screencraft.

org

The Ultimate List of Story Development

Questions - ScreenCraft

8-11 minutes

What are all of story development questions that writers

need to answer as they develop and build their stories?

Story development is the most vital part of writing.

When you have a concept floating around in your head,

that’s not enough to grab the laptop, open your
screenwriting or writing software, and start typing away.

You need to develop that concept. You need to ascertain

whether it’s a story-worthy concept or just an interesting
gimmick. You need to give it the meat that it deserves.

Some writers turn to “proven” formulas, structures, and

beat sheets to determine what their stories need, but the
wise and most talented ones take the time to ask
themselves as many questions as they possibly can —
because questions force your mind to search for
answers. And the answers your mind and imagination
conjure encapsulate your story and your characters.

Those questions — and the answers they provide — will

guide you through your story development process and
help you create the most compelling, engaging, and
cathartic stories for readers and audiences.

The wonderful thing about story development is that it

can be done anywhere and anytime. You don’t need to be
typing. You don’t need to be anywhere near a computer,
laptop, or notebook.

You can ask yourself those key story development

questions during car rides, walks, runs, bike rides, boring
meetings, or lunch breaks.

You can meditate, daydream, or just let your mind

wander pondering the answer to the question that will
eventually build your stories.

But some writers don’t know what questions to ask

themselves — or they only ask themselves a few.

Here we share 99 random story development questions

that you, the writer, can ask yourself to jump-start that
creative mind and force your imagination to ponder,
consider, and eventually answer. And those answers will
build your concept, your story, and your characters.

Note: We list them randomly because that’s how the

creative mind often works. When you give structure to
questions, the process begins to seem like homework or
exams. Ideas and concepts appear randomly once the
mind is ready to share or has made the proper
connections. 

1. Who is the protagonist?

2. What’s the main conflict?

3. What scares the protagonist most?

4. Who is the antagonist? 

5. What scares the antagonist most?

6. What genre is the story?

7. What’s the core concept or logline?

8. What misdirects can I insert into the plot and story?

9. What tone should the story have?

10. Is my protagonist damaged?

11. What world does the hero live in at the beginning?

12. Where does the story open?

13. What’s the most interesting way to open the story?

14. What’s the ending of my story?

15. Do I want to shock people with this story?

16. Do I want to inspire people?

17. How will people relate to this character?

18. How do I relate to the story and characters?

19. Is there enough conflict?

20. Is there enough humor?

21. Is there any humor?

22. Should there be any humor?

23. What’s the internal conflict of the protagonist?

24. What the external conflict of the protagonist?

25. Has this concept been written before? 

26. How can I make this concept different from what

has come before it?

27. Why should people care about the protagonist?

28. Is my antagonist a villain or just someone that’s not

necessarily evil, but has a goal that is opposite of what
the protagonist desires?

Read ScreenCraft’s 15 Types of Villains Screenwriters

Need to Know!

29. What additional conflicts can I throw at my

characters?

30. What pushes the protagonist into this adventure,

quest, or conflict?

31. Do my characters sound real?

32. What are the stakes?

33. What do the characters have to lose?

34. How will the protagonist change throughout the

whole story?

35. What will my characters do after the story has been

resolved?
36. Which characters should survive?

37. Which characters shouldn’t survive?

38. What story points can my story live without?

39. What characters can my story live without?

40. Are there any mysterious elements I can add to this

story?

41. What revelations will the protagonist discover?

42. What revelations will the reader or audience

discover?

43. What is the worst thing that could happen to each

character?

44. Is my villain stable or unstable?

45. Is the protagonist reactionary, or do they take

action?

46. What time period does the story take place in?

47. Would the story be more interesting in a different

time period?

48. What are the themes found in the story?

49. What lessons will the story teach people?

50. How do I keep things interesting throughout the

second act of the story?
51. Is there something that the protagonist doesn’t
know?

52. What will keep readers reading in the opening of my

story?

53. Is there any way to make my ending stronger?

Read ScreenCraft’s 7 Ways to Master the Endings of Your

Screenplays!

54. Who are the supporting characters?

55. How do the supporting characters relate to the

story?

56. What are the physical challenges that the

characters face?

57. What are the emotional challenges that the

characters face?

58. How are the physical and emotional challenges that

the characters face related?

59. What is the structure of my story?

Learn the best way to structure your screenplay with this

free guide.

Read ScreenCraft’s 10 Screenplay Structures That

Screenwriters Can Use!

60. What would my protagonist do in a fist fight?

61. Who is the love interest?

62. Is there a love interest?

63. Would my protagonist be more interesting if I

switched their gender?

64. Does my story have a diverse group of characters?

65. How can I create more diversity within my story?

66. Does my villain need a backstory?

67. Could the antagonist and protagonist ever be

friends?

68. What is the atmosphere like?

69. Should my story be dark and moody?

70. How can I find the humor within a dark and moody
story?

71. Does my comedic story have some dramatic

elements?

72. What are some creative ways to deliver exposition?

73. Would my story be more interesting if it was told in

a smaller window of time?

74. Could I cross the genre of my story with another

genre to make it more interesting?

75. Would my protagonist be more interesting if they

had a physical ailment or handicap?

76. What emotional baggage does my protagonist

have?

77. Could my antagonist be the good guy in the end?

78. What are some twists and turns that I can add into
the story?

79. How could I surprise the audience every few pages?

80. What books, movies, and TV series are similar to

my concept and what can I learn from them?

81. Does my story have a rhythm to it?

82. How can I increase the pacing of the story?

83. What can I do to play with people’s expectations of

my concept?
84. Is my villain’s plot relatable?

85. Are there any redundant characters in my story that

I can get rid of?

86. Are there any redundant scenes or moments in my

story that I can delete?

87. Is my story too derivative of any other book, film, or

TV series?

88. Is my protagonist too derivative of any other

existing character?

89. Is my villain or antagonist too derivative of any

other existing villain or antagonist?

90. Is my climax fulfilling enough for people?

91. Do I have too many endings?

92. Does my story take too long to get going?

93. Could my story be the beginning of a franchise?

94. If my story is the beginning of a franchise, what is

the character’s next adventure?

95. How can I pepper my story with fun Easter Eggs and
clues to what happens in the end?

Read ScreenCraft’s Best “Plant and Payoff” Scenes

Screenwriters Can Learn From!

96. What can I do to better foreshadow where the

characters are going to be at the end of the story?
97.  Does each supporting character have their own
mini-arc?

98. How can I put more of me and my life experiences

into this story?

99. Is this the story that I want to spend months of my

life writing right now?

What questions did we miss? Share this post on

Facebook and Twitter and add additional important story
development questions to the conversation in the
comments.

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly

two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony
Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for
Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a

produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony,
Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well
as many production and management companies. He has
had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well
as multiple writing assignments, including the produced
miniseries Blackout, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick
Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom,
Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner. Follow Ken on
Twitter @KenMovies

For all the latest ScreenCraft news and updates, follow

us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.