How Does a Writer Build a Story?

by Sarah Sally Hamer @SarahSallyHamer

One Step at a Time!

Writing can be overwhelming. The blank page/screen in front of us can make us feel like a total failure. But writing is just like anything else—we can make it happen one step at a time and fill all the pages we need to.

Every story starts with a core premise. 

Romances are about a love story. Mysteries have just that—a mystery. Adventure stories are the same. So, what’s your premise? Can you tell your story in 100 words or less? Can you put all the elements in one little sentence? What you’ll end up with is a log line, aka, “The Elevator Pitch”. You’ll need to tell WHO your protagonist is, WHAT they want, WHY they want it, and WHY they can’t get it. Usually the main antagonist is next but, even if you don’t have one of those, something has to be standing in the way of your character. Last but not least is the resolution. HOW does your character solve the problem? 

Here's one from a movie you may recognize:

Dorothy Gayle, an unhappy teenager, intends to save Toto, her only link to her parents, at any cost. Running away doesn’t work and, even though she comes back home, a tornado sweeps the two of them into an unknown and sometimes very unpleasant world. Dorothy immediately makes a dangerous and vindictive enemy, but finds allies who help her learn how to stand up for herself. After a long journey of really tough education, she realizes that a happy home is inside her and all she has to do is click her heels together. 

One Process

This isn’t by far the best log line I’ve ever written, and in fact, it needs a lot of work. But can you see how it shows the emotion character arc and her journey? And, since this is a road map for you, fancy words are not as important. It’s not an easy task but it is worth every hair you have to pull out to make it happen.

Take that 100-word sentence and expand it into a paragraph for each element. This is where you can describe your protagonist, digging deeper into the goal, motivation, and conflict. Then, do the same for that main antagonist. Most of the time, this character is almost as important as the protagonist. (In the Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch is a pretty important character.) Most of the story’s conflict is wrapped around these two characters. Intensifying the conflict as it grows into resolution makes the story interesting.

At this point, you have a good start to your story, with a skeleton of what will happen. Expanding it again as you work with each element, adding important information, such as additional important characters, description, character traits, etc., makes a full page. Or, in other words, the basis of a one-page synopsis.

Now, the story is practically writing itself. Adding scenes and additional characters and all the other amazing things a story involves flows, mostly because of that very solid core of the basic premise. Of course, you may have to tweak it as the story evolves, but the “road map” helps to guide you to what the story is about.

It’s called the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? It really is.

A Different Process 

Of course, most people who write by the seat of their pants (pantsters) won’t have read this far. It’s usually the plotters of the world who utilize this technique. But it can really help, especially if you’re stuck.

Other types of writing work with this method too. Take this blog for instance. I started with a core premise: building a story. I knew the steps that needed to be there, so I added information around each one. Even non-fiction or self-help books can benefit from this idea. 

Bottom line

Don’t let the overwhelming side of writing get to you. Just take a breath and take a step.

What’s your core premise?

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How Does a Writer Build a Story? Tips from @SarahSallyHamer on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Sarah (Sally) Hamer, BS, MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories, whether through fiction or through memoir. Writing in many genres—mystery, science fiction, fantasy, romance, medieval history, non-fiction—she has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.

A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for almost twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at WWW.MARGIELAWSON.COM. Sally is a freelance editor and book coach at Touch Not the Cat Books, with many of her students and clients becoming successful, award-winning authors. 

You can find her at hamerse@bellsouth.net or WWW.SALLYHAMER.BLOGSPOT.COM

From Sally: I wish to express gratitude to the giants upon whose shoulders I stand and who taught me so much about the writing craft. I would list every one, if it were only possible.