Every
story starts with a single idea. Sometimes even a single word or phrase,
seemingly insignificant. But when paired with other words and ideas, that one
little word can become something unique and unforgettable.
There
are so many different ways to start off the writing process. Perhaps you
already have characters in mind, already have a rough plot laid out in your
head. It’s still a good idea for you to organize and expand on each idea in
order to really flesh out your story, to give it life. One good way to do this
is through a method known as clustering.
Like
every great story, clustering starts with one word. Put that little word in a
bubble in the middle of a blank page. Look at that little word. What does it
make you think of? Write that down in another bubble and connect it to the
original word. What else does that word make you think of? What do these other
words make you think of? There are no right or wrong answers here, people. Just
keep going until you run out of ideas or run out of space.
It’s
a bit like internal research—presenting yourself with absolutely everything you
know about this one word, this one idea. The bubbles at the edge of the page
might not look like they would have anything to do with your original word or
idea, but look at those lines! The connection is there, but it’s up to you
whether or not you want to make that connection relevant in your story. This is
where you need to be creative—how, exactly, can you make that connection? Will
you use all of the things in between, creating a scenario that leads all the
way to this topic on the edge? It’s all up to you, man.
Perhaps you've already got one
little aspect of a potentially great story bouncing around in your head,
whether it’s a character, a setting, or a scenario. Something I think is
important to remember when writing is that you don’t have to start at the beginning
of the story. You can write any part you want and then connect them afterwards.
So start out with that one idea you have. Let’s say you have an idea for a setting.
Write down everything you want in this setting, the kind of people who will
live there, where it is in relation to the rest of the world. Flesh it out as
much as you can and go from there. It might be much easier to spawn a character
that fits into (or doesn't this setting if you already know everything about
it.
Have you
ever watched those ghost movies with that one guy who writes disturbing things
all over every available surface but doesn't actually remember doing it? That’s
kind of what freefalling, our next method of starting out, reminds me of.
You don’t have to have any ideas
or any particular words—you just write. Yes, it’s really that easy! Don’t even
think about it; just let your thoughts pour out onto the paper or screen in
front of you. They don’t have to make much sense, either. Just keep writing and
don’t stop no matter what. At some point you might even find that your mind is
wandering and you’re not paying attention, and yet your
hand is still writing away, la la la. Spooky, right?
Don’t bother worrying about your
spelling and grammar or reflecting on what you've written. Just write. It can
be really relaxing when you want to write something, anything, but have no idea
what to write about. It might come out as a bunch of gibberish, but hey, who
cares? Anything to get your creative circuits up and running.
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