{"id":813,"date":"2014-08-06T15:30:30","date_gmt":"2014-08-06T22:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/?p=813"},"modified":"2014-09-12T16:14:50","modified_gmt":"2014-09-12T23:14:50","slug":"write-your-novel-step-by-step-part-3-whats-the-big-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/write-your-novel-step-by-step-part-3-whats-the-big-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Write Your Novel Step by Step (Part 3) – What’s the Big Idea?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In step 2, we explored the purpose of and methods for clearing your mind by jotting down any initial ideas you may have before trying to further develop your novel. \u00a0In this step, your goal is to be able to write a single sentence that expresses the essence of what your story is about.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having a core concept will provide you with a creative beacon \u2013 a lighthouse by which to navigate your creative efforts so they stay on course to your ultimate purpose: a completed novel.<\/p>\n

While this seems fairly simple, it can be a lot harder than it looks. \u00a0It is the rare writer who has a focused concise story concept right from the beginning. \u00a0Many discover the essence of their novel during the development process or even as they write.<\/p>\n

As described in step 2, most writers fall into two categories: those with a general sense of what they want to write about and those with a collection of story elements they\u2019d like to include. \u00a0Some writers have both, but still no solid center to it all.<\/p>\n

Without a core concept, the first inclination is to try to pull all the good ideas they have for their novel into a single all-encompassing story. \u00a0Problem is, people think in topics more easily than they think in narratives. \u00a0And while all the material may belong to the same subject matter category, more often than not it doesn\u2019t really belong in the same story.<\/p>\n

Still, no one likes to abandon a good idea \u2013 after all, they aren\u2019t that easy to come by. \u00a0And so, writers stop coming up with new ideas as their attention turns more and more toward figuring out how to connect everything they already have.<\/p>\n

This can create an every growing spiral of structural complexity in the attempt to fit every notion and concept into a single unifying whole. \u00a0And before you know it, your inspiration and enthusiasm have both run dry to be replaced by creative frustration with a candy coating of intellectual effort that is not unlike trying to build a single meaningful picture from the pieces of several different puzzles.<\/p>\n

To determine the central vision for your novel try these techniques. \u00a0First, shift your focus from what your story needs, and ask yourself what you need. \u00a0More precisely, consider why you want to write this story in the first place. \u00a0What is it that excites you most about this subject matter? \u00a0Is it a character, a plot line, a thematic message or topic, or just a genre or setting or timeframe or\u2026?<\/p>\n

Refer to the list you created in step 2 of your general concept and\/or all the elements you have been pondering to possibly include in your story. \u00a0Next, consider your own personal<\/em> interests and prioritize that list, putting the items you most want to include at the top and those less compelling at the bottom.<\/p>\n

(Tip: sometimes it is hard to pick the most interesting and it is easier to start at the bottom of the list with the least interesting and work up!)<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, block the bottom half of the list to see only the top items. \u00a0These are the aspects of your story that are most inspiring to you and represent the heart of your story. \u00a0Think about them as a group and see if you can perceive a common thread.<\/p>\n

This common thread is called a log line<\/em>. \u00a0Log lines are like the short descriptions of a program you see in cable or satellite television listings. As examples, here are the log lines for two stories of my own:<\/p>\n

Snow Sharks (Don\u2019t Eat Red Snow) – A group of rich teenage ski-bums are terrorized by escaped sharks that have been genetically altered by the U.S. government to act as mobile land mines in potential arctic wars<\/em>.<\/p>\n

House of W.A.C.S. \u2013 In 1942, this cross between Animal House and The Dirty Dozen follows one of the first groups of young women in the newly created Women\u2019s Army Corps as they learn to work together as a team to thwart a Nazi fifth column and protect a crucial war factory.<\/em><\/p>\n

Using these as a guide, try to write a sentence that describes the core concept you see in your work from step 2.<\/p>\n

If your material is too limited or sketchy, just describe the idea that has you excited enough want to write this particular novel, such as:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m fascinated with the notion of an archeologist finding a modern device embedded in the ruins of an ancient civilization.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you have the opposite problem and your wealth of story ideas is so wide-ranging or diffuse to easily see the thread, try writing several log lines, each of which touches on one aspect of what you see in your step 2 work.<\/p>\n

Each of these sub-log lines will help focus a different part of what you\u2019d like your story to be. \u00a0So, rather than trying to find the core directly from your original list, try to see the central concept outlined by your collection of log lines.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, by using some or all of these techniques, you\u2019ll be able to answer the question, What\u2019s the Big Idea? \u00a0<\/em>But if you can\u2019t, don\u2019t worry. \u00a0Some writers need to add to their collection of story elements before the big picture emerges.<\/p>\n

In step 4, we\u2019ll walk through a really useful method for using your existing concepts as seeds from which to grow new ideas. \u00a0So, if you don\u2019t yet have a log line, you soon will as you begin to integrate this additional material into your evolving story.<\/p>\n

This article is\u00a0drawn\u00a0from:<\/em><\/h2>\n

\"wp040b08b3_06\"<\/a>Step by Step Story Development Software<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"wpc9342079_06\"<\/a>Build your Story’s World, who’s in it, what happens to them and what it all means with StoryWeaver! \u00a0With over 200 interactive Story Cards, StoryWeaver takes you step by step through the entire process – from concept to completion.<\/p>\n

Just $29.95 ~\u00a0Click here to learn more or to purchase…<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In step 2, we explored the purpose of and methods for clearing your mind by jotting down any initial ideas you may have before trying to further develop your novel. \u00a0In this step, your goal is to be able to write a single sentence that expresses the essence of what your story is about.\u00a0 Having […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-write-your-novel-step-by-step"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p36xpN-d7","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":906,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813\/revisions\/906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storymind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}