Building a Story
© copyright 2001 Brenda Sanderson
Originally published in Freelance, September 2001 issue.
Where do you go to get your ideas?
It's a question asked of many writers. The answers are as varied as the stories and the writers' imaginations that produce them. Some writers can't answer the question, because inspiration can hit from the most unlikely source. Inspiration is a wonderful experience, but it doesn't always happen when we want it to. At times like that I go through a process of building a story idea.
To Begin With
Using a female character as an example (to save the untidy he/she), the writer needs to know what she looks like. What are her hair colour, her eye colour, and her style of dress? Does she wear conventional female clothes suitable for her age and era, or is her preference towards male attire or for something unusual? Why?
What age is she? What is her background - is she from a close, loving family, or is she a rebel? Has she left the family environment to strike out on her own?
The Name
Naming a character is not always easy. The name must fit the person being created.
Modern parents are now showing preference toward outlandish names. In fiction the name should help with the reader's perception of the character. This doesn't mean that unusual names shouldn't be used - her name could form part of her search for identity.
The Story's Beginning
In short fiction there isn't room for a long setting of scene as an opening. The start must be at a point where something is about to happen, catching the interest of the reader.
The character could be standing outside a closed door. Is the door about to open, or has it just closed? Whose door is it? Maybe it's the door to her parents' home. She may be surrounded by her belongings, having just been told, none too politely, to leave. She could be standing there on her return home after a long absence, or maybe the absence was only of a few days' duration.
The door symbolises the beginning of your story - whatever is on the other side forms the body of the story, the tale you want to tell. The door can be anywhere, any time.
Having created your character and her situation, the process can now be repeated with lesser characters. The information built is not, of course, all used in the story. This would give too much detail in a short story. But, by knowing it, our people-on-paper will live more believable lives.
The Story Itself
We don't often write a story with only one character. Interactions between two, or more, characters give movement dialogue and depth. In the longer form of short fiction it is possible to work in a sub-plot, but these generally fit better in a novel or novelette.
We can learn the main character's background and her present situation through her conversations with other people in the story. What position is her attitude showing, defensive or offensive? What is she trying to achieve?
The Climax
The character has at least one problem to face. The tension will build better if she has more than one, each can be more frustrating than the one before, but each is overcome by her own actions and abilities.
The girl evicted from her home needs to start a new life. Does she have a job? Where will she live? Does she need/get help from others? Why was she evicted, and how does this affect her attitude?
The girl returning home after a long absence will discover changes; some will be minor and won't affect her a great deal. But maybe there's been some major change while she's been away. How does she cope with it?
The third girl needs to explain her absence, face up to whatever she left behind and smooth over whatever hurt and anger her unexplained absence created.
Tension builds as each character faces and sorts out her problems, until she overcomes the main problem, the one around which the story has evolved. By the end of the story the character will have a different perception of her world and the people in it, or she will have changed to fit. The changes come about through the choices she makes.
The focus must always remain on the main character. It is her story being told; in short fiction there is no room for viewpoint switches.
Endings
Once the climax is reached, the goals attained or not depending on how the story is shaped, the ending ties up loose story threads.
A single paragraph is sometimes sufficient, but a strong ending is important. In any fiction, from horror to mainstream, the reader must be left satisfied with the story's outcome.
This does not mean it has to be a happy ending - not all stories should end this way - but if the reader (your first and most important reader is an editor) is not satisfied at the end, there is less chance he or she will look at other work from you.
Writing the Story
Depending on which way you work, at this point you may have the story planned and ready to write, or you have written the story as you've been asking yourself questions and working out details.
Your story will be very different from the one I would write based on these ideas. There are many choices to be made where you and I will differ and our life experiences and opinions will help shape our fiction.
This is one way to create a story. There are many others. But, when inspiration is not available, building a story is the way to go.
© 2001 Brenda Sanderson