How I Write a Story

How I Write a Story

S.K. Jacklyn

In my survey from when I first started my email list, I got a few variations of questions about how I write a story, what motivates me to write, how to create a good plot, how to create good characters, and other similar questions. In this post I hope to answer some of those questions.

This is probably mostly for my fellow writer friends, however, readers of my stories may also find it interesting.

First of all, let me say I don’t think there’s a “wrong” way to write a story. The only wrong way is to have an idea, say you’re going to write it, then get worried it won’t be good, so never write it. You can always edit something bad and make it better, but you can’t make something better if there isn’t anything to begin with!

Anyway, there isn’t a wrong way to write a story; many different great authors have different writing processes, and often those processes change over time. So I’m not going to tell you that this is the only way to write a good story. I’m not even going to recommend it. I’m just going to tell you about my current writing process for a story, one that has changed over time and will probably continue to change as I become a better writer.

For me, a story idea usually starts with either a “what if” question, or a scene that appears in my mind. For example, Twins started with, “What if there was a story about a prince going to rescue a princess, but instead of being lovers, they were brother and sister?” The story changed a lot from that first thought, and at this point, it does include rescuing two princesses, both a sister and a fiancee, but the question is what started it all.

For my sequel, my thought was, “What if I wrote a sequel to Twins? What did everyone do after the first book ended?” My prequel, Beloved, actually started with a dream I had after doing a lot of writing, and that dream was about Eleanor and Richard meeting. So then I asked, “How did they meet? Where did Eleanor come from? Why did Richard choose to marry her instead of some other princess?”

After that initial “what if” come the characters. I am a character driven writer, which means that I have strong characters, and the story centers around them more than plot. I care more about following the characters around than trying to write a specific plot. Related, I am what is often called a “discovery writer” or a “pantster.” This means that I don’t outline before the first draft. Instead, I just start writing, then “fly by the seat of my pants” and discover what is happening in the story at the same time I am writing it. This usually means that my plots for a first draft are pretty bad because I don’t always know where the story is going. I just start the characters in a certain place, and then continue to ask “what if” questions as the story goes along.

Many times characters get added that I didn’t intend to have in the first place. There has been more than once that my character has happened upon someone who they marry by the end of the book when I didn’t intend for them to get married at all! This writing process also sometimes leads me to write myself into a bit of a corner, but then I can come up with really interesting ways to get myself out of that corner!

One great example of this is in my sequel Sisters. I had written up to a very climactic, crucial, and emotional scene, where the heroine is literally backed into a dark corner and the evil prince tells her that if she refuses to marry him he will kill her sister, and then one of her people every day after that until she says yes. And then I had to stop writing, because I realized I had no idea what happened next, or how she was going to get out of this situation. Of course, I did figure it out, but I can’t tell you about it yet. 🙂

In my first drafts, I try to let my imagination take the characters wherever they could possibly go, and know that I can always change it later. During this time in my writing process I get very attached to my characters. Initial creation of a story and characters is one of my favorite parts about writing.

Then comes a part that is not as much my favorite: taking this messy first draft that I love and turning it into something other people would actually read. Usually I step away from my draft for a time between one week to a couple months so that I can go back to it with a fresh perspective. Then I read through my whole first draft and write down any big things I need to fix. Plot holes, inconsistencies, awkward transitions, parts that are too predictable, or stereotyped characters. After that I make an outline of the whole story. I have many great resources for how to make good outlines that I won’t get into right now, but if you ever want suggestions, feel free to reach out!

While the plot in my first draft is a little scatterbrained, in this outlining phase I really try to find out what my main plot is, how to get from point A to point B, what things are unnecessary to the plot and should be eliminated, and what additional things should be added to make the climax more powerful. Sometimes at this point I also dive into my characters and their personalities a little more: likes, dislikes, fears, strengths, weaknesses, and desires. I usually know all of these already, but it helps to think about them and write them down in one place.

After that I am ready for a second draft. I don’t edit the old document, I start a completely new one and re write the whole story with the first draft, my outline, and character charts on hand. This draft usually takes much longer because I am much more careful and purposeful about everything that happens.

After draft 2, I am ready for some other people to read my story. I usually let the draft sit for a little bit again then I do a read through and make some small edits, then I ask other people for feedback on my story and how I can make it better.

After receiving feedback (as well as thinking of my own edits and changes), it’s time to start the next draft. Depending on what feedback I receive I may make another outline, or just another document and do another rewrite with draft 2 and the notes I received. Once that draft is done, I repeat “step away, edit, ask for feedback, re-write” as many times as necessary until I think the story is as good as it can possibly be. So far, my short story The Witch’s Game is the only one that has made it there, but I think Twins is really close. My most recent re write was huge, so I’m not sure if it will need another full draft or just some smaller edits. I guess we’ll see after my beta team is done with it. 🙂 After that (theoretically) comes publication, which is a whole process in and of itself that I’ll tell you about some other time when I’m doing it!

One thing to note is that there is usually overlap in these steps between stories. During that time when I let the book sit before I come back to it or while other people are reading and editing, I am often starting the first or even second draft of another book. I’m stepping away from a specific story, but definitely not from writing, and when I’m writing a series, I may not even be stepping away from that “world.”

I hope you enjoyed getting to hear about my writing process! If you’re a writer, what does your writing process look like? Do you have any tips? Are you an outliner or discovery writer? What is your favorite step in the process? I’d love to hear your answers in the comments, or you can always send me an email or message me via the contact page! I always love to hear from you!