with the new ones, unless, of course, your book is selling very well and gets “modeled” at the store.  The point is: when you only display a few books at a time, those books will get bigger sales numbers. This happens because there isn’t anything else to purchase.

But you don’t have that limitation with e-books and online shopping. Nothing rotates out of the store. Sure, things rotate on and off the best seller lists. But the books are always there. With an ever growing selection, there won’t be as many mega sellers.  Publishers Weekly discusses this trend in their 2011 Facts & Figures articles, which list best-seller numbers (make sure you click through to the Trade Paperback article as well). The same thing has happened with TV station viewership with the explosion of channels, DVDs, and online streaming. Same thing happened with music.

What this means is each author has a better chance of getting his or her books to those who will love them. We’ll still have best-sellers. But we’ll also have a lot more medium sellers as well. And that’s great for authors everywhere.

The folks at Mediabistro.com reported the American Association of Publishers sales for December 2011 and YTD: “The December report represents data provided by 77 publishers and only sales of the participants are reported. NOTE: All numbers have been rounded to one decimal point and may not add up to 100%”

The key takeaway, I think, is that ebooks will become THE largest book trade category in 2012.

Sales only need to grow 33% to surpass that of adult hardcovers.  See the chart below. They already dwarf adult mass market, which took a HUGE hit last year. Sales can’t keep growing at more than 100% year after year. They must eventually slow down.  But, given projections, it’s not going to be hard to make 33%. According to the estimates of a Barclays Bank analyst (link below), Amazon will sell an estimated 35 million Kindles and Kindlefires next year. Each owner would only have to purchase $10 worth of books in the year for the segment to grow 33%. And that doesn’t count the sales for the Nook, iphones, ipads, or any other ereaders out there.  

This year ebooks become king of the heap.

Media Bistro report of AAP numbers: http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/mass-market-paperback-sales-down-nearly-41-in-december_b47625   

Barclays analyst project sales of 35 million Kindles and Kindlefires in 2012: http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2012/02/23/amazon-barclays-cuts-kindle-kindle-fire-estimates/ 

 

Author Jim C. Hines recently posted a thoughtful blog about connections between Writers of the Future and Scientology. There are a number of folks who have issues with Hubbard’s metaphysical claims and the church he started. Some folks claim that supporting Writers of the Future (WOTF) in any way supports the Church of Scientology (CoS) and the abuse of the young, the innocent, those who are vulnerable, and the stupid.

I won a first prize in the Writers of the Future. I received $2,000 cash for the prize and subsequent publication. I also recieved a paid trip to Cocoa Beach, Florida to workshop with the other winners and pro writers. I tell new writers to submit to the contest all the time. I do not feel I’m supporting any wickedness. Let me walk you through this. You tell me if I’m killing any puppies.

A. What underlies the continued operation of WOTF?

1. Hubbard wanted it (I don’t know why, although he states it was to help new sff authors and illustrators).
2. The folks who run it have a very HIGH esteem of Hubbard and so have huge motivation to make it successful.
3. A trust was set aside, although without looking at the books we can’t know exactly if it’s an independent thing or if money is being funneled from other CoS holdings.  You do not pay many to enter the contest, so all of the money to run the contest and pay prizes etc. comes from this trust, sales of the WOTF anthologies, and perhaps other CoS holdings.
4. It’s used for positsive PR for Hubbard’s brand name.
5. The judges, who don’t give a fig about CoS, want to help new writers.

B. What are the effects of the contest?

1. No documented writer conversions to CoS.
2. No documented WOTF anthology conversions of young skulls full of mush to CoS. Someone please show me some evidence of the WOTF antho being a gateway to anything, despite the rumored statements of some Scientologists someone’s uncle overheard.
3. No documented donations to CoS that I know of.
4. New writers get paid a whole bunch of money, get to network, and receive instruction from pros for a week.
5. The winners, on average, think better of Hubbard, as do their friends and family.
6. Most winners report it was a great experience and encourage other new writers to submit.
7. WOTF sells some anthologies and makes a little bit of cash to offset expenses. I can’t imagine they’re ever in the black, are they?
8. WOTF tracks winners and uses those who have done well as PR shiny for . . . WOTF and the Hubbard brand name.

I was a first place winner. I had a marvelous time. This was the one held in Cocoa Beach, Florida. One night I needed to go to a convenience store to get something (tooth paste?). One of the WOTF folks drove me there. A nice woman. It was raining. It was just the two of us in the SUV.

I’m a VERY CURIOUS guy. I’ve read most of DIANETICS. I stopped by a Scientology place in Seattle to chat. I like hearing people talk about their faiths, about their lives, about whatever. If you spend any amount of time with me, you will tell me your life story. You will. It just happens.

