Developing your story means taking your raw material and refining it into a polished narrative. This process involves identifying and ordering the conflicts, obstacles and challenges your character will face, as well as their character arcs, in a way that will keep the reader engaged from start to finish.
One of the most important aspects of any story is creating characters with whom the readers will empathize. To do this, you need to understand who they are and what drives them as individuals. For this reason, we recommend spending time developing your characters before getting started on the plot development phase of your project.
In addition to a clear understanding of your character’s background and personality, we also recommend focusing on their motivations and fears. This will help you understand what kind of external conflict to use in your story, as well as what internal conflicts will be necessary to arouse emotion and create tension.
As you develop your story, it’s helpful to have a physical space where you can chart your timeline and organize the key elements of the plot. Many writers find that using a whiteboard or corkboard is ideal, as it allows them to make notes and visualize the story in a real-world context. Using different colors or sticky notes can also be helpful for identifying different areas of the story, such as setting, character arcs and plot points. You can also use dialogue to reveal character traits, as the language they choose and the mannerisms that recur will give insight into their personalities.