EDITED: 2024, Sept. 30.
This is a complementary article to How to Start Writing – 3 levels of Fiction Writers; a YouTube video on my advice channel which gives actual advice based on my own experiences. Here, I want to discuss some extra things to complement that video.
Admitting to Faults
This article was originally titled how to start writing a new story, or something like that. It was first written in 2020 (where did 2020 go, honestly? Such a blur). There were things in here that were problematic. In 2020, I initially had links to about 5 writing advice articles here. I don’t want them to continue to be here because, 1) I didn’t look at them which was not smart of me at all, and 2) they could be problematic and steer you in the wrong direction unintentionally.
That was a mistake.
Why continue to have irrelevant, dated information? I deleted them. Idk if you can find the list in the Wayback Machine, but I can tell you that it won’t be worth it to dig them up.
If you want to see me breaking down writing advice articles, you can check out my main YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Fox_in_Thoughts Let me tell you how and why those are not good and also try to give better advice. Try to, that is.
There’s no one-size-fits-all type of advice after all.
Now, lets get into what type of writer I am, three things all fiction writers might benefit from, and an anecdote of how I started writing a new story back in 2020.
Writer Type: Pantser
I’m a panster. I write by the seat of my pants. I don’t outline or plan anything. I just start writing. I can’t help those of you who plan novels.
Wait! Don’t go!
Perhaps there can be some takeaways for you? Be open-minded. Hear me out. A newbie home-cooker of American cuisine can’t use the high-level skills of a master chef of Japanese cuisine, however, they can learn some things. Maybe the way meat is seared or the way potatoes are peeled effectively can be a good takeaway.
I sometimes watch advice videos of planners. Maybe the way they go about creating a magick system sparks inspiration in me. I might think, “huh, I never thought of it like that before.”
Yet, I might still not take the advice. I might disagree with a lot of it.
And you might disagree with me. It’s totally fine to not peel potatoes. Don’t worry. You don’t have to if it doesn’t work for you.
Three Things All Fiction Writers Might Benefit From
Here are some things that might benefit all levels of writers. That being said, you still don’t have to peel the potatoes if it really doesn’t work for you.
- Story Structure: Stories all follow a similar story-telling structure which you can learn by reading and researching. Beginning, middle, and climax, basically. Does there have to be a resolution after the climax? I personally think that all depends on if you’re going to have a series or a standalone. For planners and those who eat structure for breakfast, you can look for “3 act story structure” or “story structure” or “story beat” or “beat sheet”. I’m not a planner. I’m a panster. I can’t help planners.
- Character Profiles: They’re available online for you to fill out to understand your character more. Anyone can do this at any given time. Before writing, during writing, after writing; whatever tickles your fancy. Character profiles can be fun and helpful for some people. I did try it once. Not really my thing, but maybe I wasn’t using one that I liked. Who knows? I heard some writers have used DnD character profiles which I thought was interesting. Some people use personality tests to figure out their characters.
- Magick System Questions: If it applies to you, that is. Think about it. A hard magick system or a soft one? Do you want to go into the details or just live off of fluff? Either is fine. I’m kind of in the middle. If you want to figure out the rules of your magick system, there are lists of questions you can answer when crafting a magick system: here’s one I found most helpful. That being said, you don’t have to use this list if you don’t want to. There are plenty out there, I’m sure. If you can get someone to ask you a bunch of questions, that might also be good.
Anecdote: How I Started A New Story in 2020
Once upon a time, in the year 2020, I decided I wanted to try my hand at a retelling. This would be based off of something in the public domain and something I’m familiar with.
1. Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
There’s lists of public domain stories. I went down that list and found The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. My spin: use the original as inspiration. Maybe the Wizard of Oz is actually an evil king who lives in an Emerald castle? Are there other villages or cities or towns? Did the original have other kingdoms or countries around the castle? It was time to gather more inspiration.
2. Research the Oz World
Oh my god. If you look at the Wiki pages for Oz, they are extensive. EX-TEN-SIVE!
Not only did I realize L. Frank Baum wrote fourteen books taking place in Oz, but I realized he did not organize his notes for Oz and Wikipedia was confused. L. Frank Baum was, apparently, known for tons of inconsistencies throughout his books. Many authors, after his death, tried to tie up all the loose ends.
Many of those authors didn’t really succeed and the story started to divert from the original too much.
Some retelling movies were made and they were creepy, weird, or both.
3. What Parts To Use?
I thought I could try to use all fourteen books (and fail with trying to tie the loose ends like most retelling books of Oz) or, choose one or two books and use that as inspiration for the overall plot while using other Oz books here and there to for lore and character inspiration fill out the story.
I decided on the latter.
I could tell the former would be an utter fail for me. Especially because I had never even heard of the other thirteen Oz books, and there were just too many characters involved.
I didn’t want to use Dorothy as is or the Scarecrow as is either. I wanted to change them up. Who would be the equivalents? I did end up bringing in a character named Dorothy and her whole thing was that yes, she is the Dorothy who went to Oz, but now she’s a middle-aged woman living in a post apocalyptic world. She does end up meeting the main characters.
By the way, Oz, according to Baum, has four countries with the Emerald City in the middle. “Winkie Country”? What kind of a name is that? I can’t take it seriously. I named my four countries based on the directions, North, South, East, and West. Had a lot of fun with that!
4. Show the Oz-ness
I wanted to have some recognizable Oz things that people are familiar with. Toto, the tornado taking someone to a different world, a big lion, Munchkins, Winged Monkeys, people wearing green clothes, poppies, etc.
Did you know that it’s not the red slippers but the silver slippers? I didn’t know the musical changed that part. I like the red slippers better. But I decided not to have any slippers. Instead, there’s a magical crown.
5. Start a Scene with Curious Action
It gets me going if I start a scene with curious action. I explained this in my video, but a curious or unique action leaves me having to finish writing the action occurring. Then, hopefully, end up writing on and on.
I started with the main character struggling to sing a magick spell in front of her entire class and making colorful powder explode onto the ceiling. She’s then scolded for failing the test. I was then left to figure out if this MC gets laughed at by others. Does it bother her? Does she talk back? Why is she struggling? What does this day mean for her? What is this test? What is this school? Does she have friends?
Summary
That was one way I started writing a new story. Other times, it’s totally different because I might only have my imagination to work off of. If you want to know how I turn ideas into stories, check out this video: How I make ideas into stories and find out the three types of ideas that come to me. I don’t meant types as in genre or tropes. I call them, Character First, Scene First, and Photo First. The last one has been quite new for me (in 2024).
If you have any questions or anything you want me to clarify, leave a comment anywhere!
FOXWOOD FOREST 