Where to Begin...

Having worked with a number of new writers over the past three months, I've come to discover a trend: there's a sense of knowing what to put in a story but not knowing how to write a story. I think a lot of people understand the basic theory behind a storywriting - characters, plot, conflict - but not as many people understand the process by which ones crafts those elements into a cohesive unit.

The first thing I try to tell my students is to focus on a concept. In one sentence, What is the story about? It's tougher than you'd think, trying to pinpoint the very basic kernel of the story, but once you have that down, then it's easy to identify the direction of your story.

For example:

• Basic Concept: A man gets lost in the woods.

It's a simple beginning with many endings, but it's a good start. To make a little easier, throw in a minor conflict.

• Extended Concept: A man gets lost in the woods while hiking and gets injured.

Now you have something to build upon. But there's still no resolution, which would make it even easier.

• Final Concept: A man gets lost in the woods while hiking, gets badly injured, and must survive until someone rescues him.

Now we have a major conflict, a minor conflict to further the plot, and a resolution. When in doubt, you can always refer back to it when writing, editing, and polishing.

After you've got that concept, it makes it easier to outline (if you're an outliner) or begin writing (if you're a more organic writer). Either way, you have something to refer back to when you get stuck. Everything always furthers to plot in a story, and your concept is the very basic element of your plot.