Finding a Story, Part One

Since I spent all of last week trying to think of a clever blog name, I don't have any writing progress to share. So I'm going to go on an adventure. And you’re coming with me.

I have tons of ideas for stories and things, from various sources. One such source is the Writing Prompts subreddit. I have a huge list of prompts that appealed to me, stowed away for future use. Every so often, I'll look back through the list to see if anything jumps out at me. The other day, one did.

You're shackled to a ball and chain in a train bound for prison. When the train stops you find yourself in front of a large brick mansion instead of the prison. The train has been abandoned.

So today, and probably later this week, I'm going to invite you to witness the process that turns an idea into a story. The faint of heart may want to turn away now.

We begin with the idea. My next step is usually to ask some questions.

• What was your crime?
• Where did everyone go?
• Why were you left behind?
• What's in the mansion?

I don't have answers to these questions, not yet. The point is to start thinking about the idea and expanding on it. We need to know what kind of world we're dealing with, and what sort of character we're following before we can get much further. This part of the process can take an hour, or a year. We're hoping for the former in this case.

This is where I'm going to leave you for today. It's an unsatisfying ending, I know, but that's how a journey works. You can’t just skip to the end. When I have some answers to my questions, I'll be back.