"Under the blanket, Sophie waited.” I love the first line in Roald Dahl’s The BFG, now a major motion picture on the screen. I stared at that line, and as I always do, wondered where his idea for his novel originated. My curiosity was quickly satisfied as a I read the notes by Dah’s wife Lucy, on page five.
She writes, “When I was a child, every night at bedtime, my father would pace back and forth in the little tiny bedroom I shared with my sister, Ophelia, and tell us wonderful stories of the BFG [big friendly giant].”
Ah, so there it is. The origin of the idea. I can imagine how the Dahl’s must have talked about this childhood memory that impacted Lucy so much, and inspired Roald to write about it. The details are vivid, the child’s voice is clear, and the plot that pushes the story forward is devoid of holes. Why? The answer is simple. Ideas that come from our vivid imagination, mixed with real life experiences are the best of all.
My Adventures of Mikaela stories come from my childhood. Yes, you may call me Mikaela, because I am her, or at least, I was! As I began to conceptualize my idea, I wrote: “Mikaela is a mischievous girl with the incredible capacity to [often] get into trouble. Her stories are full of drama, drama, drama, and lots of humor of the five-year old kind.” That was the beginning of Mikaela.
A Writer’s Guide to Getting a Manuscript Started
Now, you may feel uncomfortable thinking of yourself as a “writer.” This is commonly encountered in new writers.They will often duck the label, insist they’re not writers but have only written something because they had the idea in their head.
Ah, the idea… once gain…that’s where the story begins. Have you thought of one lately? Before you answer, let’s focus for a second on that perpetuated myth that to be a “writer,” you need to have had many years’ experience. Despite popular conviction, a writer needn’t wear black, be eccentric, pale looking and parade around New York’s West Village quoting Shakespeare or Jane Austen [although some do]. And it has nothing to do with age.
To reach the highest levels of the craft, above all you’ll need confidence. Unshakable confidence to leap forcefully into the realm of creation. It can be daunting to create something new in the face of all the great literature that has preceded you; it may seem crazy to try to take your place on the shelf beside Dante and Faulkner. But maybe they once felt the same.
Shakespeare described some three hundred years ago: “art tongue-tied by authority.” Of course, confidence is just the first step. The craft of writing must then be learned. The art of writing cannot be taught, but the craft of writing can be.
No one can teach you how to tap inspiration, how to gain vision and sensibility, but you can be taught to write lucidly, to present what you say in the most articulate and forceful way. An idea itself is useless without the technical means to record it.
There is no such thing as a great writer; there are only great rewriters. As you’ve probably heard before, 90 percent of writing is re-writing. If first drafts existed of some of the great novels, you’d find many of them dreadful. This process of rewriting draws heavily on editing. And editing can be taught.
When you read your own words, you should be on guard, expecting something to be wrong. You may relax only when you finish the book, and not even then. Editors more often than not, wake up in the middle of the night remembering whether a comma made it to that line on such page before the book went to press. I’ve been there, believe me!
Now… let’s get back to the idea.
Where are they? Look around you. They’re everywhere. All writers must do one thing: when the idea comes, write it down and flesh it out. The next exercise will show you how.
Notice you’ve only been given three lines. Your idea should be written as if you were giving a Hollywood exec the equivalent of an elevator pitch. As my favorite editor would say, “In and out.”
Idea: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The next thing you are going to create is the setting and time period [where/when this wonderful story takes place].
Setting: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Period: [Modern times, Medieval, etc.]______________________________________________________________
Now that you have the place, define your characters. Who are they, what do they like and dislike, how old are they, what do they look like? Are they short or tall?
You get where I am going with this. Paint the picture. Blow life into them—one by one. These lists have played a crucial role in my books. It’s a quick reference to your character’s role, story goal, appearance, age, mannerisms, background, interests, etc. Not only does it help with your current book, but sequels as well.
Main Character: [Protagonist of your story.]
Name________________________________________________
Physical Appearance___________________________________
Likes/Dislikes_________________________________________
Height/Weight________________________________________
Hair/Eye Color_________________________________________
Weakness/Strength____________________________________
Age___________
Conflict: [what does he/she want but can’t have?] ____________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Antagonist: [This person opposes your main character. ]
Whatever your main character wants, the antagonist is going to make sure he/she doesn’t get it. Create your antagonist. Notice he/she also wants something, and typically it is the same as your protagonist by any means available to them.
Name________________________________________________
Physical Appearance___________________________________
Likes/Dislikes__________________________________________
Height/Weight_________________________________________
Hair/Eye Color_________________________________________
Weakness/Strength____________________________________
Age___________
Conflict: [what does he/she want but can’t have?] ____________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Supporting Characters: [Any list of characters that support your story.] List your supporting characters. Give them a name and a reason for creating them.
Character 3____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Character 4____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Character 5____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Character 6____________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Now, create your outline. Need help? Write to: Maritza to get started!