Story Planning - Part 1

Finding a story from a general idea.

St ep 1. St ar t wi t h an i dea. An i dea i s j ust a seedl i ng t hat may

c ome f r om any of t hes e el ement s :

- Loc at i on ( e. g. a deser t ed i sl and i n t he mi ddl e of nowher e, a

set t l ement on an as t er oi d, a c ol ony at t he bot t om of an ocean on
a pl anet cov er ed c ompl et el y by wat er et c. ) Premise
- Bac ks t or y ( e. g. a nobl eman f r om bi r t h who was t r ai ned i n t he
bes t sc hool s i n t he whol e quadr ant . a pes ant gr ew up i n sl ums Concept
nex t t o a hi gh t ec h met r opol i s , daught er of a mer chant f ami l y
was k i dnapped as a chi l d f or r ans om by space f ar i ng

- Theme: ( e. g. des t r oyi ng a nat ur al envi r onment , sacr i f i ci ng one Idea

t o save many , r et ai ni ng human val ues , c or por at e gr eed

- Char act er : ( e. g. a sol di er i n a f ut ur i st i c ar my, an unempl oyed

r obot , a medi c dur i ng a war et c)

- Set t i ng: ( e. g. t wo col oni es on a r emot e pl anet i n 2150 l ock ed i n

per pet ual c onf l i c t ov er sc ar c e r esour c es, a mi ni ng company
wor ki g an as t er oi d i n a pos t - apoc al y pt i c Ear t h sc enar i o, a Mar s
col ony i n r ev ol t 100 y ear s af t er t he f i r s t humans ar r i ve on t he
pl anet , et c )

St ep 2. Tak e t he i dea and expand i t i nt o a concept . An ?i dea? becomes a ?concept ? when

i t ask s a " what i f " quest i on

Conc ept :
What i f a s ol di er i n a f ut ur i s t i c ar my l oses 3 l i mbs but want s t o f i nd a way t o c ont i nue
f i ght i ng i n t he war whi l e ev er y one i s pr ej udi c ed agai nst hi m/ her ?
Conc ept :
What i f Ear t h bec omes s o dependent on r es our ces mi ned on a Mar t i an col ony t hat any
at t empt at i ndependenc e i s met wi t h ext r eme vi ol enc e and suddenl y a r evol t br eaks out i n
t he col ony?

St ep 3. Mak e t he c onc ept mor e c ompel l i ng by as ki ng mor e and mor e " what i f " ques t i ons,
dev el opi ng poss i bl e s t or y ev ent s and di vi ng deeper i nt o pot ent i al c har ac t er s :

e. g. What i f af t er hi s ac c i dent , t he sol di er begi ns t o f ear war and t ur ns i nt o a cowar d?

e. g. What i f t he s ol di er i s out f i t t ed wi t h pr ost et i c l i mbs t hat enabl e hi m t o per f or m

s uper human f eat s of s t r engt h?

e. g. What i f ev en wi t h hi s new phys i cal s ki l l s he s t i l l l ac ks cour age?

e. g. What i f i t ' s j us t not pos s i bl e t o ac hi eve what he want s al one and he needs t o f i nd
s omeone t o t r ai n and f i ght al ong si de hi m?

St ep 4. Tak e t he c oncept , and ex pand i t i nt o a pr emi se, whi ch cont ai ns t hese 4 el ement s:
1. A Char act er ( Pr oagoni s t / Her o)
2. A Goal ( Somet hi ng t he Her o want s)
3. A Mot i v at i on ( The ?why ? t hat ?s dr i v i ng what t he Her o want s )
4. A Conf l i c t ( The Ant agoni s t , what ?s st andi ng i n t he Her o?s way of get t i ng what he want s )
Pl ug t hese i nt o a s ent enc e l i k e: ( Char act er ) want s ( Goal ) bec aus e ( Mot i vat i on) , but ( Conf l i ct )
Pr emi s e:
A c owar dl y f ut ur i s t i c s ol di er ( Char act er ) want s t o def eat an al i en i nvader ( Goal ) because al i en
t ec hnol ogy t r apped hi m i n a t i me l oopi ng par adox ( Mot i vat i on) but hi s l ack of f i ght i ng sk i l l s
k eeps hi m dyi ng ov er and ov er wi t hout f i ndi ng a way out . ( Conf l i ct ) .

Pr emi s e:
Jack Daws on ( Char ac t er ) want s t o get t o Amer i ca so he c an st ar t a new l i f e ( Goal ) becaus e he?s
a s t r eet r at wi t h nowher e el s e t o go ( Mot i v at i on) , but l i t t l e does he k now t he shi p he?s on i s
headed f or di s ast er ( Conf l i c t ) . ( Ti t ani c)

Pr emi s e:
Dr . Leo Mar vi n ( Char ac t er ) want s t o enj oy hi s vac at i on and t he s uc ces s of hi s book ( Goal )
bec aus e he?s been wor k i ng har d and has f i nal l y become a wel l - known ps yc hol ogi s t ( Mot i vat i on) ,
but hi s newes t pat i ent , Bob Wi l ey , has pl ans of hi s own ( Conf l i c t ) . ( What About Bob?)