Novel ideas
If you want to write a story, here are eight basic steps to follow.
To get started you need to have a setting. It can be a physical or something based on time – past, present or future. Next, decide on the voice of your story. Are you writing this story in first-person or third-person or will there be several narratives?
Now conjure up your character or characters. They must be pertinent to the plot. Yes, the plot – it consists of the events in your story. You will have an introduction, a building up of excitement, a climax and the denouement.
But life is never that simple, is it? If everything were smooth sailing, it can get a bit boring. So, introduce a conflict, a challenge. This will hold the reader’s attention.
There are two other aspects that must be thought through. The first is the theme or the central argument. Why have you written this story? What is your belief, your idea, your insight? The second is the tone of your story. Tone is expressed by your choice of words, imagery, description and so on. Your style of writing also contributes to the tone. Concentrate on sentence structure, dialogues, similes, metaphors and so on.
Now that you are clued on to the basics of writing a story, try your hand at this fill in the blanks.