Developing Ideas into Stories | Writers Start Here

What about for the short film format?

Your videos are so creative!! 😮

The most typical avenue I take for developing a story is to start with a theme...

some of my most crucial plot points came from very silly ideas

like i once had an idea for a villain group named after wine brands and it somehow led me to implementing the greek humorism theory as an actual in-universe concept

i've been working on my world for years and this idea came to existance last month

crazier story than that?... The figures in charge of reality hire a psychopathic assassin with a glass eye to kill "Santa". To do this, the assassin steals all the children's teeth from the toothfairy. The granddaughter of Death and the god of hangovers are hot on the assassins trail to try and stop him, and Death lays down his scythe and does Santa's job to keep children believing so that the sun will rise. Meanwhile wizards are dealing with fairies and gnomes and trying to get a bath working. And this all takes place on a world held up by four elephants on the back of a giant turtle swimming through space.
-The Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett

Wow. This somewhat mirrors a blog post I wrote recently entitled "Pantser-friendly Story Planning"

And I also might add motivation. As a writer myself I struggle with motivation to finish projects, let alone writing the, anymore

Another excellent video!
(But I'd turn down the music background and chose non-vocals - it sometimes sounded like someone was singing in the next room.)

I have no problem originating ideas, & being a nay-sayer, can immediately see the issues/problems with all these ideas (as far as conflict w/in the story goes). But...
I have a few questions? First, what is a High Story? (Cheech & Chong? Fear & Loathing in L.V.?) I'm serious here, but I'm sure someone can help me out. 2d, are you only concerned with SFF? I also have to admit that I don't really understand Speculative Fiction tag. Is this just fantasy in a contemporary setting? Why not Magic(al) Realism? Alternate History? Isn't all fiction speculative?
One of my favorite books in Mann's Magic Mountain. It has no real plot, just a lot of thought & conversation.
My first novel was about a spy. But as in Knut Hamsun's Hunger focused on a very poor student, Hamsun never wrote about the times the student did come into money, just those periods when he was struggling. In my novel, there were no high intensity scenes that are common in the spy genre, just about the stress of having to live undercover (for years) & his growing unease with securing & then using his assets (other people) as mere tools. My current project is about a fictional city. It starts with three characters (with very different backgrounds & experiences) & then expands as they come into contact with other people in that city. There will be minor plot points, but no overarching PLOT, since the main focus of the story is to show that the Protagonist of the work is the city itself & how it has shaped all those who live within it.
Overall, I like your videos, but I feel like I am not your target audience. Either way, keep up the good work & I wish you well.

My own story definitely leans towards being character-focused, but I try my best to make sure the world and plot are also up to snuff. Each chapter can almost be viewed episodically, with smaller, localized plots in the forefront while the big overarching plot slowly builds in the background via subtler details adding up to make a true threat. Front and center however are the characters themselves and how each plot both small and large affects their growth.

One of the things that stands out a bit is that from the beginning, the party consists of 6 "main characters", but instead of everyone already knowing each other OR being complete strangers, it's somewhere in the middle by having 3 pairs who come together into a single unit for a big mission, so each member is already familiar with one other person, but not the other four yet. As the story progresses, each member of the team gets a handful of chapters where they get to be the main focus, and a few more where they get secondary focus, while generally taking a backseat for the rest, but never to the point of irrelevancy. As a rule of thumb, I try to make sure every member of the core 6 has at least one notable moment per chapter.

By the end of the second act however, this party of adventurers basically doubles to 12 members (14 if you include sentient weapons), but every one of them brings something unique to the table, and each pair between them has something in common to bond over, ranging from shared interests to helping each other overcome similar traumas. These secondary members of the team don't get as much focus as the core 6 (mainly because they have inherently less screen time due to not being present from the start), but they too still get their moments in the spotlight.


Rough synopsis of the characters include:

A) A cynical knight whose grandfather, a legendary hero of the past, had his reputation destroyed due to false rumors spread by the ignorant and inconsiderate masses. Swearing to prove his exploits possible by surpassing them herself, she vows to defeat one of every kind of dragon in the world. A daunting task made feasible only thanks to a magical sentient sword she tracked down that grants her mastery over the power of ice.

