How do / did you start writing your story?

[ShidoDraws]

How do you personally start with writing out a story? Do you start with character designs and backstory? Do you like starting with power systems and build different characters to fit the narrative? Or perhaps, you like to sit on an idea for years before starting the story? Whether it's the right way, wrong way or freeway to write a story, I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with mapping out your stories!

I'm more of a person that likes to sit on ideas for years before formatting it into a story. Usually, my initial concepts are bland and makes for some surface level stories. Over the years I'll slowly develop the character's thoughts and interests, from there the concept changes. For example, Nina was actually supposed to be a story about toys coming to life to fight each other. Everything from character developments and turning points were supposed to happen in Nina's backyard after she was gifted a giraffe plush from a stranger. The story now is Nina going to a world called Pantheon where there are fairies, animals giants and humans. Then there's people just like her called Gifted Children. In both version, Nina has a ghost friend and a giraffe friend that fights for her.

Although the older version may sound better, I believe the official version is better story wise. Hehe!

old design left (2020) ---------------- new design right (2022)

The design of the character is dependent on the character's personality that I wanted to portray. The left version is more well-mannered while the right one is more chaotic personality wise. In both versions, Nina is isolated from society, and her perception of the world comes from her experiences with some cute friends she makes along the way!

And this is her official character sheet made in 2023:

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Read the comic if you're interested:

Read Nina | Tapas Web Community

[GamerPrincessXI]

Start with a character name and then think about how your character moves throughout the world that you created.

[ShidoDraws]

I love starting with names too! But that's more for the main character. Side characters and sometimes supporting characters, I tend to think of their name when I'm writing them in the story. Their names would always have to hold some sort of meaning. Sometimes it's meaning within the world, other times it's meanings that would hold value in their respective position. However, there are minor characters that I more give them names in the script, but no one ever mention their name. xD

[GamerPrincessXI]

True. I try to have my main character use every other characters names, lol

[Ichinose_ren]

I usually start with the overall purpose aka theme of the story, after that I decide on the protagonist's motivation and flaws, theeeeen I go over the history aka character facts for the depth of my characters, after it I head over to the planned ending of the story which Is my final goal, then I setup the rising progression of the story, I then think to myself about the conflict and obstacles facing our main character. My mental questions usually start with: what's the challenge I can enforce onto the protagonist to act? What sort of dilemmas can test their beliefs?, then I think of the world and setting of my story, to be honest I just make it so that it served the overall theme of my story and is as detailed as necessary and ABSOLUTELY isn't overbuilt that don't serve the characters of my story, Soo lastly and forgive me for talking too much, I then end my process with the first page hook, pretty self explanatory ain't it?

[ShidoDraws]

Speaking of theme, I usually think of the theme after I have the characters in mind.

[Dashio_Sumeragi]

In my case it was just goofing around that became serious writing. It all began when I was rewatching older anime. Just started to create new characters and placing them in such an environment - that actually is similar to our real world. So in my case the characters came first: looks, names/nicknames, skillset, personalities, origin. Soon I had a team. Then I started to explore what they can do, created a few standalone scenes that I later put together and that was the start of everything.

No idea where the story would go, I made that up on the fly at first, later I created "checkpoints" - fixed points/events in the story that must happen. And then I created the road episode by episode.

[miuthecat]

It all started with a song, a doujin and finally, 20 years of sleep.

[ShidoDraws]

Checkpoint is an interesting descriptor. I wonder, do you consider smaller action to be a checkpoint too? Or do you wing that too? xD

With the plot points, I find it easier to make when I'm writing a one shot. Like, the story can end whenever I want it to or whenever I feel like it's delivered the message I want it to send. When I'm writing a longer story, it's harder to write when I don't know what the next five steps are going to look like, so I've learned to write that down too. Like, between point C and D, there's empty spaces where anything could happen, but because I finished writing point A and B, the details I've written have to serve the future plots. If C and D don't respond to A and B, then E and F won't work at all which would make the entire story unreadable.

I guess, in short, every word I write matters. And I didn't know that some English words hold negative or positive values, words that aren't curse words or straight up happy words I mean. For example, "the dirty socks" feels different from "the filthy socks". They both mean the same thing but changes the tone of the sentence. Dirty feels more like a neutral word while filthy feels like a negative word.

