Writing.Com General Discussion

Those are some pretty interesting story ideas you've got there!

About your question, each writer has different ways to approach building a story and executing the writing process. For example, I really like character creation, so I generally begin with the characters, and then continue from there to build on everything else. However, I think there aren't any right or wrong ways to go about this.

Creating characters first can have certain advantages. Since the characters are the heart of any story, starting with characters can help you to keep them as the focus during the entire writing process. After the character creation, you'd then go on to the plot, and from there you can more easily define what you need to research for your story. After all, once you know who your characters are, and what the main plot will be, you might find out which topics are the most important to research. For example, if medieval government will play in important role in your story, you may choose to research that aspect a bit more, to get all the data you need.

Then again, there are definitely some advantages in during your research first. While researching all about the time period you story takes place in, you can find interesting things that might inspire you on what to add into the story. Knowing enough about the setting your story takes place in can help you create characters that feel natural in that setting. After all, it's easier to create characters that don't feel out of place when you know enough about the setting the characters will be in.

Overall, I think everyone has their own way of working through a story. I'd recommend you try different approaches, and figure out which one fits you more. I love character creation, so most of the time, it's the first part of a story that comes to my mind. However, perhaps you might do better with researching the setting of your story and world-building first. And that's fine. I think the key here is to try to find the approach that best suits you. I hope this was helpful.

Have a great day (or night, depending on when you read this) and good luck with your stories!

If there's anything I can help you with, let me know!
Red Fork
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