How did you decide on one idea?
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I've only written shorts, so perhaps you should take my advice with a grain of salt. Lots of ideas come to me; I simply decide to write one that is most developed in my head.
For novels, one major conflict is indeed the usual norm, but that doesn't mean you also need just one sub-plot. Just make sure you don't confuse the reader and you can have several subplots running through a novel.
For novels, one major conflict is indeed the usual norm, but that doesn't mean you also need just one sub-plot. Just make sure you don't confuse the reader and you can have several subplots running through a novel.
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Hmm...I usually know what my main plot/conflict is before I start writing. It's the only way I know how it's going to end.
But I got to the main conflict by brainstorming and making mind maps and playing around with different scenarios until I happened on one that I liked and made sense for the mc.
But I got to the main conflict by brainstorming and making mind maps and playing around with different scenarios until I happened on one that I liked and made sense for the mc.
this
different people start out at different places, but I usually let things kick around in my head until I have that one idea that either keeps returning or doesn't get shot full of holes....
For my stories the major plot is always the loudest one. What I mean is I start thinking about scenes associated with that plot idea and the one that generates the biggest scenes, the most fights, explosions, stuff like that: that's the one that I choose.
I also have the benefit of a couple of friends who I kick ideas around with.
I also have the benefit of a couple of friends who I kick ideas around with.
I have fourteen stories released/contracted. Each began with me developing a premise as articulated by a tag line. For example, for TAINTED HERO, the story evolved around "Some people do bad things for the right reasons", in FINAL SOLUTIONS, the plot questioned the struggle, "How far is too far." In VEIL OF DECEPTION, "truth can cut deeper than a lie." I don't wait till I finish the book then figure out the premise, I start with the tag, which makes it much easier.
Ref only one plot, sure, there is always a central theme, but I evolve the reader along the way with numerous sub themes and a suspense tree. Why all that effort? Cause I write what I would like to read. The stories that remain in my minds eye over the years are those where the author took the time to keep me guessing and enough paths so I was always on the edge of my seat for what ways around the corner.
Ref only one plot, sure, there is always a central theme, but I evolve the reader along the way with numerous sub themes and a suspense tree. Why all that effort? Cause I write what I would like to read. The stories that remain in my minds eye over the years are those where the author took the time to keep me guessing and enough paths so I was always on the edge of my seat for what ways around the corner.
Your story's major conflict should also involve or directly stem from your main character(s) and what he/she/they want. If you're having trouble narrowing down your plot, you may want to take a closer look at your main character(s).
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I don't choose the idea, the idea chooses me-!"
Kidding, kidding... but not kidding at the same time. The idea for my current WIP's plot overwhelmed me when I first thought it up; I couldn't (can't) think of working on anything else at the moment.
Kidding, kidding... but not kidding at the same time. The idea for my current WIP's plot overwhelmed me when I first thought it up; I couldn't (can't) think of working on anything else at the moment.
Subplots are directly related to the main idea, not something you choose a major conflict from.
But I open every story by simply putting a character in an interesting situation. All conflict evolves directly from the opening situation, so there nothing to choose from.
It simply isn't a matter of any idea except whatever the opening situation is, and this part is easy. Just place a character in the middle of a nightmare, and then let him work his way out.
I forget how my my main plot idea was inspired, I think by watching the news and reading so much, but I had a main plot in mind and 2 MCs, who have a conflict, that being overthrowing a dictator. That initial idea was enough to spawn more characters and subplots.
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Assuming we're talking about a novel, cara, and not some kind of anthology or similar, there has to be a cohesive flow from Page One to THE END. You can have subplots and side journeys, but some singular "path" is going to get your character from a beginning to an end.
And, I think, the more you examine what you call subplots with an eye towards that path, the more one of them is going to stand out to you. Or you may realize that there is a path tying those subplots together.
And, I think, the more you examine what you call subplots with an eye towards that path, the more one of them is going to stand out to you. Or you may realize that there is a path tying those subplots together.
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I prefer to write in first person, so the plot becomes whatever concerns the narrator most. Supposing they're willing to tell me.
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I'm a character first-er. Usually one character (maybe more) will come to me, but I won't know his/her story until I do one of two things: 1) sit down and flesh said character out more or 2) simply start writing and see where s/he takes me. Maybe try one of those methods?
By forcing and pressuring myself XD I know might not be the healthiest choice, but when you have many ideas that float around and just don't want to be written, sometimes you just need to grab an idea and start working on it.
Something better would probably be studying and thinking about which one you might be able to go the furthest with or the one that makes you the most excited. You want this to stay a passion after al. It will need to excite you.
But my writing teacher had an interesting idea that might work with finding the right conflict. Take your characters and force them to experience different conflict (think about them and write them out) because you might find you can pick a conflict better through how your characters will react to them.
Something better would probably be studying and thinking about which one you might be able to go the furthest with or the one that makes you the most excited. You want this to stay a passion after al. It will need to excite you.
But my writing teacher had an interesting idea that might work with finding the right conflict. Take your characters and force them to experience different conflict (think about them and write them out) because you might find you can pick a conflict better through how your characters will react to them.
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I've now written six novels and am subbing one around, but all my novels have one big plot and several smaller ones...
Sort of like the books I read.
