The Basics of Story Writing

I believe that everyone has a story to tell. The problem that is inherent to most aspiring authors is that they struggle with getting the story from their head to the page.

I have been writing for many years, but it wasn’t until November of 2013 that I published my first Non-fiction work. I then published my first fiction novel, ‘Kindled Love,’ in July of 2014, and its sequel "Sparks of Affection' in October 2014. I am now finishing writing four more novels, with several more planned for the future.

In the process of writing I learned many things that could be of help to someone else as they move that story to paper. Over the next few weeks I want to look at some of the hurdles that an aspiring author will have to face, and then overcome, if they are going to be successful.

So, let’s start with the basics; how do you write a book? It seems like a simple process; you just tell a story and the rest is history, right?

Not exactly. There are a few steps to consider.

The first thing you need are points A and Z. Where it starts and where it ends. In ‘Kindled Love,’ I had a basic outline in my mind, which was the A and Z of the story.

A is the start, where your book jumps off from: My main characters are William, a former Parson/Soldier wandering the West, and Anna, a widow that had been disfigured in the fire that killed her husband.

Z is the end result: The two characters conquer their problems that they faced and find true happiness.

The second thing you need is the B through Y, which is the story. It is everything that connects A to Z. It is the conflict, or struggles that the characters will go through in their journey from A to Z. In other words, what is happening in ‘Kindled Love’ that brings those two characters to their Z?

These can be physical, mental or a combination of the two. In ‘Kindled Love,’ William is struggling with bitterness toward his father because of the loss of his brother. In another scene, William is severely injured and is almost killed. Both of these things drive the story toward Z, and have an effect on his actions in the book.

How you write B through Y is up to you. My personal style is in ‘scenes.’ As I ponder my story, I see scenes in my mind and write them down. Some are only a few lines, some are a full page.

"Wait! We need eggs…” She yelled, too late as the door slammed behind the boy.
Hearing a low chuckle, she turned, exasperated; William was lying with his eyes closed, shaking with laughter.
“It’s not funny.”
She turned back to the bread, attempting to cut another slice, but was laughing by the time she touched the knife to the bread.

This was a sample scene (that I ended up not using) from ‘KindledLove.’ I had all of these various scenes in my head, each one a B, E, G, R, W… all little pieces of the story. Then I started filling in the gaps between the scenes, connecting those scenes into a cohesive story.

I try to write a timeline to have an idea where all of these scenes will fit. This keeps the story on the path that it will take, and makes it easier to see the ‘Big Picture.’

This is just a brief glimpse to start with. In future posts we will look at character and story development, setting, theme and other things that are important to making your story come to life.