Story ideas come to us in all different ways. Sometimes our spark of a story idea is a character facing a dilemma or making a hard choice. Other times, we might have an idea for a world we want to explore. This is especially common with fantasy or science fiction writers. Another common place for writers to begin is with plot. You might know that you want to tell a story about a girl who’s gone missing or a family going through a divorce. We also sometimes generate story ideas by developing a concept (Game of Thrones, but in space! Gilmore Girls meets The Godfather).

Whichever way your story comes to you, one thing is always true: There’s a lot you don’t know yet.

Maybe you have a fantastic storyworld or magic system idea . . . but no idea what happens in this world or who’s using this magic.

Or you know you want tell a story about a specific kind of character . . . you just don’t know what that character really wants or what will stand in their way.

Or you know you want to tell a closed-door murder mystery with a supernatural twist . . . but you don’t know who the dead body is. Or the murderer. Or the supernatural elements that you want to include.

Here’s is a very simplified explanation of how I usually proceed when I have a new book idea:

  • Have shiny new idea—yay!
  • Make notes about my new idea and figure out where the story begins.
  • Write a chapter or two.
  • Write a synopsis.
  • Write the rest of the book and live happily ever after.

I’m in the early drafting stages of a story idea right now, and that cute bulleted list is NOT how things have progressed! The idea came to me as a concept, which is very helpful for pitching an idea to your agent or editor, but I’ve noticed can be more challenging for developing the idea into an actual story. There was a lot I didn’t know.

So, first I started making my story notes. I love handwritten notes for brainstorming. I don’t know why, really, but it’s my happy place. I use question marks and the word “maybe” very liberally in these notes. I’ll write things like, “Maybe my character has a brother who has diabetes, and she needs the money to take care of him? There’s an age gap between them, and she she feels responsible. Maybe she feels guilty about him having health issues?” Writing my ideas with question marks releases that perfectionistic tendency inside me, the one that says, “Only solid ideas belong on the page.” She has a very loud voice, but using “maybe” and the question marks can help her calm down.

I made all the notes I could, but I still couldn’t figure out where the story really began. I attempted a first chapter, but I could tell it wasn’t right.

Remember that writing advice you’ve known since grade school, when a teacher would tell you that you should “write what you know”? I thought, “What if, instead of struggling to write an ill-fitting chapter one, I instead write something that I know happens in the story? What if I write what I know?”

I knew at some point fairly early in the story, my main character was going to be interviewed by a private investigator about an event that took place before the book opened. So, I labeled a section of my Word doc “drafts” and started with my character walking into that interview. I wrote about seven pages of that . . . and I still didn’t know where the story started.

I asked, “What else do I know?”

I knew my main character had a special relationship with another character. While I don’t think their interactions will have much page time during my novel, I still need to understand the dynamic of their friendship. So, I started with the first time they really talked, and I free wrote various vignettes from that moment on. I wrote about 7,000 words in this manner. No real chapter breaks or scene breaks, just exploring. And as I was approaching an event that’s a major plot point, I had the, “Aha! The story should open here,” moment. Finally!

This made for an odd looking document. I’d written 10,000 words, which included a failed chapter one, about 7,000 words of backstory, and then another chapter one. My headings looked like this:

I’ve never had a manuscript file look this way, but for this idea, it’s what worked. Instead of fixating on allllllll the things I didn’t yet know, I decided to write what I did.

As a side note, one other thing I’m trying with this WIP is to write 1-2 sentence summaries about what each scene is. I’m hoping that will help me later when I need to find scenes quickly to change something or double-check a detail. Another benefit is it helps me to think about my purpose in including the scene. One of our Go Teen Writers Community members made a really helpful video about how to use Headings in Word. Thank you, Hannah! (This can be done in Google Docs as well.)

Do you think this method could work for you sometimes? Do you tend to write your stories in linear fashion (beginning to end) or do you tend to jump around and write whatever scene strikes your fancy and then fit it together later?

Stephanie Morrill writes books about girls who are on an adventure to discover their unique place in the world. She is the author of several contemporary young adult series, as well as two historical young adult novels, The Lost Girl of Astor Street and Within These LinesWithin These Lines was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, as well as a YALSA 2020 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick. Since 2010, Stephanie has been encouraging the next generation of writers at her website, GoTeenWriters.com, which has been on the Writer’s Digest Best Websites for Writers list since 2017. She lives in the Kansas City area, where she loves plotting big and small adventures to enjoy with her husband and three children. You can connect with Stephanie and learn more about her books at StephanieMorrill.comInstagramFacebook, and Twitter.