Developing Story Ideas pt.2
So hopefully you liked the whole ‘make my whole wall a white board’ idea and did it yourself.
Naw, it’s easy…and cheap. Home Depot or Lowes. $11-$15. One single wall panel for a shower (white) and a few screws and you’re good to go. Throw up some wood trim and you have yourself a very nice whiteboard…all…across…your…wall.
Now that you have that amazing board and your first set of ideas connected, you may be wondering what I do next to develop my story ideas.
I give my notes depth. Think about it. We have the event, the time, place, even the why. Don’t you want readers to experience the flavor of your world? Well, what brings that out (at least in my mind) is the background…the depth of each person, place and event connected.
King Robert III for example, is a primary character throughout my stories. He’s not married, has no heir and works with the Evolu as much as with his own people. Why? He’s hundreds of years old? How can that be? Well, if you go through my world journals, you would know that I have his life and genealogy mapped out across 1507 years. Every King, Queen, child, attempt on their lives, traitor, bastard, barmaid, revolt, treaty and so much more. The lives they lived, the relationships they established, the struggles the overcame…and why? One, because I’m a loon. But two, because all of that history is what make King Robert III who he is. It defines the decisions he makes each and every day.
In the end, when you create the history and develop your ideas in full, you don’t have to guess what the characters would in any given situation. No. You just set the scene and the interactions become so clear. It’s almost as if they write their parts for you. I know exactly what King Robert will do, what he will say, what motivates him and why the people of Andilain love and adore him.
Do you know why Demoni Vankil was written before Chronicles of a Hero vol. 1?
…because I needed the history of the Dark Lord solidified. I needed to pull specific pieces into the main storyline which would define the conflicts between the master of evil and Wendell. It had to be written first, …even though the sidestep took 9 weeks away from writing the main novel. Luckily Höbin was there to help me.
So take the time to develop depth in your story ideas.