B) A daughter of one of the world's richest families who was neglected due to her low intelligence. Upon learning of the terrible crimes her family committed to attain their vast wealth, she discards their name entirely and begins a new life of her own, honing her body to athletic perfection to make up for her lack of raw smarts. Having been a childhood friend of character A, when she sees how jaded the now-adult A has become in her single-minded pursuit of her goal, B makes it a personal mission of her own to help bring the smile back to A's face.

C) The princess of a downtrodden kingdom ruled by fear of harsh laws. When she develops a love that would be forbidden by the laws of this land, she abandons the kingdom and essentially elopes. However, she later comes to learn that the people she thought were her parents were not who they claimed to be, leading her back to her old home where she uncovers a decades-long conspiracy with grave stakes.

D) A simple botanist whose eerily polite and mild-mannered nature borders upon being entirely lifeless, but after neglecting to take her usual dose of a secret medication, her personality does a complete 180, revealing the psychopathic tendencies of her true, unhinged self. Even so, it's possible that she still cares about those close to her, especially character C. (wink wink nudge nudge)

E) A doctor whose identity is shrouded, both figuratively in mystery and literally by full plague doctor attire. Having been horribly scarred by an incident where many in her home village were slaughtered (including her parents), she refuses to remove her mask under any circumstances. Despite this, she remains professional and optimistic, treating the sick and injured in hopes of preserving as much innocent life as possible.

F) A timid assassin who spent most of her life scrounging for survival as an urchin after being labeled as a demon child due to having an unnatural eye color (her mother dying in child birth didn't help her case either). After a prank she pulled for attention goes horribly wrong and results in the village being wiped out by invaders, she attempts to atone by avenging them but is captured and tortured by having her tongue cut out. Barely escaping and on the brink of death, she is saved by character E, and devotes her now-silent life to protecting her savior.

G) An amnestic archer who can't remember a thing from before falling head first out of a mysterious portal. Being innately selfless however, he prioritizes the troubles of others before his own, and finds himself forging a new identity molded by those who support him, and even falling in love. However, it's only a matter of time before his past is inevitably uncovered and invades his new life in tragic manner.

H) The daughter of a secret affair between the prince of an underwater kingdom and a shape shifter from the surface who is revealed to be character C's real mother as well, making C and H long-lost half-sisters. When her existence is discovered, H is banished from her home kingdom for being seen as an "abomination" and decides to take advantage of her newfound freedom by travelling the world with the party.

I) The transgender son of a captain in a warrior monastery who was forced to join their ranks to learn "discipline". After single-handedly defeating a werewolf that had been terrorizing the city, he had hoped that people would treat him and his identity with respect, but instead of respecting him as a person, they only showed respect of his fighting capability, causing him to distance himself from everyone. When the party shows up and are the first people in his life to not dismiss his feelings on the matter, he realizes that the kind of people he's looking for do exist, just not where he is, and decides to leave with them.

J) A dancer who travels the world, performing shows. Upon meeting the party, she and character G begin to develop feelings for each other, but before love can bloom, she's kidnapped and killed while the party is unable to rescue her in time, devastating G. Months later however, an unrelated necromancer begins amassing an undead army in the same area, and one of the skeletal soldiers summoned is none other than J. Vowing not to lose her again, G and the others devise a plan to free J from the necromancer's control before defeating them. Afterwards, J's body is nothing more than a walking pile of bones, but so long as her soul is intact that won't stop her, and she joins the party.

K) The child of a god who shed her demi-divinity to become mortal. The reason she gives for this is because she has ambition and wants to earn a more powerful domain of her own through hard work instead of simply inheriting her father's, but in truth, it's because she wishes to be able to stand by his side rather than taking his place, and is too prideful to admit her real reasons. Also she has a big iron golem as a bodyguard/assistant, so that's cool, he's there too.

