Hello writers,

If you’re anything like me, you have tons of ideas for stories but most of them are just that – ideas. I have index cards all over the place with story ideas written on them. Trouble is, I can’t seem to get past the idea, sometimes not having enough to sustain the story for a whole short story, novella, or novel.

You’re probably sitting there saying, “Exactly, so what do we do?”

Well, some of my ideas aren’t good enough to take further, to be honest. Why I say that is, if the idea I have doesn’t make me want to put everything I have into developing it, then it isn’t good enough, for me.

So… What Do We Do?

The ideas I can’t let go of, they’re the ones I develop because they’re the ones I’ll have the passion for and interest in working on until they become a novella or novel. Buckle up for the long haul. You’re going to need patience, passion, and stamina to write a novel, but it’s worth it, it’s totally worth it.

If you have a story idea like that bouncing around in your head, that’s the one to start developing.

Okay, but how?

By asking, “What if…” or “What would happen if…” questions over and over again. Let me explain with an example:

For my novel, “The Orphanage,” which is currently in its final edit, I knew I wanted to write another time travel story. I think it’s cool to think about what it would be like to be able to take a trip back in time somewhere to experience our written history first hand.

My original story idea was, “There’s an orphanage in Philadelphia (my home city) that has a portal in the cellar which can take you to the past.” Then came the, “what if…” and “what would happen if…” questions. I pictured what my story idea was as if it were actually happening to me. I pictured the scene as if it were a movie that I was controlling. I took an original thought and built upon it. For, “The Orphanage,” this was my progressive thought process:

• What if you needed a special item to travel through the portal?
• What if the item was a coin in a magical coin collection?
• What if you traveled to the year on the coin you were holding?
• What would happen if you went to a year on the coin and found orphans there?
• What would happen if a character took an orphan through the portal to offer a better life in the orphanage?
• What would happen if there was a child taken who wasn’t an orphan?
• What would happen if that child knew that and years later wanted to find out the truth?

Do you see what I mean? Instead of trying to figure out your entire story in your head or at once, you can build it step by step.

Now, get that story out of your head and put it on paper. If you need more help, you know where to find me.

Happy Writing!

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