I have this story idea, and I love this idea. Well, I like it. Like, like like it. I don’t know if we’ve actually reached the love stage yet. It might end up being just a platonic thing…but with benefits, you know?
You probably don’t. I don’t blame you. Once the coffee kicks in I’ll make more sense, but by then I’ll be done blogging and back to pounding through some work. Because…well…okay, I won’t go into details here, it’s not appropriate. Let’s just say, I see a couple more long days in my immediate future. And if you’re the company I contracted for a month ago – I’d like my paycheck, please.
Where was I? Right, story idea. I have it in my brain and I want to write it. I want to lose myself in the angst for a little while. I’m a little disappointed that it’s going to be YA – not because I dislike YA stories. I don’t. I love them as much as the next avid reader. I just hate feeling like I’m following a trend. But as a YA story, this has appropriate types and levels of drama. Increase the age of the characters 10 years, and all the sudden it’s like ‘Friends’ meets…I dunno…something depressing. Which might be ‘Friends’ meets ‘Friends’. Hmm…a thought.
I have the characters, I’ve trimmed the MC list down, I know who my POV people are, I know all their backgrounds, their relationships with each other, their appearances, their insecurities, their conflicts, goals, dreams, hopes, wishes, talents, weaknesses, all of it. I know how the story ends. I have a basic idea of how it reaches the end.
Sounds awesome, right? I think it does. Just talking about it makes me feel all glowy and giddy like a girl getting ready for that second date with that guy she really likes and had a great time with the first time. Until she remembers that one awkward bit and feels a little ill and wonders if she can get away with cancelling again without it looking bad.
That awkward bit? I have no idea where the story starts. Since I have a solid picture in my mind of the backstory, I’m having a hard time picking a begining point. I know it ends right around graduation, so can I get away with making it span 3-4 years and just skipping large sections? Do I make it span just six or so months and make that much crap backstory? I don’t think I can.
So then I’m stuck. Maybe I should just pick a scene and start writing and go forward and backward from there, but I’ve never finished a story when I’ve done that. But then again, I’ve never finished a story the same way twice so…maybe now’s my time?
I dunno. How do you decide where back story stops and main story starts?
Congratulations on the new idea! I remember reading about how there is one story going on (usually the back story) and quickly the new story comes to interrupt it. I say pick the point closest to the main plot line. You can always go forwards or backwards from there like you said. Good luck! 🙂
Just start writing. That’s what I do. And I always start in the wrong place, but usually by about 5-10K in, I figure that out and can fix it, but by then I have a real grasp of the characters, voices and where I’m headed. So while it may feel like a waste of time, it totally isn’t….
I would just start pecking away at your keyboard. You never know what will work best until you try it. If you choose a certain beginning point and it doesn’t work, try something else. You’ll know what works when it happens 😉