How to help new Writers develop their Stories?

Have you written your 1st pages?
Have you finished your 1st chapter?
Your 1st book?

Now that you enjoy it.
Now that you live by it.
You want to help someone else discover Writing & Storytelling.
You want to create a team of Writers.

Will it be hard?
Are you motivated?
If you are, they’ll be.
How do you start?

Like this.

Create Characters, Create Yourself

• Helping your future writer to create multiple avatar of themselves is the 1st step.
• Characters will indicate the shape of your writer’s World.
• Start with creating 3 characters (Main).
• Then 3 other characters (2ndary).

• For most characters:
  • Find a Name
  • Remember their Goals & Interests
  • Sum up how they will react towards your characters

Likable Characters

• Ask your writers:
• What do they like?
• What type of friend do they have?
• What type of friend do they want to have?
• What type of lover do they have/want to have?

• What is their Ideal person like?
• What is their Ideal version of them self like?
• What is their Final Goal?
• What has the most value to them?
• What can they provide to someone else?

• What attracts them physically?
• What clothes do they like wearing?
• Ask them to draw a little in front of you.
  • It can be anything, animal, cloth, trees, people, towns…
• How would they be if they had their ideal body?

• Goal
  • How will this character Provide Value?
• 2 Strengths from the following list
  • Rigorous
  • Self-Aware
  • Proactive
  • Inclusive
  • Capable
• 2 Weaknesses
  • funny weaknesses
  • grave weaknesses that needs to be corrected
• 2 Quirks
  • Hairstyle
  • Accessory/Habit/Manner/Phrase

Unlikeable Characters

• Ask your writers:
• What do they dislike/reject?
• What type of enemies do they have?

• What is the Worst version of them self like?
• What is the thing they loath the most?
• What is the worst they can do to someone else?

• What attracts them physically, but they feel is wrong?
• What clothes would they like to wear, but don’t allow themselves to?
• Ask them to draw a beautiful & detestable figure in front of you.
  • It can be anything, animal, cloth, trees, people, towns…
• How would they be if they had this body?

• Here are the Fundamental Elements you need to create Characters :
• A Goal
  • How will this character Provide Value to their kin & Destroy others?
• 2 Strengths from the following list
  • Tenacious
  • Obsessed
  • Iniquitous
  • Witty
  • Cunning
• 2 Weaknesses
  • funny weaknesses
  • grave weaknesses that needs to be corrected
• 2 Quirks
  • Hairstyle
  • Accessory/Habit/Manner/Phrase

4 Cardinal Character types for Quick Creation

Impersonate Characters & Write Dialogues

From you to the character

1. What would you do in this situation?
   1. We begin with what they would do
   2. In a Comfortable situation
   3. In a Crisis
   4. In a specific location (Urban, Wilds)
2. What would a [character role/class] do in this situation?
   1. We continue with what [a fighter/mage/educator/advisor/programmer/game designer…] would do
   2. In a Comfortable situation
   3. In a Crisis
   4. In a specific location (Urban, Wilds)
3. What would [character’s name] do in this situation?
   1. We begin with what they would do
   2. In a Comfortable situation
   3. In a Crisis
   4. In a specific location (Urban, Wilds)

The best way to write dialogues : Ask a lot of questions

• Looking for quests & the Plot.
• Who are you?
• Why are you there?
• What do you need?
• Do you need any help?
• What are the last news in town/city?
• Why did this incident happen?
• How does the enemy knew we were here?

• Looking for directions.
• How do I get to [location]?
• Where is the nearest [Location]?
• Why do I need to [verb] a [noun]?
• When does the [event] starts?
• How do we plan?

• Looking for assistance.
• Where can I recruit a [profession]?
• Who is the best [profession] in town/city?
• Is there any help to hire?
• Are there any mercenaries in town/city?
• What resources do we need?
• Do we have enough of them?

Create Environments & Settings

Daily life

• Why does this Location Exists?
• How did it come to existence?
• Is it made to defend/protect?
• To Trade?
• To provide Resources?
• To provide Entertainment?

• What are this location’s Resources?
  • Physical/Material
  • Information

• How are the People?
• How’s the daily life?
• How are the markets?
• How’s a typical restaurant?
• What’s a piece of conversation like?

• Who manages this Town/Location?
• Who is the chair?
• Is there a single Leader or is it an Assembly?
• What are the most important Organizations?

Walk this world

• Walk this World with your writers.
• Walk along a typical street.
• Walk in forests, mountains, plains, seas, skies…
• Ask them to describe the World.

• What do they see?
• What do they hear?
• What do they smell?
• What do they feel?
• For each type of environment.
• How’s the underwater world?
• How’s it over skies?
• How’s it underground?

• How is the wildlife?
• Peaceful, Feral?
• How is the synergy between animals, vegetals?
• How is the World flowing?

Create their Story & their World

10 Chapters is all they need

• Ask them to write down 10 Words.
• For each of these words ask them to make a sentence.
• They now have 10 Plots.

• For each of these Plots we’ll need 10 additional words.
• For each of these words ask them to make a sentence.
• That’s 10 chapters.
• For each of these Chapters we’ll need 3-5 additional words.
• For each of these words ask them to make a sentence.
• That’s 3-5 Scenes.

• They now have 10 stories they can develop to their heart’s content.

• You can start helping them to identify 3 elements in each story.
• The Apparent Issue.
  • Chapter 1 to 5
  • In each story, what’s the 1st Crisis the protagonist faces?
• Hidden Issue
  • Chapter 6 to 9
  • In each story, what’s the Worst Crisis the protagonist faces?
• Conclusion
  • Chapter 10/Epilogue
  • At the end of each story, what’s the situation of the protagonist?

Crisis & Dissension

1. How to create deep trouble?
2. Notice the source of pain/Threat.
3. Engage with the 1st menace.
4. Go on another quest.
5. 1st menace comes back, when you’re weak.
   1. Get hateful, because they attack you now
6. Destroy 1st menace.
   1. Keep 1 of them alive
7. Find out who sent them on you.

• In a Combat situation.
• What are the Stakes?
• Should you fight?
• Should you run away?
• What are the Outcomes?
  • Flee
  • Surrender
  • Fight
    • Win
    • Lose

• How to create Crisis?
• What’s Painful for your writers?
• What’s Inacceptable for them?
• What’s Terrifying?
• What creates defensiveness?
• What create discomfort?

• In a Mystery & Research Situation
• What has disappeared?
• What are we looking for?
  • Person or Object?
  • Dead or Alive?
• What are our Clues?
• Who are the Testimonies?
  • Strangers or Relatives?
  • Friendly or Hostile?
• Is there a Threat we are not seeing yet?
• We went through Fruitless researches.
  • What should we do?

They have full freedom over their world

• Introducing Consistency.
• In the early stages let the ideas fly.
• Once the 10 stories are developed as aforementioned, start asking more questions.

• What are the main Events?
• What are these Events Consequences?
• How is the Rhythm?
• How is the Tempo?
• Are you Flexible?
• Are they Flexible?

• How would characters react in this specific situation?
• How would characters react in this other situation?
• How would characters react in this 3rd situation?

• This will be the last & most difficult stage: accepting you own the World you created.
• Ask these questions to guide them.
• Soon it will become natural.
• And they’ll own their world.

Here’s a Story template :

Objects

Characters

Funny + Shocking

Deep + Shocking

Funny + Deep

Environments

F + S

D + S

F + D

Stories

FS

DS

FD

Items

FS

DS

FD

Goal

Function

Atmosphere

Intent

Use

Role

Genre

Frame