Today I will share with you a way to turn an idea into a story.
From a good idea to the completion of a wonderful novel, what we need to do is to find a reasonable preset, make an outline with what we usually say, and let the characters and plots revolve around this stalk.
Shirley Ellis wrote in Start Writing! Fictitious literary creation theory: the beginning of short stories and novels, I call it "seed concept" It can be an image, a concept, an experience, no matter how insignificant, it can give full play to your imagination, and then turn this idea into a complete, flesh-and-blood story.
You must rethink this seed idea: who is this person? Where did he come from? Where is he going? What happened on the road? What will happen next? Who else in his world?
Imagine the characters and draw possible scenes, because you are trying to develop this seed idea into a new exciting story.
Next exercise:
First, choose three "seed ideas". What you hear, see and experience can be anything, as long as you think it can be the starting point of a character or a conflict in the novel. These seed ideas can be very short, but they should be clear and concrete, not vague and abstract.
The seed idea should be like this:
A woman said to the other end of the phone, "It's no use doing anything now, it's over, it's over." I'm leaving here tonight. "
An old man sat on an elevated railing, shaking his body back and forth and talking to himself. ...
Someone murdered you in your dreams. ...
Every sentence above helps to expand your imagination.
Do you have a seed idea?
Now choose one you are most interested in, spend 15 minutes or so, and write a story in the form of a draft or notes. Write as much as possible in this 15 minute. Who is the protagonist? Where does the story take place? What time? What is conflict? Write down what happened. Don't worry about writing well at this time, just write as much as possible. Remember, at this stage, you're not writing a story, you're just drafting it, and you just write everything you can think of in 15 minutes.
Then, choose one of the remaining two seed ideas and integrate it into the already written story. It's like compressing it and letting the two use each other. In order to do this, these two seed ideas and the developing storyline may need to be changed.
According to the seed idea I see, I will think: which one is suitable for combining into a story?
Sometimes just relying on these couples is enough to start a complete story. But more often, it can't be formed. At this time, I will ask myself two questions:
1. What do these roles need?
2. What will go wrong?
Let's look at the combination of these items and choose the combination point that you are most interested in.
For example, the movie July and An Sheng.
The first seed idea: two girls grew up together, formed a friendship, and fell in love with the same man when they grew up.
The second seed idea: one girl lives in a small town, guarding her own place, and the years are quiet, while the other girl wanders around and sees the world.
These two ideas interweave with each other to form an interesting story. Some people define this writing as a main line and a sub-line, which cross each other, are full of characters and have wonderful plots.
Imagine a situation first, imagine a character in this situation, and then think about what this character wants to accomplish. He must be trying to do something, because novels always revolve around what the characters want to achieve. Now ask yourself: what kind of problems will this situation lead to? The novel is a story about the plot going wrong.
About coincidence, there are three points that need special attention:
Coincidence should happen as soon as possible, and it is best to control the first two chapters.
Try to be real and natural.
There should be no other coincidences in the story. One is enough.
Even with the idea of seeds, sometimes our brains are blank. We know how to start a novel, but we don't know how to end it. Or know how to start and end, but don't know how to enrich the middle content; It may also be clear about the whole basic framework, but vague about the specific details.
If the reason why the characters do things is far-fetched-just because the plot needs it, then readers will feel bored. All stories are actually signed between readers and authors. Readers demand: "Give me a convincing world." And personas are the main body of this virtual world. Therefore, if the motives of the characters are not credible, then the rest of the story is also unconvincing, and the story will rot in the pit in an instant.
Sometimes, we have to abandon the outline. Since two seed ideas can't collide into a story, it's meaningless.
Most of the time, we hit a wall. The only thing we can do at this time is to start over, just like a jigsaw puzzle. We have to try many times to find a perfect ending.
Sometimes we are faced with two choices: first, the characters don't go as planned, which shows that the characters are vivid and energetic, so let them develop in their favorite direction, and the new plot should try to meet their needs.
Secondly, if the character's behavior doesn't indicate which direction the plot should go, then you need to add some exciting factors and read the whole novel-find out where the plot you are really interested in? Discard all descriptions after that scene and build a new story on the existing one.
Finally, it should be noted that all writing methods only provide a recipe, so it is very important to practice with reference to it and maintain a strong interest in practice.
Don't be bound by any writing rules before your curiosity arrives. Premature constraints make us like toddlers, unable to walk. Although we write, we will find ways to solve problems in our writing practice, so that we will always be on the road of writing with great interest.
Xie Zuo mi Ji grocery