Wanting to write, but only thing I miss is idea about storyline

[Lady Winter Rose]

First of all, I'm not searching for you to fill my blank spaces, but I have unusual problem

I really wish to write a novel, but I don't have clue what novel should be about. I don't know protagonist, I don't know villain, I don't know should it be growing up story, facing forces of evil story, underdog story... etc... so I'm missing major plotline and I'm drawing blank all together.

I do have some ideas and I'm able to come up with five pages already written beginning, but that story doesn't lead nowhere and I don't what pursue the natural ending it should have.

I wanted to write about powerful sorceress, doing fancy magic left and right, but I have hard time setting up that sorceress in time and place - should I write about how that powerful sorceress became powerful? About school time? But I find school time stories utterly boring.

 

I don't know how can everyone help me without filling my blank spaces, but I feel sucky right now and I hope someone have some ideas. I do read novels, but my language often doesn't translate fantasy stuff and without local library I'm left with free novels on smashwords, but last time I went there it was sucky place to search for new books.

[Lord Patrek]

Looks like you're at the very early stage of the writing process, so it's understandable that you've hit a wall.

You're at the point where you need to give everything some thought and answer the questions who, what, where, when, etc. Who is the sorceress? What is she? Why is she that way? Where and when is the story taking place. Answering those questions and the ones they will engender will allow you to flesh out the storylines and your characters. Which in turn might intrigue and inspire you with what comes next.

Maybe start with the sorceress back story? This will make you discover who she is and where she's coming from. Fleshing out your protagonist might anchor you and give you a better idea of what you want to do with her.

Good luck!

[Lady Winter Rose]

YEAH, thanks for kindness

I think I will try sorceress lost its power and recouping to regain them or maybe something else if I find something more natural, while still being flashy fiction fun fiction.

[TheLastWolf]

I'm gonna love this thread. Hopefully will help me too! 

[Lord Patrek]

18 minutes ago, Lady Winter Rose said:

YEAH, thanks for kindness

I think I will try sorceress lost its power and recouping to regain them or maybe something else if I find something more natural, while still being flashy fiction fun fiction.

Don't try to write a novel. That's putting way too much pressure on you, especially since you don't really have a good grasp of the character and the tale you want to tell.

Just write a story. Whether it turns into a short story, a novella, a novellette, or a full-length novel is meaningless at this point.

Write that story and see where it leads you.

[Toth]

2 hours ago, Lady Winter Rose said:

First of all, I'm not searching for you to fill my blank spaces, but I have unusual problem

I really wish to write a novel, but I don't have clue what novel should be about. I don't know protagonist, I don't know villain, I don't know should it be growing up story, facing forces of evil story, underdog story... etc... so I'm missing major plotline and I'm drawing blank all together.

I do have some ideas and I'm able to come up with five pages already written beginning, but that story doesn't lead nowhere and I don't what pursue the natural ending it should have.

I wanted to write about powerful sorceress, doing fancy magic left and right, but I have hard time setting up that sorceress in time and place - should I write about how that powerful sorceress became powerful? About school time? But I find school time stories utterly boring.

 

I don't know how can everyone help me without filling my blank spaces, but I feel sucky right now and I hope someone have some ideas. I do read novels, but my language often doesn't translate fantasy stuff and without local library I'm left with free novels on smashwords, but last time I went there it was sucky place to search for new books.

I guess I'm the last person here able to give advice, given that my only original work has been in a similar hell. I basically started out with a very rough idea what kind of story I wanted to write, but in the end the only thing I did was develop the setting and characters in my head, but never got around to actually having a story that would be enough to carry me going forward. What I then did however was get back in time and write a bunch of short stories fleshing out crucial events that I envisioned when shaping the world of my characters, involuntarily ending up writing about their ancestors.

That... felt like a very GRRM thing to do, honestly.^^

But in the end I guess it always helps if you don't force things. In the end you write because you want to create the kind of story you would want to read. If you start out by just having your character do fluffy thing interacting with her world, then do that! Maybe the hook for a grander plot will come on its own, maybe not.

[HoodedCrow]

LadyRose, the hardest thing about writing is often getting something down and then keeping at it, while not succumbing to perfectionism, and realizing that is hard to do!

Memoir is the easiest thing to write, in my humble opinion:) The research is applying your memory. If you want to write fantasy, I would take a situation that you are already familiar with and take a detour. Let your character be a sorceress! Make one scene including sensory details. Make weird stuff up and then see if it works. There are many, many ways to prompt yourself. 
 

Write a some cool scenes, or a tiny one page short story that has beginning, flashback, progression and ending. Expand it later, like Martin did with the scene with the dead stag and wolf cubs.
 

One way Martin prompts himself, I believe, is by taking a character out of history and acting it out on paper. He gives it a hard twist or blends events.  His writing is very advanced, though.

I took classes on memoir, “ method writing” , and writing inspired by collage or other art. One funny experience was writing a true story about getting lost and rescued in NYC. The teacher said that my detail about being 17 and reading Dante’s Inferno on the bus was unbelievable. However, it was exactly what I was actually doing then, as coincidental as that sounds. She wanted me to do other versions with other endings, and so I did! That is where the fantasy part comes in.

