This can be for anyone who writes or creates fictional stories, whether for the page, screen, or some other media.
How do you see your stories? To explain what I mean, I’m tell you how I see mine:
In the infinite multiverse, there are an infinite number of stories. Most are bad, or mediocre, but there are good ones out there. My job is to find and refine them, metaphorically speaking. I might think of a story hook, or a setting, but in my mind, they’re already out there somewhere, I just happened to discover them. And refining them is to figure out what really happened - what did these characters really do? How did the setting work? Eventually, if everything works out, I “discover” the full, actual story - what “really” happened, out there in this little corner of the multiverse.
In this way, every story is “real”, in some way. In case it’s not crystal clear, storytelling in all its forms is very, very special, IMO. It’s probably as close to mystical or spiritual as anything in my life.
For me, it starts with a problem, and how different characters try to solve it. I focus on the relationships between the characters. It’s a completely made up situation, but is realistic enough to convince the audience it could happen in real life, and the characters are reacting the way real people would react. Everything in the story is plausible, but is completely made up in my mind.
I see them as movies, or episodes. I watch them in my head, and if I don’t like it, I reshoot it. Sometimes, I have “DVD bonus” alternate endings, if I can’t decide.
For me, I’ve got these characters knocking around in my head. The major ones are as real to me as real people, and they’ve got stories they want me to tell. My job is to tell their stories in the most entertaining way possible. Their lives are far more interesting than mine, and I’m cool with that.
A main character goes through an emotional arc. If the story is properly focused, everything main characters do/react to takes them through a step of that arc, leading the reader to feel a sense of completeness at the end. Once the arc is set, other accents can be added which comment on the main character’s journey.
Without a viable emotional arc as a foundation, stories are at greater risk of coming off as “things happen to a more or less hapless main character.” That can prove disengaging to read while carrying diluted impact.
Writing tends to be less mysterious and easier (though not necessarily “easy”) when one knows what one is doing. Creative flailing can be productive, but it tends to be much less reliable at delivering a satisfying result.
You might have misunderstood what I was saying here. The act of writing is not mysterious to me – I’m very comfortable with it (but yes, it’s rarely “easy”). It’s the concept of storytelling – plucking a story out of the aether, and refining it to the best version of itself – that I find somewhat mystical and spiritual. Maybe it’s just me.
My stories begin with a location and situation. Then I watch things happen from there. Each chapter has the seed of the next one, and I discover it as I write the chapter. When I finish one, my next thought is “what happens next?” or "What does this imply (including offhand comments by the characters)? I just keep doing this until I come to the end. Then I stop.
The only recent creative/storytelling work I’ve been involved with is writing campaigns for various TT-RPGs. For me, I love the part of creating the world, the societies, and the interactions. I also love plotting the main story, individual subplots, and the conclusion I want to reach. Getting the players involved to care as much, to not go dodging into countless sidetracks, or to go out of their way to avoid the story… that’s the challenging part of the communal storytelling experience. I also tend to get too attached to the world, because in some sense, it’s my child, which can lead to unfair conflicts with the players.
Sadly, most of us are too busy with Real Life and living in different states to make much of a go of it anymore.
I start with characters and a setting, then come up with a plot idea and run them through it in my head. I often run out of steam, which is when I drop the idea. If I can get it all the way through, then I do it again to see which parts I remember. Remembering a plot point means it works.
Then I write it down, and during revision I try to find the higher level meanings of things, often put in their by my subconscious. Once I find these I can amplify them. Orten I see things fitting together I didn’t realize - happened yesterday, in fact.
