No universal formula exists
When writing fiction, there is no universal formula, but all successful fiction requires a desire, a challenge, and decisive action. Compile lists of desires, obstacles, and actions to guide your storytelling.
Each want has an obstacle and an action. That can get you going.
Having some idea what you want to write about is the usual first step. How much of an idea you have differs greatly. You may just want a strong (or even a weak) sense of a character and drop him on the page and either let him take you or push him into doing something meaningful.
You want a story idea that excites you
Remember, there’s no such thing as a bad idea since we can add, subtract, adjust, and tinker with the manuscript until we uncovered the energy that makes the story take off.
Now this can be a character that stimulates your curiosity (someone who can’t stand to admit he’s wrong, explosive boss, a corrupt preacher) or it can be a situation (your main character being falsely accused of a crime, getting kidnapped, being in love with someone who can’t stand you). It may be something you see in real life, read in the paper, or dream up on your own in a daydream, or during meditation time.
There are many ways to come up with an idea:
For example: Two lovers whose families and culture are determined they will not unite (Romeo and Juliet). A good man in power whose “trusted” assistant is feeding him false advised to cause his downfall (Othello).
You can modernize and retell all of Shakespeare’s plots. In modernizing a story, you make it your own. Struggling with Shakespeare? Cliff’s Notes provide a basic plot, letting you add your own flair. Cliff notes summarize the most successful books.
The best–selling novel, The Seven—Per–Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer is an example of mixing fictional characters with real ones.
Then there’s history. With history, you can research a historical event and uncover the story that appeals to you. The behind-the-scenes action that is never in history books is all yours to invent.
So, existing plots and characters are a solid and endless source of story ideas.
If you only have a character you like, but no story and no idea, how do you get the character into a story?
You can give him a problem to wrestle with to get him going. One of the best ways to do this is to pair him with someone who is his opposite—not just pair them, but to make them work together closely. The Odd Couple neat–freak Felix and slob Oscar living together creates a nice conflict and lots of drama. Not only is one fastidious and the other sloppy in housekeeping, but they express those qualities in everything they do. This dramatic setup is called the unit of opposites. The character’s rigidity clashes with the other’s impulsiveness, and vice versa. Put your favorite character in their worst nightmare scenario—opposite of their strengths—to challenge them.
Remember, what we’re doing, always, is to put the characters to the test in every way so we can see what they made of. Also, if the character has a weakness that he must face and overcome to succeed, it increases the drama and deepens the character.
Remember, it’s a complication that makes the story fuller.
Just make sure you let nothing be easy for anyone, ever. Making everything difficult is the best thing you can do to uncover your characters and your story. The worse it gets for the characters, the better it is for the story. Is conflict and conflict will never fail you. Also, remember things must be worse at the end of every scene and every chapter until the final resolution at the end when things may get good (victory) or end badly (defeat). Drama builds as things get worse.
Choosing your medium and your genre
Choosing the right medium and genre is important if you’re concerned about selling your story and making maximum money.
Once again, the story craft (conflict, action, resolution + emotion + showing) is identical in all media and all genres. This never changes–ever.
Acknowledgment to Immediate Fiction- Written by Jerry Cleaver.