Sorry, I'm just very excited about writing sometimes or most times.... Maybe almost all the time. xD

[ShidoDraws]

20 years of sleep? I'm more curious about what happened before that. Lol

[vapidink]

I start out with a concept, figure out what the main plot of the story is--what the MC is trying to achieve and who/what stands in their way--figure out how I want the story to end, and then I do some character designs and get to writing. Some stories come together faster than others and some go through more changes.

The idea for Dreamseer was put together in a matter of days, including the character designs, because it was for a contest. Same with Antermortem, it all came together quickly, but I still know where I want both stories to go. Then I have some stories that take some time to figure out, like there's a couple of concepts I've been working on for some months now, mostly because I've been busy.

I have a three part fantasy story I've been working on for years. The initial concept was a lot more different than what I ended up with because I realized I didn't want to focus on romance and wanted to explore different relationships and found family dynamics. So the MC got aged down, characters were taken out and added, and I was finally able to settle on a plotline.

[ShidoDraws]

I had the same thought about my story too, and there's definitely stories I've written for the sole purpose of submitting it to contests, but over time I've kind of turned them into their own thing that I planned on releasing someday. xD Especially since I've never competed in a contest, so it would be a waste to let them collect dust.

[kyupol]

I have no organized method of how I write. It just rushes into my head. Disorganized.

Like someone dumping a pile of paperwork and I have to organize it.

Then I make sense of it and outline it. Then script. Then draw.

[animamundisoulworld]

I might have a few things to say later, but for me at least it was to first imagine what kind of ending you want. And envision a few key points that may lead to it. Serving a purpose as both guideing and brainstorming.

[Dashio_Sumeragi]

A smaller action can be a checkpoint, yes, but not always. The checkpoints are things in the story that must happen. How do we get there is adifferent "story". And starting the 2nd arc the story becomes an investigative puzzle game. Meaning in every part of the story there is a piece they need to uncover. The path can change, the method can change, the result can not.

[jmhenry]

When I have an idea for a story, I quickly write up a short summary of the premise and just cook the idea, mostly in my head for a while. Something I've gotten really into doing these days is pairing my stories with specific music, to better capture the feel and "attitude" to the world I'm writing.

Ex. LOSTLAND was built around 3 bits of music: Two Steps From Hell: The End is the Beginning, Muse: Knights of Cydonia, and the Wild Star soundtrack

[nzhandz]

My ideas were from my real-life experiences. Most of them were recorded in photos, documents, and reports.

I turned them into novels because I want to cherish the histories in the form of creative writing.

[SnarkyLisa]

For me, I start with a rough mental outline of how I want the characters and the plot to go (often mainly the beginning and end for the plot, with a few middle details scrambled in), jot some things down, and then I just write.

[PeteLensing]

I started to write my own stories because I couldn´t find a writer to
work with.

[NotKei]

Almost 80% of the characters in my novel series actually didn't exist in the very first versions of my idea! When I first started drafting the early versions of my story, it was a really plain romance made out of my passion to at least give me and my wife's OCs an interesting story and a bit more live and personality. Though it came up pretty simple, the very first drafts were wholesome enough, and that started the spark.

Fast forward months or even a year later (i genuinely forgor how long it took us), we made new OCs, then we had our friends pitch in their ideas for their OCs and their designs that they'd like to see in the novel as well. Before I knew it, we had a bunch of characters that we could use for the writing! (Below are the some of the characters in the current main novel!)

Then much later on. In the present, the cast grew, the character ideas were there for me to use anytime. Plots and interesting arcs I have in my notes as well. It's just so fun to see simple character ideas progress grow into more polished ones. Even the very first set of OCs went through many maaanyy remakes and polishing of their lore and appearances. (below is their earliest version)

Now as for how I decided on my novel's genre and approach, I've always loved writing wholesome romance. But since I now have a goal to make it a long term project, I wanted to commit a bit to the dramatic and emotional side of things, since it makes for good practice as well.

The old plot, as mentioned above was all simple romance with barely any conflict as I focused really hard on the love and wholesomeness. I didn't even use some of the old characters from the old plot in the new plot... yet.

In the new plot it now has different stories to tell, such as one's traumatic past, a happy and sweet upbringing, or a broken hearted teenage days. And since magic and some fantasy elements now exists, I can play around and try out more ideas to keep things interesting.

I made the setting of my novel purely fictional but still takes inspirations from the real world, just so I don't have to "restrain" myself into keeping the story's setting very in line with real world details, that's too much of a headache for me imo.