No one likes formulaic writing. It’s a bad.
It’s what is the lowest form of television is.
It’s been there done that.
Yes.
But I’m not talking about those formulas. All stories are a formula. Some people break them down into acts. Some just say, beginning, middle, end. But I’m talking about asking yourself 3 questions to get your story started. From there, you can cut your own path . . .
- What has disrupted your character’s normal routine?
Do they always get to work on time, but today the alarm didn’t go off? Going off this example it tells us your character is punctual and responsible. But now, they’re panicked. By defining what their normal day is like, you define them.
2. Why is this important on this day?
Is today their yearly review? Did they hope to catch their crush at the coffee shop around the corner? Here you’re defining their goal now that the chaos of their broken routine is happening. You are telling us why this is important. How are they going to try and achieve that goal?
3. Why will they fail to achieve their goal?
Is there a monster around the corner? Did they arrive to find the coffee shop missing? Create another layer of conflict. Feel free to repeat this as often as needed to keep your plot engaging.
Now I used the word ‘fail’ above, and that should be on your mind, but it doesn’t mean the story ends that way. These three questions serve as prompts to let the character you defined in #1 achieve #2 (or not) by resolving of succumbing to #3.
Need more advice you’re not sure you asked for about writing that story of yours? You’ve come to the right place, there are older tips, but new ones arrive every LAST WEDNESDAY of every month.
WELCOME TO THE JIREVERSE 