When you’re developing story, you’re taking the seed of an idea and nurturing it into a fully-formed narrative. It’s a crucial step in the writing process that ensures your script resonates with its intended audience. It’s also where many writers experience writer’s block. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent and overcome this obstacle.
The first step is determining whether an idea has true narrative potential by examining the characters, conflict, and setting. Oftentimes an idea will feel like a great starting point, but it may not have the right kind of structure or character development to support the full plot.
Once you’ve nailed down your key characters, you can start building the world in which your story will unfold. Creating a compelling, immersive setting is essential for maintaining reader engagement. This is particularly important for speculative fiction, where writers create entire universes to transport their readers into.
Lastly, you can develop the theme of your story by identifying its central ideas and how they relate to each other in the narrative. It’s important to align the themes of your story with the arcs of your key characters to give the narrative meaning and emotional resonance.
Storytelling is a powerful business strategy for imparting specific concepts and teaching your audience how to apply them. By using stories to illustrate your points, you can help your readers imagine themselves as the protagonist and connect with them on a more personal level.