How to Build a Plot from an Idea
I have had more than a few Asks about how to get an entire plot when you only have an idea, a character, or a fraction of the story. And to be honest, I haven’t responded to any of them because I could never articulate my thoughts on this.
Many writer blogs and channels have tackled this topic, so I will be limiting this post solely to my own method:
Write it Out
I know it can be hard, especially for writers like me who value outlines and planning, to just start writing. But it is the only way that I’m able to build up an idea.
I write at whatever point I can most easily visualize. Whether it’s at the beginning, middle, end, or a random scene that could fit anywhere. I just write out a scene and throw in all the elements I don’t have.
I usually have a set of 2-3 characters and not much more, so I throw them into an environment I’m familiar with and just have them talk to each other or try to solve a problem.
Usually, the characters and scene flesh themselves out and I get a few pages out of it. It doesn’t matter if I use these pages, that’s not the purpose.
The idea is to write with what you have until everything eventually falls into place.
This could mean writing until the other plot points come to you for an outline or writing until you’ve gone from the point you began to the end. Somewhere in this, you’ll get the ideas you’ve been struggling with.
It’s a very organic method and it won’t work for everyone, but it sure does for me. Forcing myself to go with what I have quickly shows me what I do and do not want in the story. I use the conversation to deepen my characters and find their motivations.
You Don’t Know Until You Try
It’s exploratory. Like panning for gold. You’ve got the glint of gold in the sediment, but a bunch of other crap is in the way and the river is blurring everything.
But if you don’t go for it and shove your hands into the dirt, you’ll never even get close to picking out the gold.
If all else fails, play the What If? game.
What if this place had a shared secret? What if these characters decided to run away together? What if this plot point wasn’t the ending but the beginning?
Question the Norms
One other thing I would suggest is to ask yourself if the traditional idea of plot structure is holding your story idea back. I’m going to use movie examples for this, forgive me, but hear me out.
Pulp Fiction, Lady Bird, Inside Llewyn Davis, No Country for Old Men, Hereditary, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Juno, and so many other critical and audience hits would not be as successful if their writers had not broken from the traditional 3-Act Story Structure.
Don’t limit yourself if you feel unmotivated or stuck by the traditional structure. There’s nothing wrong with it, per se, but it doesn’t fit all stories.
And remember that you’re no less of a writer or creator for struggling to mold your ideas into a plot line!
Writing is a craft and we all pave our own ways.
