#slitheringink

Sounds to me like you you haven’t fleshed out your characters and setting enough to to come up with a conflict to drive your plot. You may want to spend some time figuring out what your characters goals are, and what they’ll do to achieve those goals. Also, you’ll want to decide what impact the setting will have on those characters. Once you know those things, you’ll find it easier to pin-point a conflict.

This is regurgitated from an old post, but here are the different kinds of conflict in stories:

Man vs. Society – Characters fighting against corrupt institutions (governments), traditions or other cultural aspects go here. Examples are characters fighting against racism, sexism, bullying, etc.

Man vs. Man – A character vs. another character. Think of a superhero fighting a supervillain as an example.

Man vs. Self – An internal conflict. The character struggles against his own personal flaws. He often has to make a tough decision between good and evil.

Man vs. Nature – Generally survival stories. A character has to fight for his life against a blizzard, hurricane, tornado of sharks or whatever else Mother Nature can conjure up.

Man vs. God – A character struggling against actual gods, whether it be going to head to head with one of them or just fighting against their will. A character fighting against the tenants of his religion can also be used here, or one fighting against his predetermined fate or destiny.

Man vs. Supernatural – When a character is fighting forces not of this world. These forces may possess fantastic powers. A character struggling against angels, vampires, werewolves, etc can be put here.

Man vs. Technology – A character fights against an evil of his own making. Technology, initially intended for good, has been warped and twisted for the purposes of evil. It could be used to control a society or start a war.

Once you’ve decided on a source of conflict, I wrote an article on plotting your story that you may find useful here.

Hope that helps. If you have any more questions, let me know.

Some additional writing resource blogs that might help you figure out your novel, short story, or other tale.

writeworld.tumblr.com: A source of writing prompt challenges to help keep your mental quill ready at any moment the urge to write strikes you.

slitheringink.tumblr.com: Great for character development tips and challenges.

Magic systems can get incredibly complex, so I get where you’re coming from. Like with any other bit of world building, it’s best to plan out all of the little details of your system so you know it, then while writing only express the important bits to the reader. The goal is to make sure you’re not confusing people while at the same time keeping your system balanced within the story. 

It’s good that your system has grown from where it started, and it’s perfectly fine that it doesn’t really resemble the initial product. That just means you’ve built on whatever you had started with to make something that (hopefully) works better for you.

I’m going to leave you with the best articles ever on magic system creation by Brandon Sanderson specifically because the magic system in his Mistborn Trilogy is really complex but also really well-written and easy to understand. I always suggest learning by example.

Sanderson’s 1st Law

Sanderson’s 2nd Law

Sanderson’s 3rd Law

Enjoy.

I’ll tell you, figuring out where to start a story is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do as a writer. Know that whatever you decide on for the time being, you’ll probably end up changing further down the line, and that’s fine. As opposed to me telling you where to begin, here are a few example of where not to (but, be aware that any of these can be broken if the writing is good enough):

With Dialogue - Starting your novel with a conversation generally doesn’t work because the reader has literally no idea who the characters are, what the context for the conversation is, and why they should care. When writers do this, it can sometimes be confusing because the reader is lacking necessary information.

In a Fight Scene - This doesn’t mean you can’t start with action or something exciting (like an explosion, a murder, etc), but like the dialogue example, the reader has no idea why they should care about the characters who are fighting or what the stakes are. There’s no investment. No build up.

Mundane Tasks - Waking up, looking in a mirror, eating breakfast, etc. Things a normal person does everyday don’t usually make for the best openings unless there’s something strange about said task (like maybe they’re eating glass for breakfast). Putting the weird into the mundane is interesting. Keeping things ordinary is just boring.

False Beginnings - An example of one of these would be spending the entire first chapter with one character (and being led to believe they’re the protagonist) only to have them die at the end of chapter one, and then the rest of the book focuses on the real protagonist. That kind of stuff, especially if that first character has significant plot relevance, can be handled later in a flashback or in a reflective conversation or thought process with the real protagonist later down the line.

Information Overload - Don’t spend the beginning of your book meticulously describing the setting and every little inner-working of how your world operates. Always sprinkle those details throughout the story instead of hurling them in the reader’s face. A bit of world building information in the beginning to orient the reader and/or introduce a specific important aspect of the world is fine though.

Now as far as what to include goes, try to have: a strong voice, an inciting event (the thing that gets the plot moving and puts your main character outside of their comfort zone), a bit of world building, and an interesting character (note I didn’t say a main character people can connect with right off the bat; you can do that through their development as the story goes), and a question (or several) to keep the reader wanting to turn the page.

It’s not easy, I know. Take a look at some of the books you really enjoy and see how they open. Observe and apply what you’ve seen to your own work. Have others read over what you’ve done and give feedback. Don’t get frustrated. You’ll do fine.

If you need anything else, let me know.

So you want to give up because you can’t come up with any ideas for your story, but you really like the concept and want to continue, yet not matter how hard you try, you can’t shake that nagging voice that whispers, “you can’t handle this”? Well, guess what? You absolutely can.

You’ve already admitted to yourself that you really want to write your story, so, write it. Every writer, no matter who they are, gets stuck. Sometimes the ideas don’t flow. Sometimes you hit a wall. Sometimes you come up with an idea that just doesn’t work out. All of that is okay.