L) The older brother of character B, who remained behind with their corrupt family. Although loyal to his parents, to the point of occasionally doing their dirty work, he has a kind and considerate nature, doing good deeds whenever possible to make up for the bad ones he's forced into, as well as trying to rebuild bridges between B and the rest of the family. He also has an intense fear of water due to nearly drowning as a child, which sometimes interferes with the crush he develops on the water-loving character H.

And these are just the main cast! Various other characters throughout the story are given their own in-depth motivations, albeit usually limited to the scope of the chapter they show up in.

Nice guy in video which I don't know your name but I already like you and followed your channel. I just want to say read a wizard of earthsea, it has great character, great world building and story and character arc, which I wanted to share with you because you taught me a thing or two

I never really thought about the theme of my stor(ies) for a few years until I started watching videos like this. Never chose the theme, it just kind of happened, and it seems I'm REALLY interested in the concept of found-families and not fitting in/dealing with racism (basically).

I have recently started writing a couple months ago but I still can't write a good story on the first try, which is obviously to be expected. I do have a whiteboard for ideas and plot points but I mainly just write and write with close to no plan which makes it very messy and I have to rewrite the manuscript all over again to be able to add foreshadowing, character development and stuff like that. Have any tips or should I keep doing it 'my way'?

I'm not developing a book, but rather a story driven RPG, where willpower is an in game stat that could improve healing and status condition resistance/potency. But then I thought, what if willpower had an actual effect in universe? My goal for the main cast of 8 is that no one is alike, no two characters have a similar background: A Half-cyborg, a trapped soul, a manifestation of "the darkness" gone rouge, etc. These unlikely heros don't really like each other, but need each other because they couldn't make through harsh worlds without each other. Over the course of the story they gain learn to appreciate one another and that "they might have been wrong", and that comradery brews even more willpower between everyone. By the end of the game (in the non-100% ending) you defeat the main villain, who's ultimate downfall is that they don't humble themselves, and might have been wrong.

I actually got inspiration from one of my favorite YT artists. One of their ideas in particular, using colors for power levels and shaped creatures. A basic idea that can go a number of directions.

A vampire cowboy in the midst of a zombie apocalypse (Walking Dead style).

I want to write a story that combines my love of BattleTech with my love of geese, but I'm struggling to really bring those two ideas together in a non-insane way. lol

My go to way of writing is: write a basic version of every major moment in the story, and then figure everything else the fuck out later.

I have an ever-growing list of "story ideas" that I shamelessly steal from real-life scenarios/other stories I find really interesting. Every time I think of an idea, I think, "Where can I fit this one...?" Sometimes it's in a story I have already (mostly with worldbuilding stuff), but most of the time I just throw it onto the list and let it simmer until I have time for a new project.
In the short term, it does work; I probably have enough seeds for 6-8 books sitting in that document. In the long term... we'll have to wait and see lol.
I like the "braindump" idea. That's going to be very helpful for generating rough plots quickly, I think.

So, what's a high story. I've never heard of that genre before. When I looked it up all I found was 2 linkedin pages.

Anyone else get story or character ideas from dreams?

I create writing challenges and then write around them, it forces me to be more creative. My current rules are: fire and barrier magic have to exist, the main character must focus on barriers(I call it fencing), the main character must be replaced at some point but not leave people feeling frustrated.

The reason I came up with these rules is when people were complaining about (rightfully so) about all legacy characters being replaced, and I played a mage in the tabletop game Shadowrun who used only healing and barriers but felt limited in what barriers were allowed to do mechanically.

Some of my writing ideas come from what I'm writing. Some came from some of my favorite book series. One chapter and another book were inspired by two books I absolutely hate. But mostly, I just start writing the story and follow it along.

I was raised reading Orson Scott Card books over and over again. Some I can repeat mostly word for word. I read a lot of authors but his are my favorite because of their re-readability

One of inspirations I got for a story was from the movie Tolkien when him and one of his friends are talking about ideas for stories and he says something and she suggests a story about a princess with what he said as her name about a princess who was bored with her life until he says that he thought that what he said said worked better as a name of a place.