Even my short stories, which are published, are the same way: one biggie and a few smaller ones just to add a bit of spice to the adventure.
An example, in one story the aim is to find and stop a serial killer of young women, but the subplot involves a teenaged boy cleaning out a garage and finding some old love letters his mother wrote to a man who wasn't her husband. How do they go together? They just do.
They must either all be equally great ideas, or none of them worthwhile, if it's difficult to choose.
Surely your main plotline must be obvious to the reader? So choosing it from any set of options mght follow a similar approach.
I hate the "what the character wants" thing! Partly because I rarely know until I start writing, and more often because what my characters WANT is never, ever what they NEED 
I always pick the one idea I think I can actually write 400 pages over the course of many months about! Not many ideas really fit the bill.
I always pick the one idea I think I can actually write 400 pages over the course of many months about! Not many ideas really fit the bill.
Thank you all very much for the helpful responses! I think I'm understanding the process a bit better now.
Also, I was wondering if you needed one central plot, or if a novel could be based on just subplots? (I probably wouldn't do this, but I'm curious).
Thanks again.
That's a very good idea, especially for how I write (I have to focus or end up all over the place). So, pick a tag-line and work from there?
Also, I was wondering if you needed one central plot, or if a novel could be based on just subplots? (I probably wouldn't do this, but I'm curious).
Thanks again.
Like Michael Davis, the titles I used started with a basic idea and the subplots evolved from there. In The Tower, I started with the premise of a dying kid ending up in another dimension on the Tower, a satellite in space. He meets a group of people and his interactions with them involved learning about how to work, falling in love, and of course, saving the universe. I mainly wanted to examine the concept of choice, choosing to do the right thing because you want to, not because you have to.
In Demi-World, the MC finds out he's the last of his line in a group of demi-gods (and they're not really demi-gods at all) and even though it's a cliche of accepting his destiny he actually fights against it and is forced to fight. Again, the subplots involved romance, human interaction but this time, the concept of choice is effectively taken away.
Threadweaver also examines the concept of choice being taken away but instead, the hero of the tale accepts a slightly different course to his life, becoming a "threadweaver" (a teller of tales) instead of becoming an artist, something he was more suited for.
I think Mr. Davis's idea is a sound one. If you take one premise and work it, the other subplots will manifest themselves and then you have to figure out if you can resolve them.
In Demi-World, the MC finds out he's the last of his line in a group of demi-gods (and they're not really demi-gods at all) and even though it's a cliche of accepting his destiny he actually fights against it and is forced to fight. Again, the subplots involved romance, human interaction but this time, the concept of choice is effectively taken away.
Threadweaver also examines the concept of choice being taken away but instead, the hero of the tale accepts a slightly different course to his life, becoming a "threadweaver" (a teller of tales) instead of becoming an artist, something he was more suited for.
I think Mr. Davis's idea is a sound one. If you take one premise and work it, the other subplots will manifest themselves and then you have to figure out if you can resolve them.
No, you don't to have a one central plot. The book can have several intertwined plots that all have their own protagonists. Quite a few books with multiple point-of-view characters are written this way, actually. These books work because the separate narratives all come together in some way, either by having the characters cross paths or by having them riff off each other thematically. Cohesion and a sense of wholeness are important characteristics in a good novel but there are many ways to achieve them.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is an extreme example. It tells six separate stories that take place centuries apart. It lacks a central conflict, a central plot and a central protagonist, yet it makes a great novel and was also listed for the Nebula and Booker awards.
My subplots evolved naturally out of my main plot. I had no idea what my subplots would be when I started writing my novel, I just had the main conflict in mind. My characters created the subplots for me, by reacting to the events of the main conflict. I am a little worried I have 1 or 2 too many subplots, though.
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I pick based on what the characters would do, what's most interesting, and whatever avoids cliche. It's easy to say just let the characters run things, and as a character writer I understand the sentiment, but I work backwards as well sometimes ("I need to get to this point. What's it going to take for the character to do kill someone" for instance). Sometimes, there is more than one direction a character might go. And there are times when external forces come in and screw things up for everyone.
For those moments, I always try to look at the options and I go with whichever one seems most original. I also like to twist cliches, so that helps me find direction a lot as well. I find it easier to say "I don't want..." than "I want..."
Not sure if that makes sense, but just my process.
For those moments, I always try to look at the options and I go with whichever one seems most original. I also like to twist cliches, so that helps me find direction a lot as well. I find it easier to say "I don't want..." than "I want..."
Not sure if that makes sense, but just my process.
That's very helpful thanks! I knew of a few which I suspected to be just sub plots, but hadn't worked out if they were or not (if I'd got the definition wrong).
Thanks for all the replies everyone!
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This ain't kidding as much as might be professed here - at least not for me. When a story hits me, it hits hard, and with that the main concept of the story, usually in line somewhat with the plot.
There are a number of themes you'll see, which are different than the plot, although sometimes driven by it. For me, themes play a bigger part of my science fiction work than either fantasy or horror. It's easier, because there's so many great ones that automatically lend themselves to the story.
I think that in terms of "ideas", if they're plot-centric, they come right away, with the inspiration for the story itself. If they're theme-centric, they're things that develop along the way, and you just notice they're there, allowing you to flesh the more interesting ones out on later drafts and edits.
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