Before one begins to write a story, one must know what one wants to write. As I realized Girl in Red was coming to a close, I started taking note of all the random story ideas I was having.

But even having several ideas didn’t help as much as I’d hoped. Few made it past the initial “pop into my head” stage. Only one of those (“Idea 1”) had lasted much longer than that, and the more I looked at it, the more I didn’t like it. I eventually scrapped that idea, but another came to mind back in September 2019. It’s since changed a lot, but there are two methods that shaped this.

Write What You Love

The first method is simple: write what you love. If you wouldn’t read the story you’re writing, you shouldn’t be writing it. That’s the philosophy I had with Girl in Red: Even if no one else enjoyed it, I did.

It’s easy to know what you enjoy. Just ask yourself: what are your favorite books, movies, TV shows, or other content medium of choice? Anything that’s caught your attention that forms a narrative can help you here. You don’t have to analyze one book or movie; I can’t tell you what my favorite movie is, but I can tell you the top five. It’s the same with books and TV shows. For each type of content (books, movies, etc.), make a list of your favorites. It doesn’t have to be long, just give you a sense of what it is you enjoy. You don’t have to do this, but I’ll reference it later.

That’s the easy part; the hard part is understanding what it is about them that you enjoy. Is it the characters? Something about the plot? What about that book had you saying “this is my favorite”?

Of course, visual media isn’t as helpful here. For example, RWBY is one of my favorite shows, but part of that reason is because I enjoy the visuals. When you start to analyze what you enjoy, if you realize that the visuals are the only reason you enjoy something on that list of yours, then it won’t help you here.

If you want to dig deeper than just your instincts and vague recollection of something, there’s a website you can use. Before you do, set yourself a timer for 20 minutes. The moment it goes off, close every tab you opened in that time. I tell you this because the site is TV Tropes, and its very easy to get sucked in and lose track of time. Look up your favorite content on there and read the list of tropes (Again, 20 minutes, tops). A “trope” is like an ingredient for a story, and the point of this is to understand the ingredients you enjoy in a story. When you read one and think “Oh! I loved that part!” then that’s part of that content that you enjoyed. I didn’t use TV Tropes when I was working out what I wanted to write, but I did start looking harder at my favorite movies and books. I did something else that helped me figure it out as well.

Look Over Your Past Work

I’ve mentioned before that writing every day is helpful. One good use of this is going through whatever it was you wrote and figure out what stuck and what didn’t. Especially look at the snippets you wrote that got you to keep going. What about it did that?

Once I had a spark of an idea in my head, this is what helped me flesh it out. I kept looking it over until I had something I could use. This also helps you understand what you like to write and don’t like to write. A few examples that I’ve found from writing Girl in Red:

• After a scrapped idea from Crimson Caster, I learned I don’t like world building
  • This is the reason Idea 1 fell through: too much world building
  • At the same time, I did enjoy the little bits of world building I did with Hermione and Luna’s plot lines in Crimson Caster
• I enjoyed writing romance a lot more than I thought I would
  • The cutesy scenes in Amber Abandonment with Neville and Luna were some of my favorite parts of Girl in Red
• I don’t like dealing with a large cast of characters
  • I found a good rhythm for it with Crimson Caster, but many times, I’d leave a few characters hanging around doing nothing
    • I especially noticed this in Amber Abandonment with Ginny
• After reviewing Scarlet Sociopath, I learned I don’t like writing too much action sequences
  • I do still enjoy them; the third task in Cherry Champion is one of my favorite scenes
• I like darker writing (plot and humor), so long as there’s a light at the end
• I don’t like straight comedy
  • I prefer drama with comedy sprinkled throughout
• Having an overpowered main character was fun at first, but got old quickly

In Conclusion

It was harder than I thought to find something about which I was excited. Even looking back at Girl in Red, if I were to write it again, it’d be a different story. There were several times I wanted to stop, but the idea of what would happen next kept me going. It changed a lot along the way, but so did I.

It’s important to write something you want to read, otherwise it’ll ruin the writing, and you’ll burn yourself out.

Remember, this is your writing. It’s worth the effort.

#Essay #Advice #Planning

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