I liked the idea of a princess who was bored with her life and went with the idea that she was bored because her father was limiting what she could learn despite the fact that she’s the heir to the kingdom. Thus started work on the runway princess.

The medicss diary

I usually start a story with an image that intrigues me. A lot of them don't go anywhere, but I file them away in case I need them again. A hero searching a room of an abandoned manor is startled when an ogress bursts through the door waving an axe. He chides her for nearly giving him a heart attack, which is not what a wife is supposed to do to her husband.
Recently I had a dream about walking through a desert when a huge monster attacked me. When I squeezed its neck it collapsed into a pile of rats and mice. When I woke up I thought about who would create a spell to do that kind of thing, and why.
The rest of the story is building from there. It's coming together surprisingly well. When I realized that the mayor of the town is a noble person willing to make whatever sacrifices are needed to save his town, I knew he was the one who was going to get everyone killed if the heroes didn't defeat him.

My inspiration for my newest tale comes from an dream. I was being yelled at by my writing professor because “abused prince who was cast out by his father joins a gang and gets therapy” is supposedly a cliche, and that I should have added romance. I yelled back that the entire point of the story was that he didn’t get with anyone.

I decided to use that, but twist it.

This gave me a whole ton of motivation and inspiration to write my story! Thank you so much!

sir... i have a finished story in my head, with names and plot and even its own world building. i have plans for detailed character development. i have them all.

BUT I CAN'T WRITE IT INTO WORDS AND SENTENCES 😭😭😭 can't i just magic them into writing???

So like, the story ive been developing in my head started off with a character whose a human demon hybrid, obviously its an action/fighting story, and there is stuff like angles, but my main problem is stuff like power scaling, and making it not just be abother Naruto amd black clover, ie, weak character who has a dark power in him, the main character, alex kraz, i havent found out how to perfect it, but bassicly theres another being in him thats also him if that makes sense, kioshen kio, i cant decide if i want "kioshen" to be like a person that is known as a very evil destructive being, i know that kioshen would be part of like, a dead race or whatever, bassicly like a cousin of the demons but much much older, and i cant decide if i want alex to be a reincarnation or if i want it to be like, kioshen for some locked his powers and memories away and became alex kraz

I just start writing and see what happens from there

I'm currently writing a story where Humanity was born out of a fairytail, and so where other fairytail creatures like werewolves and fairies, but there was an inevitable darkness consuming them, and humanities hope, wisdom, passion and resourcefulness led them to master magic, and beat back the forces of evil. But humanity grew complacent and forgot these powers, and when the darkness returns, who will stop it this time?

Hiya! I'm not a real writer, I'm more of a person who writes on occasion for fun, but this is how I write:
I like the serial format. Maybe this is my short attention span, maybe it's because that's how most online writing or fanfic sites work, I don't know but I prefer to live in the present than the future. Anyway, with this style of writing, you don't really go through a lot of drafts, just some simple revisions.
I know it's not for everybody, I'm just one of those mfs who likes to spitball my stories and gain inspiration along the way. Can't write with only one idea, but often times, one's all I have! One's enough for a start, though, and then I can add to it when I think of more.

The starts that I won't/can't finish never see the light of day lol. Seeing the light of day is when the commitment for it starts.

I am a writer in a sense that I would tell a story visually and/or more immersive but I haven't started. My writing way is usually breaking down philosophies and playing that out with real people I know then putting them in fantasy scenarios like what if a rocket were to fall and suddenly my loved ones have different powers when it hit us so we try to find a way to remove it but we find there is no other way and we have to live with it. Something like this. I have been trying to write stories visually and in immersive ways but I struggle with my mental health and with what works in the story.

I love the content in your videos, but that background music you use sends me into a RAGE. I think it brings back some strange flashbacks, I'm really not sure, but I can't watch your videos bc of it :'(

Thanks for the advice. I’ve never written a book before, but have always wanted to. I finally have an idea that I might build off of, but I’m almost afraid to try… I’m so new to this whole thing, but reading has always inspired me.