I tried my dangest to get something out of that woman, but she was as tight as a clam sealed in four feet of concrete.

Nobody talked Scientology. Everyone involved went out of their way to avoid it. End of story. I’ve talked to many other winners. They report the same.

On the other hand, they did have a PR guy there.

Mr. PR intereviewed us about the contest and Hubbard’s works and took footage. Our one-on-one interviews were on camera. We took still photos. He asked us in our acceptance speeches to thank Hubbard by name.

He was a PR guy.

It was very clear his job was to generate PR content for WOTF and Hubbard. How do I KNOW this? Because his questions all centered around WOTF and/or Hubbard. But never CoS.

Some of the winners did not like his solicitation for a mention of Hubbard’s name. There was some reality show behind the scenes grumbling and scheming, and they did not mention Hubbard in their thanks at the awards event.

That’s fine, although it didn’t make much sense to me. Maybe they felt gratitude needs to be spontaneous, not asked for. And I can agree with them on that. At the same time, why would I take $2,000 cash for the prize and publication, and the paid hotel, and workshop, and airfare and then slap the folks who gave it to me? I was indeed grateful. So I mentioned Hubbard in my thanks (oh, look at how noble I am; somebody should saint me).

What did the contest do for me?

1. Gave me some cash.
2. Validated that maybe I had some chops. No, I wasn’t competing against pros. But I was competing against all those wanting to break in. I talked to Wolverton, who was a coordinating judge for many years and was the first reader, about the numbers of submissions they received. Hundreds upon hundreds each quarter. Huge boxes full. Were some drek? Of course. Who cares? Others weren’t. I won.
3. Planted an idea in me that maybe I could do this.
4. Gave me great connections with some pros and other authors.
5. Allowed me to tell people I won a big international award for my writing. A little PR for my own brand. Who doesn’t want to engage in a bit of puffery now and then (and so you see, Fred, I am a little fabulous, aren’t I . . . )?

So the contest, as far as I’m concerned, is a GREAT contest for new writers.

But am I supporting CoS? And is that a bad thing?

Every time I purchase a Kraft Foods or Nabisco product, I directly fund Phillip Morris tobacco company and their efforts to hook children on smoking abroad. Some of the tomatoes I purchase in Walmart and other grocery stores are tainted by slavery that occurs today in Florida and California’s central valley with migrant workers. Some of those tomatoes end up in various restaurants like Pizza Hut or Papa Murphy’s. Every bite of chocolate you eat funds slavery in the Ivory Coast, where the vast majority of cocoa beans come from. Not a few slavers here and there, but widespread slavery and abuse. There are many situations like this.

What do you do when you like a product or service, but don’t necessarily want to lend aid to an affiliated cause?

In many situations, I don’t do much.

Alas, there goes my sainthood.

I admit that I should and should probably think more about this.  At the same time, with regards to CoS, I don’t know that it is a wicked and exploitative organization.

I’ve seen nothing that suggests they’re into crime. Or systemic abuse. Or fraud. Or that they have a vendetta against dumb people. I don’t share one iota of their faith in Hubbard or his metaphysical teachings. But I do share other values and beliefs with them. Just as I do with Catholics, Muslims, Pagans, Athiests, Communists, and Realtors.

Besides, I never did PR for them. I’ve always said I DISAGREED with their theology, which is negative PR, if you think about it. Furthermore, I’m fairly confident the contest DOES NOT funnel large amounts of money to CoS.

What can they be making after taking out the expenses of the award week for all those authors, illustrators, judges, “luminaries,” etc. that they fly in and house, all in addition to the prize and publication monies? I’m confident they make nothing at all, but actually lose money each year.

So the net net is that they get some PR for WOTF in the SFF community and some for Hubbard’s name. That’s it. That’s what I’m giving them.

But I don’t see any documented stories of that leading to any donations or conversions to CoS. Or positive PR for CoS. Which, again, I’m still not convinced is a systemically exploitative and wicked organization.

But even if it were, am I really supporting CoS when I promote WOTF?

I don’t think so. I’m not giving them cash. I’m not giving them any positive PR. It seems to me purchasing one bag of Oreos or a Lindt chocolate bar does more harm than this ever could.

I feel so much better now. I am saving the puppies.

Of course, if you disagree, please post a comment. If you have reliable documentation, not hearsay and tabloid clamor, that can add to the discussion, feel free to share it. I’m all for good data. And if you see issues with my logic, share that as well. But no wild-eyed, Chicken Little, my mother was eaten by CoS aliens rants please.

As for that Twix I just ate. . .

(sigh)

EDIT 1: I just learned the Phillip Morris spun Nabisco and Kraft off in 2007.  So that frees up my Oreo conscience, but the principle remains.

