Ideas are easy. Everyone has a million ideas for a book. What’s hard is turning one into an actual story with characters, conflict, stakes, and a beginning, middle and end.
Some people like to just write by the seat of their pants and see what happens with an idea as they go, but that can be very intimidating. What if your idea runs out of steam halfway through?
A good way to make sure you’ll be able to trust that your idea will be strong enough to turn into a full story is to outline it. So let’s vote on a story idea and then expand on it using two outline methods!
During the last stream, a subscriber requested that we do a stream about “how to expand an idea into a full story.”
Watch the full video here or scroll down for highlights.
You can expand an idea into a story by answering the five easy questions to outline it, and then making sure that you have at least three levels of conflict. Take a look at those exercises to ensure that your idea will have enough steam to be fleshed out into an entire book.
For the exercise, we expanded this idea into a full story: “In a world of magic and medieval fantasy, powerful masks channel spirits to grant their wearer power… so long as the wearer is powerful enough to not be consumed by the mask’s spirit. When a thief steals a mask at a masquerade party, the power-hungry spirit begins to take control.”
Be sure to check out the video if you want to see the awesome outline we came up with for it!
After going over that, another subscriber requested that we write this prompt: “An untrained Roman slave is pushed into a roaring colosseum arena, not knowing who or what she’s going to fight to the death.”
Here’s what we came up with:
The crowds cheered, anxious to see her die. The metal gates rose, telling her it was time to enter the colosseum. Her sandals crunched on the sand and gravel as her meager slave tunic offered no protection from anything but the scorching sun. Protection would only come from herself, and the dull, rusted sword she held in her shaking hand.
It only took one step out of the waiting chamber for her to stumble against a rock, knocking against it with her toe and bringing her smack against the rough ground. The sword clanged off to the side, landing right by her arm, nearly cutting it off before the battle even started.
All of the cheers exploded into laughter. The thousands watching her from high above, safe in the stands, pointed at her and howled at her clumsiness. Hoping that they would somehow stop if she quickly righted herself, she stood back up, grabbed the sword, and brushed herself off, trying to pretend it didn’t even happen. All that did was make it even worse. People fell over backward in the stands from laughing so hard at the young woman who scurried back up on her feet like a cat who missed her jump.
She tried to pay them no attention, focusing only on the gate at the other side of the arena. It was going to open soon, and once she saw who she would be facing, she was going to take them down immediately. If she had the element of surprise on her side, then she might stand a chance. She might get out of this alive.
Her master had told her that if she survived this one fight, just one fight, then she’d never have to do it again. His promise reeked of tuna left out to bake in the sun, but she didn’t have any other choice. Might as well take a chance on a sword through your stomach tomorrow than one guaranteed today. As long as her opponent wasn’t an armored gladiator or a long-necked, spotted dragon from Africa, then she might be able to do it.
The opponent’s gate slowly rose up. The woman gripped the handle of her stubby sword with both hands, sweat building up between her palms and the hilt, narrowing her eyes from the bright sunlight to see who she would have to slay.
With a clang, the gates stopped their rise. Three shadowy figures stepped out in near perfect unison. The woman’s heart dropped. Three against one? How did she possibly stand a chance!
The three of them stopped. In the bright glare of the sun, she couldn’t see who they were, but it didn’t matter. Right now, they were probably distracted by the crowd. It was time to strike, while she still had a chance!
Letting out a ferocious growl, she ran at them, sword ready by her side to slice through flesh. Her sandals pattered against the ground, kicking up dust, moving with a confident stride that she didn’t have before. Just feet away from the three of them, she reeled back the blade, aimed, and…
“Ms. Dawson,” said the center figure, stopping her in her tracks. “What qualities do you have that you feel would make you a good fit for this position?”
The woman blinked. The three figures were two men and a woman in business suits, staring at her, with notepads and pens ready to go. They were sitting across from her at a long desk in a small office. Above them, a ceiling fan spun at a reasonable pace.
The woman adjusted her glasses, ready to do battle with the interviewers. She’d been waiting, preparing for this moment all week. If she didn’t get this job, then she was done for. Moving back with her parents was basically a death sentence. It was time to fight.
“Well,” she said, sheathing her imaginary sword for the moment, “I have a very vivid imagination….”
If you want to join us and help write a story by trolling in chat, or share your own writing for feedback, then we’d love to have you join us on Twitch.
And you missed the stream, you can still watch them on the YouTube channel or watch the full stream reruns.
Hope to see you next time, friend!
Featured image: Pakutaso