In Today’s Journal
* The Stages of Any Story, Part 2
* How I Start and Write Any Story
* About Your Morning Serial
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
The Stages of Any Story, Part 2
This is the second of two posts in which I’ll talk about the stages of any story.
Yesterday, because I’m deep in the Blackwell Ops world and writing the 42nd novel in that series, I focused down on that as an example.
There are probably gems for you in these two posts, so read them with an open mind but with an eye to your own work.
You can read the first post here.
How I Start and Write Any Story
These are the stages of how I write a story of any length, whether a partial story (no resolution) in a vignette, a short short, a short story, a novelette, or a novel.
Stage 1: The Idea or Story Starter
I might see a roll of toilet paper in an unusual place—in someone’s front yard, strung across brush or trees, or unrolled down the aisle of a store—and wonder how it got there. That’s a story idea.
Or I might see horses thundering across a pasture or field. Why are they galloping? In your mind, are men or women mounted on saddles on their back?
Or maybe I’m walking along a rural road and a mom in a minivan, distracted by her unruly children in the back seat, narrowly avoids running over me (my perspective) by swerving back onto the road as I leap farther off the shoulder.
Or maybe I browse photos from a royalty-free stock agency (as I mentioned yesterday and the day before) and go from there. Or maybe I smash two half-titles together to make a new title. Whatever.
Or as my buddy Dan Baldwin said a couple of days ago,
“I get the same question. My usual answer is ‘Write ‘the’ or ‘he’ or ‘it.’ Add a verb and then see where the thing takes you. “I sometimes get blank stares, but every once in a while, I do see a twinkle.”
Or pick a character, give him or her a problem, and drop him or her into a setting.
You all know how you get story ideas or story starters. So get one. Then write whatever comes. Trust yourself and your characters.
Stage 2: The Big Reveal
That’s what I call the story as it unfolds and I feverishly try to keep up and write down what happens and how the character(s) react to what happens.
Story is always about the characters, so what happens and how the character(s) react to what happens is the whole scene or story. Write it.
The Big Reveal is the first wonderful who-gives-a-damn timeframe during which you, the Recorder, are ‘just getting the story on the page/screen’.
Stage 3: Cycling
This is also done in the creative subconscious. It’s the second wonderful who-gives-a-damn timeframe, but during this one you (the Writer or Presenter) are clarifying what that other you (the Recorder) already put on the page.
If you can edit (correct misspelled or wrong words, fix consistency or punctuation or voice issues, etc.) while you’re in the creative subconscious, so much the better.
But if you try editing on the fly, the instant you find yourself attempting to “correct” an event or a character’s reaction to that event, stop. You’ll spoil the story.
See the important notes on editing while cycling below.
Stage 4: Submit or Publish
Appropriately, this is also Heinlein’s Rule 4.
If you want others to read your stories, you have to publish them. For me personally, that means publish them Right Now. Any elapsed time between when a story is finished and when it’s published is time that the ‘right’ reader might have seen it and bought it.
Develop a sense of urgency. Heinlein’s Rules also help with that:
- You must write.
- You must finish.
- You must not rewrite.
- You must submit or publish what you write.
- Keep submitting (or leave up what you’ve published).
And then the all-important Stage 5: Write the next story. (See Stage 1.)
Notes on Editing While Cycling
Cycling—allowing the characters to touch the story as you read through what you’ve already put on the page—is ALWAYS a function of the creative subconscious.
Editing while cycling in the creative subconscious is an acquired skill, one that comes naturally over time. It isn’t something you can or should practice.
If you ‘try’ to practice it, chances are good the act of editing will open a flood from your conscious, critical mind. That flood is NEVER productive.
But if you have a good grounding in grammar and punctuation, the ability to edit while cycling and remaining in the creative subconscious will come to you naturally over time when you’ve put enough words on the page.
One day you’ll just realize you’re editing while cycling. Even then, you’ll have to guard against the critical voice creeping in.
So don’t worry about whether you can or can’t edit as you cycle. Just keep writing new stories and novels. That’s the whole key to growth as a writer.
Anything you learn (conscious mind) from me, Dean, or anyone else might get you started in a new skill or enhance a skill you already have.
But you’ll learn a great deal more by putting new words on the page consistently than you will ever learn directly from me or anyone else.
About Your Morning Serial
A writer and reader sent the following in an email:
“Shades of Wes Crowley! This is heart-racing reading! I hope I’m up to date with my subscription! As usual, you hooked me on the first page!”
If you haven’t dropped by Your Morning Serial yet, it’s still early in the novel. You can read the first installment here.
Or you can find the full archive and catch up here.
Talk with you again soon.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………… 970
Writing of “Focus, a Hit, and the Stages of Egress”
Day 1…… 2885 words. To date…… 2885 done
Writing of Blackwell Ops 42: Sam Granger
Day 1…… 2873 words. To date…… 2873
Day 2…… 1873 words. To date…… 4746
Day 3…… 3717 words. To date…… 8463
Fiction for April……………………….. 56632
Fiction for 2025………………………. 323582
Nonfiction for April…………………….. 11190
Nonfiction for 2025…………………… 92720
2025 consumable words…………….. 409792
Average Fiction WPD (March)……… 3540
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 8
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 19
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 112
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 289
Short story collections……………………. 29
Whatever you believe, unreasoning fear and the myths that outlining, revising, and rewriting will make your work better are lies. They will always slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.
Writing fiction should never be something that stresses you out. It should be fun. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Because of WITD and because I endeavor to follow those Rules I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too.
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- On Writing Fiction
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- Writing Resources
- Oh, and here’s My Bio. It’s always a good idea to vet the expertise of people who are giving you advice.
Questions are always welcome at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. But please limit yourself to the topics of writing and publishing.