EDIT 2: Okay, so I just learned that the CoS planned and authorized crimes in Operation Snow White. What to make of that? Comments? Talk about your corporate espionage. I know there are governments and organizations around the world and in the US that engage in that all the time. But this is the first I’ve seen from a “church.”

EDIT 3: Read through the links on this post by Deirdre Saoirse Moen where she explains why she no longer supports the WOTF contest. Primarily, she just can’t stand some of the CoS practices.

Of note is the link to the court report by the Village Voice at the Debbie Cook hearing. One question I have is why all those leaders were in the Hole to begin with? Was it some routine church program? Yeah, it sounds awful, but the military puts the SEALs and Special Forces through awful things. So I’m not clear on all of that.  And why haven’t more come out to complain? The unlawful detainment aspect of these allegations is disturbing. But are they really doing this? Are these isolated experiences, or SOP? I don’t know.

There’s another one farther down that lists alleged harassment of folks posting some CoS theology documents on the internet.  I sampled the documents linked to there. Most of those are just copyright violation letters. SOP for anyone trying to protect copyright.

Looking at Operation Snow White, the Debbie Cook hearing, and the copyright violation stuff, it’s becoming fairly clear that the CoS has taken an extremely aggressive approach against some of those who speak out against them (maybe it’s over the top) and a similar approach with protecting their materials. Although I think they’ve lost the battle about their materials on the internet. 

Instead of trying to win public opinion with the truth, it seems in some cases they’ve instead attempted through various methods to try to silence detractors.

Anyone have any more links to substantive material?

EDIT 4: Here’s a letter from Joni Labaqui, a Scientologist and the person who runs the whole WOTF shooting match, to Frank Wu, who was an illustrator winner, and had posted some stuff about WOTF and CoS here: http://www.frankwu.com/illo.html (I found the letter at the bottom).

Dear Frank,

Hi! It’s Joni Labaqui here. Haven’t seen you since you blew me off at LA Con a few years ago and now I know why. I didn’t understand why you didn’t want to talk to me for very long. I loved your write-up on your site about the contest until you got into talking about Scientology. I know what you mean about feeling hurt when people put down your church. I happen to think you are NOT stupid because you are a Christian. I have many Christian friends and I respect their beliefs and even fight for them. But then you get into my religion on your site and putting out falsehoods, then I realized you didn’t have all of the info. We don’t sue people for bad mouthing our religion. The Church sues when there is slander and liable of considerable magnitude involved. Lets use an analogy here – lets say someone accused you of raping the girl next door, but you didn’t do it. Would you be upset? Lets say the parents then sued you or had you put in jail or both. Would you be upset? Would you hire an attorney? Gee, you’d be involved in a legal suit wouldn’t you? What if the father of the girl made sure you were lied about in the newspapers and on TV and he tried or succeeded in ruining your reputation? How would you feel? On top of that, lets say what really happened is you simply talked to the girl and were trying to help her and she turned around and accused you. How would you feel? And how about all those people who love to gossip? (I personally hate people who gossip as all they are doing is hurting others and they are basically low-life losers – lots of people fit into this category, I’m afraid). How would you feel?

You were actually wrong in that Scientology pays for the writers and illustrators awards. The Hubbard estate (which is not the church) makes so much money on royalties from his hundreds of published fiction it would make your head spin. You were right about the fact that every one of us who works at Author Services is a Scientologist, but the judges of the contest are not. They share the same goal that Mr. Hubbard did in starting and paying for this contest – to help the new guy, just like yourself back then when you won. So I don’t understand, a nice person like you has to even bring up the subject in your write-up. You think we are interested in “converting” any of you winners just because we have you tour the Life Exhibition? The answer from the horses mouth is NO. We are simply showing you more about his life and works so that you have the facts about the other part of his life, not the bullshit and lies that has been put out by vested interests of multi-billion dollar drug companies and the psychs that can’t stand us. Have you received tons of unwanted, unsolicited mail? The answer is no. Trust me, if we wanted to convert you, you would sure know it. Believe it or not, Mr. Hubbard in founding this contest just wanted you guys to be seen and heard because he knew how hard it is to get started. Period. Its not about Scientology. That is the simplicity of this contest. Anyone reading anything else into it has their own issues and I feel sorry for them. I guess maybe you ran into someone bad mouthing us and you listened to them. If someone badmouthed you – to this day – I wouldn’t buy it. I’d tell them to take a hike. Do you know why? Because I know you are a good person. I met you, I shared some of that joy you experienced when you won, and I was truely happy for you because I like people being happy, winning in life and doing well and winning this contest. I still like you, but I’m a bit disappointed that you felt compeled to write what you did. I don’t get it. I personally put in hundreds of hours of work to help give you the event that you won your award at, so how do you think I feel?

I hope to hear from you. Best, Joni