Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Ashling
Without wanting to go too deep into this:
I like to know the outcome before I start writing. This gives me sort of a target. I also have a fair idea of the main stepping stones.
I find it useful to have a clear idea of the following:
- who is the MC/hero?
- what does s/he want?
- what is standing between him/her and what s/he wants
Very elementary stuff, but it keeps you from getting lost, in my experience at least.  |
You took the words right out of my mouth Andrew. This is how most great books are written. It's all about motive and desire. Good stories are usually about a central goal that someone wants, or needs, to achieve whether it be to win the Kentucky Derby, rescue the princess from the tower, or to find what really lies at the bottom of a rainbow.
Character development is secondary to the main character's goal, but is still important. I like stories that travel a bit. CS Lewis was great at that. His characters were always going places, having adventures, and learning things about the world and themselves along the way whether it was a bus-ride through Purgatory; a trip to Mars; or to set sail for the end of the known world in search of Aslan's native land beyond the seas. It really helps keep your creative-flow going too when characters travel a lot because it's easy to imagine all the new things they'll experience and see along the way.