Here are few things that might help you out:

Find a sounding board, whether that be a beta reader or a buddy to bounce concepts off of. Find someone who’s interested in what you’re working on and use them as a resource.

Outline. It can be as detailed or as general as you want. An outline is just a guide that may help you discover the path you want your story to take. I wrote up an article on them here.

Get inspired. Read another book in your genre. Watch a movie. Sit down with a TV show. Play a video game. Find something that’ll get those creative juices flowing. A lot of works we see today are inspired by those that came before them. There isn’t really anything that’s entirely original anymore. It’s not about the idea, but what you can do with it.

Write fan fiction. Working with another person’s ideas in their world is a good way to start developing your own.

Take a break. If you really can’t come up with something, it’s possible you may later after you let your mind rest. You’re not a machine. Sometimes great ideas hit you in the weirdest places. Trust me on that one.

Anyway, don’t give up on something you want to do. I hope that helped at least a little.

Beat it over the head with a shovel. :D If that doesn’t work, you could always try these:

Do writing prompts.

Go outside and observe. Write what you see.

Write a journal.

Write a letter to someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time, even if you’re not going to send it.

Write a letter to your past or future self.

Write fanfiction.

Create random characters or plot ideas, even if you think they’re stupid or cliche.

Read a book.

Watch a movie.

Play a video game.

Take a mental break. Sometimes forcing yourself to write isn’t enough, and everyone needs to relax. Don’t beat yourself up if it takes you a while to get back to writing. It’s okay.

Listen to some music.

Go socialize with some cool people.

Think about what inspired you to write before you got the block. Do that.

Ask yourself what you’re really passionate about. Write about that.

Offer to help someone out with their creative project. Maybe their work will inspire you.

Good luck.

The Basics

Character development can refer to the actual creation process in which you decide your character's strengths, flaws, goals, features, etc, or it can refer to a character's progression/transformation throughout a story, which is also known as an arc.

Your Character: How Much Do You Need to Know?

Some will say you need to be aware of everything when it comes to a character, including miscellaneous minutia, but when you follow that advice you'll find it's all too easy to get bogged down. In order to make things easier, it's best to have an outline (or at the very least a general idea) for your story, and then consider your characters within that context. Make sure you flesh out these basics:

Features and Identifying Characteristics - Consider what makes them unique in both physical appearance and personality.Their voice and mannerisms are also important here.

Goal (s) - What does your character want and how does it drive the conflict in the story? How does your character's goal, and the lengths they'll go to accomplish it, affect others?

Strengths and Flaws - You can divide these into major and minor categories. Some will affect the character and those around them more than others. It's important to try to find a balance between the two, even if it's not initial. The character can find a balance during the story.

Fears - These are very important to know because they'll influence your character's behavior. Fears can be internal and external, major and minor.

Reactions - How does your character handle situations that occur within your story, and what do those reactions say about your character to themselves, other characters, and the audience?

Interactions - How does your character conduct themselves around other characters? Why?

Static vs. Dynamic Characters

Simply put, a static character is one who does not change in a story while a dynamic character does. Dynamic characters tend to have legitimate, major growth, whether it be over the course of a single story or over many. Their personality, beliefs, perspective, or even goals may be altered by their experiences, and they learn something, whether it be good or bad. Both kinds of characters will appear in stories, and it's alright to have either in the main character role.

You may also see static characters referred to as flat and dynamic characters referred to as round.

Static Character Examples: Sherlock Homes, Hannibal Lecter, Indiana Jones, Han Solo, Robin Hood, James Bond, Tarzan, Huck Finn, Long John Silver, Classic Superheroes (Batman, Superman, Spiderman).

Dynamic Character Examples: Harry Potter, Ebeneezer Scrooge, Bilbo Baggins, Batman (Batman Begins), Buzz Lightyear, Darth Vader, and Aladdin (Disney).

Character Arcs

The key to writing a good character arc is maintaining believable change in the eyes of the audience. If your character is a pretty nice guy for most of the story, then suddenly decides to do something vile, like kill a kitten for no good reason (other than your Master Plan to make him a villain), your audience is going to be confused. Character arcs aren't just about the beginning and the end, but how you get to that end. They are a progression.

There are three basic types of character arcs: positive, negative, and flat/no change.

Positive: Your character begins at a low point, and by the end of the story reaches a high and is better off than where he was when he started. An external force causes a change within the character. An example would be The Hero's Journey (Shrek) or overcoming an internal obstacle.

Negative: Your character begins at a high point, and by the end of the story hits a low and is worse off than where he was when he started. An external force causes a change within the character. An example would be The Fall from Grace (Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader).

Flat/No Change: The character, at some point, has already found their truth, accomplished their goal, come to terms with their struggles, or had a major change at some point prior to the story and already knows how to handle things. These stories tend to focus on how the character can affect his world, and not the other way around.

There are, of course, different degrees of severity to these arcs, and depending on how long your story is, or if it's over the course of a series, a character may go through multiple arcs.

Remember to treat your characters like people. Force them into situations that expose them, and make them show who they really are.

Happy writing.