I’m just reading Anne Lamont’s Bird by Bird. It is about a writer learning to write by practicing. Stephen King has a great book On Writing. He took a high school prom and added horrific elements in Carrie. If you want a fantasy world, that requires a lot of thought experiments and world building. The Artists Way is another inspirational tool.

Also, Margaret Atwood quits a piece if she can’t make it work! There is no shame in that. You can read about how she was inspired to write a Handmaids Tale. 

I was directed to a site called Start With This.

There are some writers that write straight out, like Minerva born whole from the mind of Jove. But I also read that the professionalism is in the ability to polish and revise. Martin says that some writers are gardeners and some are architects. It is a wonderful metaphor.

Good luck:)
 

 

[Starkess]

There are tons of different writing methods, and part of the trick is finding the one that works for you, because results vary widely. Based on what you've described, I think you might try the snowflake method, as you can start with the seed of the idea you have and build out from there until you have a whole story in mind.

Good luck! For whatever it's worth, a LOT of writers I know say their first novel is rubbish. Not saying yours will be, but don't put pressure on yourself that it has to be perfect or even good. For one thing, you can always revise it later. For another, you can always write another book with more experience under your belt.

[Samsaptakas]

How did the protagonist become powerful? What did she scarified? And what are her reasons?

These are some of questions that you would need to think about. You don't need to have clear answers here. Answers will come as you write. Your villian would be someone who is opposed to her goals. Maybe a former friend or lover or even a sister or teacher.

[Knight Of Winter]

@Lady Winter Rose 
First off - let me just recommend this great series of videos on fantasy creative writing by Brandon Sanderson. Check it out if you want - I wager it will be helpful to your writing and creative process. 

Next, I'd advise you to be clear what kind of story do you want to write about? What's your story's tone, how does your story feel like? From your OP, it seems to me (though I could be wrong) that you plan on writing some lighthearted adventure where sorceress in question does cool stuff with her magic. Most common way to do that would be to have a series of Adventure Towns, with your protagonist travelling from one place to another, using her magic to solve mysteries, help people or hurt her enemies in the process.

That's far from the only solution to your "cool sorceress doing cool stuff" premise, however, for it could work just as well in some different, stationary setting: like a school/academy or political court. Also, instead of having a lighthearted adventure, you could have an adventure that's heavier and darker. Or have a story about political intrigue, with your sorceress being in the middle of it. Or have her constantly on the run from magic-hating society. Or tell a tale where magic is just an allegory for deeper spiritual/emotional mastery (like Force in Star Wars)... Good possibilities are endless.

On that note, think in what kind of world does your magic exist? Are mages rare and elusive or are they commonplace in your world - in general, how common are they? Is there a sharp societal distinction between mages and "muggles" ? Are mages loved? Or feared? Or hated and persecuted? Of despised but gruffly tolerated - Witcher series being the great example of a latter.

How does having magic impact everyday life? for example, in a world where teleporting magic is commonplace, how developed are other means of transportation? How does your protagonist's mind-reading ability interfere with her relationships? Etc.

How does magic work at all? What are its abilities and more importantly - what are its limitations? What it can or can't do? Is there some kryptonite i.e. anti-magic ability or device? You want to avoid situations where reader feels you've deliberately created loosely and badly structured magic system which you'll use for deus ex machina's all around the place. In short - define how does your magic work.

And lastly and certainly not leastly, define what type of character your MC is. What are her goals? What are her motivations? What's her personality like? What does she love or hate? What's her backstory? Etc.

And so on, and so on. Good thing about about it is that any of the above - or any combination of the above - can be used as s center point around which you'll build the rest of the story. If ""cool sorceress doing cool stuff" isn't enough to get you started, how about...

- "cool sorceress doing cool stuff" + "society that hates mages but needs their magic" or "society that mocks muggles" ;
- "cool sorceress doing cool stuff" + "proud and arrogant protagonist" ;
- "cool sorceress doing cool stuff" + "armies of mages fighting wars against each other" ;
- "cool sorceress doing cool stuff" + "magic manipulating water" or "telepathy-based magic"
- "cool sorceress doing cool stuff" + "murder mystery" etc.

Also: don't dwell too much on the writing process itself, just sit at your laptop and start writing. Many ideas will come by themselves while you're writing, for one. And for two, don't be afraid about screwing up: it's infinitely better to write a bad story that not to write any story at all. Bad stories are great in a sense - for it's impossible to write a good story without writing bad one (or several bad ones) first. It's a necessary first step in any creative endeavor. 

Solicit feedback from others - they'll tell you stuff about your story which you'd never be able to see by yourself. Value their opinion and actively seek it. Ty to be receptive of criticism and take it seriously - getting defensive when someone says something bad about your book is a great way to remain blind to all of your book's flaws and room from improvement. Remember that not all feedback is created equal: just like how you wouldn't ask a bartender about the advice on neurosurgery, or Donald Trump about advice on secrets of a happy marriage - solicit feedback from seasoned readers who've read their share of books and are able to separate wheat from chaff. 

Hopefully this was helpful. And good luck with your writing