A Map to Success in Writing Your First Story

     NO MORE! It is time to open that door, wave the neighbour off with a quick “Nice to see you, but I have things planned that I need to get to. No, I can’t share the details of what I’m about to do. Yes, I did notice the garbage truck came 15 minutes later than usual on Wednesday. I’m heading out now! Tootles!”

     My friend, I am about to give you the map to guide your story (or stories)! And it all starts with… well… a map.

     What you need to do is take that story that is stuck in your head and build yourself what is called a ‘story map’. This map will steer the course of your story so that if and when you DO start to feel a little stuck, all you need to do is simply refer to your map and away you go!

     How do you make a story map? Simple! Take a paper (or two) and create six sections:

     Setting:

     Main Character:

     Problem:

     Beginning:

     Middle:

     End:

     The key to your map’s success is to keep it SIMPLE! This is not the time or place to be writing your entire story. This is where you outline the key points you need to include in order for your story to progress. Think of them as jumping on big rocks that lead across a river. You need to jump on each rock in the order that they are laid out. If you try to skip a rock, you will fall into the river and get swept away.

     Let’s look at the first section: setting.

     All you need to do here is write out where and when your story takes place. Boom! That’s it, leave it alone.

     Example:

     Setting:

     The jungle surrounding the Lost City of Geraptiku, early in the morning while fog is still rising from the ground.

     Next up is the main character. Who is your main character? Do not write down about any side characters. This is the time to polish who this story is really about. Write down their name, species, and any important character traits

     Example:

     Main Character:

     Harold the Pteri who is a really fast flyer but has terrible eyesight and flies into everything).

     Next is your problem. Write down what challenge your character is trying to overcome.

     Example:

     Problem:

     Harold wants to win a race, but it takes place in a jungle with a ton of obstacles.

     Notice that I only wrote down one sentence? That is all you need. The details will come later in your real story.

     Now these next few parts might seem intimidating, but take a deep breath. Did the above steps seem like a lot of work? Not at all! And neither will these next steps.

     I want you to think of the beginning, middle, and end of your story map like you’re writing a shopping list…. Or a to do list. However, when writing your story, you can’t “check” off your items until you have completed the previous one. You need to complete things in order.

     Let’s look at the beginning. I will continue using my Pteri story as a model. This particular part is going to be very short because you will already be including the above mentioned parts of your map in the beginning of your story. The beginning of your story should always introduce the main character, setting, and problem.

     Example:

     Beginning:

     -The Lost City of Geraptiku is hosting a semi-annual race for all of its inhabitants, and the winner will receive free training at the training school for the rest of the year.

     We’re almost done! The middle of your story is going to circulate around how your character tries to solve their problem.

     Example:

     Middle:

     -Harold speaks with some of the other contestants while they wait for the race to start. He befriends a Korbat who also has poor eyesight.

     -Harold and the Korbat make a plan to stick together throughout the race. They are both nervous, but feel better about not flying (or crashing) alone.

     -While flying, Harold and his new friend discover that they work well as a team. Harold is nearsighted, and the Korbat is farsighted.

     -Harold shouts out directions to help the Korbat avoid obstacles as they appear up close. And the Korbat shouts out warnings of obstacles that they are approaching up ahead.

     You can add as many steps as you’d like to your story map, but for the sake of my example- I’m keeping things short. Please notice that my story would still work just fine even being this short.

     Finally, when you map out the ending, you need to list out how your character solves their problem and what happens as a result.

     Example:

     End:

     -The two successfully dodge and manoeuvre through the jungle, passing other contestants that get tangled up in vines and low hanging branches.

     -Harold and the Korbat near the finish line and decide to hold hands to pass it together, both of them winning first place.

     -The judges discuss among themselves, and even speak with the training school master about the interesting situation. It is finally decided that they both will be awarded the free training school lessons.

     And just like that, you’re done!

     Now you can pat yourself on the back, admire your story map, grab a celebratory slice of cheesecake, and finally nestle down in your writing chair to put together your beautifully thought-out story while your neighbour seeks out someone else to speak to.

     All you need to do now is plug those pieces in and add in your detail.

     While writing, there are some things to be careful of:

     -If you notice that you are using the same word a lot throughout your story, or even multiple times in the same sentence, it would be wise to refer to a thesaurus. Using the same words over and over again can actually make your story annoying to read and you risk losing your audience. For example, there are many ways for a character to say something. They can sigh, groan, huff, muse, grit out, speak in an exasperated tone, and so forth.

     -You are writing for an audience of all ages. Sure, it is great to show off how many big complicated words you might know- but do you REALLY want to throw off your reader's experience because they don’t know what the word abrogate means?

     -Dialogue is wonderful and necessary to further your plot. So make sure you include it! But too much back-and-forth dialogue makes your story become nothing more than a conversation. Not very interesting to your reader. Your whole story should not hinge on two people or neopets talking.

     -Don’t make everything fast paced! The pacing of your story can change depending on what is happening and even how you are writing it. You don’t want your reader to feel like they are dashing through your story from one exciting thing to the next. Take a breather and add in sensory and descriptive detail to help slow things down.

     -Additionally, the detail really helps your story come alive. A story with no detail just sounds like a story map that is listed out. Take pride in your creation and polish it up with plenty of details so that others can appreciate your creative thought process.

     -Keep things relevant! If something is not going to help further your plot, then don’t mention it! Your readers really don’t need to know that a Negg festival is happening when the entire story takes place with your character learning how to play Pyramids in the Lost Desert.

     -Your first draft is not your finished draft! Sleep on it, and go back to revise and look for mistakes. Show it to someone else and hear their suggestions and edits. I promise, there is always something that you can do even just a little bit better when you give yourself a proper break.

     And that is all! I hope this article helped you out in composing your first story!