 Short Stories: September 25, 2019 Issue [#9779] |
This week: Character or Story, Which Came First Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Short Stories Newsletter by Dawn
Inspiration comes in many shapes, which at times can cause the question of which came first: the story or the character? Similar to the chicken or the egg but with each writer the answer can depend on the story. |
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Stories take a number of things but some of the main ones include plot, character and setting. Story ideas are considered a dime a dozen, or something like that though at times I wonder about old phrases like that. It's neither here nor there on that topic. With the story idea there can be a few initial sources of inspiration and what gets developed first. With the time of picking stories and getting ready to crack down for longer than short fiction, this is also a good time to do a little development writing with shorter stories and to explore different ideas.
Character
One option for what came first in the development of a story is with the characters. In particular, stories that are very driven and focused on character (has the other elements of course but the character(s) holds a very strong role) might have started with the question of who before what. In this approach you can get to know the main point of view and even some of the supporting roles before worrying too much about what type of plot or things that are going to happen.
For short fiction and in preparation for longer works (like novel prep), it can be fun to just explore the life of a particular character. Get to know them a little, take them for a spin (hypothetically or maybe really have them spin). There are times when you can work on story based with first knowing the main characters. Some even start writing novels without knowing the main story line, just have the set of characters and see where things go from whatever start point they pick in the moment of writing. There needs to be plot and all of the other elements, but having everything begin with that particular character idea is one workable option.
Plot
Another option for starting a story or getting an idea is within the what happens part of story telling. This can be done with different questions. What if is a good plot type of question to ask, for example. What could go wrong or what if someone had to face a particular problem? What if aliens skipped earth for a reason? What if the game had a way to control an entire town? So many options can come from a question of what could happen.
This is an important element of most stories because while it's nice to read about different characters and places, we do expect something to happen. Might not be as big as it's the end of the world type of scenarios but even a tiny problem can create enough conflict to give a reader a good story. There are many ways to tell a similar story too, so it does depend in part just on how you write things.
What comes first doesn't particular matter in the end. The reader won't particular guess that you came up with the main character before having no idea what might happen to them. With the other story, most won't know that you developed the major problem then had to try to work someone into the story. However, there are the occasional readers who might wonder about how a story came into development and what sparked the particular idea. Someone might ask which came first. How you answer is up to you.
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Which came first for you: the general story idea or the main character?
A few weeks ago, I discussed rewrites and different drafts for the short story newsletter. Here is a comment sent in over the particular topic:
Comment by Quick-Quill 
They sit because I run out of steam and I don't like where the story was going. If I revisit it and I get a new interest with an different version. I start rewriting. Sometimes I never like it and the notebook is put in a pile to be forgotten. I have a novel almost finished. I haven't written on it for months now. The need to finish it doesn't drive me, nor do I have a great ending. I'm on to something new.
- A break from the story is good, in particular between drafts or when something is just not clicking during one. I've done that occasionally too. Finishing the product is a whole different struggle. Endings are one of the more difficult spots for me in part as I've written far more beginnings than I have endings.
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