How do you take an idea and turn it into a full story? To be honest, most of my stories come to me in dreams. It’s all there. I just recount it in writing. But then there are times when a story idea comes to me and it’s up to me to create it, from beginning to end. Where does one even begin?

I have come up with ten questions to ask and answer before I take an idea on as a writing project. If I can get clear answers to most of these questions, I feel like I have a good base for a story to stem from.

Here are the top ten questions I ask myself before I sit down to write…

1. Who is the target audience for this story?

2. What is my story called? Does it capture the theme?

3. What will the story be about?

4. Who are the main/secondary characters?

5. What is the conflict/problem in the story?

6. How will my main character attempt to deal with the conflict?

7. What obstacles will the main character face as he tries to solve the problem?

8. Then what happens? What twist takes place?

9. How does the character change from the beginning to the end of the story?

10.  What is the message you want the reader to learn?

These questions work for most fiction stories, whether you’re writing children’s books or novels. It’s not necessarily an outline, but it does cover quite a bit of what’s needed to make a complete story.

I’m curious what other questions you would add to the list. As a reader or writer, what is important to you in a story? What should I add to my list?

I hope the start of summer is treating you well. Take time to feel the sun on your skin, the water at your toes, and hopefully a soft breeze from time to time. I wish you many lazy days with a good book or pencil in hand.

Until next time, Happy Reading!