The Story Starter Worksheet
For this guest post on NovelMasterClass’s blog, I would like to introduce you to The Story Starter Worksheet. The Story Starter Worksheet is something I put together after reading the blogs and books in the references listed below. I recommend you put one together as well, because they work pretty well. The below is just an excerpt.
I use The Story Starter Worksheet to figure out if a story “has legs,” or if I need to focus on the story ideas before I start writing. I also refer to the worksheet while in the middle of a story, when I feel the story has likely gone off the rails. Great stories answer all the questions below.
Start with a Situation or Idea
Situation/What if
Create a Concept
What if + Complication/Twist = Concept
Twist:
Refine the Concept
From a state-of-being to a call-to-action.
From a snapshot toward a moving and evolving set of images and possibilities.
From an explanation to a proposition.
From a character to a journey.
From a story about something, to a story about something dramatic.
Concept to High Concept
High level of entertainment value
High degree of originality
Born from a “what if” question
Highly visual
Clear emotional focus
Inclusion of some truly unique element
Mass audience appeal (to a broad general audience, or a large niche market)
High Concept to Premise
Elevator pitch formula. (Character) wants (Goal) because (Motivation), but (Conflict)
A Character (Protagonist/Hero)
A Goal (Something the Hero wants)
A Motivation (The ‘why’ that’s driving what the Hero wants)
A Conflict (The Antagonist, what’s standing in the Hero’s way of getting what he wants)
Premise to Story
How does it start? What was the hero’s before world?
What was the inciting incident which upset the status quo?
What will ultimately get the hero to take up the challenge?
What obstacles and characters need to be overcome?
What event will try and eventually change the hero?
What does the hero’s new world look like?
Theme to Literature
What is the theme?
Put it Together
Idea:
Concept:
High Concept:
Premise:
Story:
Themes:
Start with a face-grabber:
For the idea, I grabbed a phrase out of a DM with Cully Perlman, the founder of NovelMasterClass. I don’t even remember the genesis of it, but the phrase was “part-time god.” Sounds great! It’s not a story nor even the premise for a story, though. We have to make it into a high concept premise to see where it will go.
Start with a Situation or Idea
Situation/What if:
What if a person saw an ad in the Craigslist Gigs section that said “Wanted, Part time god” and they got the job? Person basically is one of many God ‘bots.
Create a Concept
What if + Complication/Twist = Concept
Twist:
The job is pretty much rote. Ignore, Ignore, Smite, Ignore, Grant Wish . . . and the protagonist honestly isn’t sure if this is a job or a psych experiment. But the protagonist comes across a prayer from a loved one.
I don’t even remember the genesis of it, but the phrase was “part-time god"
Refine the Concept
From a state-of-being (stasis) to a call-to-action. This happens at the inciting incident. The protagonist has to solve the loved one’s problem.
From a snapshot toward a moving and evolving set of images and possibilities. The protagonist’s weary world view is challenged. From clicking buttons, to getting personally involved. Here you brainstorm a list of compelling questions. How can they solve this problem? Are there Angels, or does the protagonist have to work through more pedestrian characters? What is the mechanism and what are the tools of a part-time god? Is this a problem with middle management? What about the devil?
From an explanation to a proposition. From explaining the menial tasks of a part time God which have been outsourced, to actually taking on God-like behaviors to solve the loved one’s problem.
From a character to a journey. Protagonist takes dead end job. Doesn’t really believe it. Makes a decision that has real-world, personal consequences. Has to rectify his beliefs. Finds real meaning, and ends up a god.
From a story about something to a story about something dramatic. What is the conflict keeping the protagonist from their goal? Protagonist discovers there is no good or bad which is rewarded or punished, just middle management that is randomly assigning misery and reward. Can he intervene to cut the red tape?
Concept to High Concept
High level of entertainment value: Treat like a comedy. Yes
High degree of originality: Yes
Born from a “what if” question: What if God is too busy and outsources?
Highly visual: ?
Clear emotional focus: Raging against fate
Inclusion of some truly unique element: God is a bot
Mass audience appeal (to a broad general audience, or a large niche market): Plays into the same genres as The Good Place, Lucifer, Loki, Sandman, American Gods, etc.
What is the biggest problem of the world?: It is a battle between the uncaring status quo of a passive, mythical god, and a relationship with an actual god
High Concept to Premise
Elevator pitch formula. (Character) wants (Goal) because (Motivation), but (Conflict)
A Character (Protagonist/Hero): Down-sized younger worker
A Goal (Something the Hero wants): Wants to save a loved one
A Motivation (The ‘why’ that’s driving what the Hero wants): Because they cannot accept that fate is random.
A Conflict (The Antagonist, what’s standing in the Hero’s way of getting what he wants): And is blocked by the bureaucracy of heaven.
Premise to Story
How does it start? What was the hero’s before world?: Disillusioned slacker in a basement apartment
What was the inciting incident which upset the status quo?: Prayer/Smiting of a loved one
What will ultimately get the hero to take up the challenge?: Know that the actions they thought were random and rote have actual consequences for actual people
What obstacles and characters need to be overcome?: Bureaucracy of Heaven
What event will try and eventually change the hero?: To overcome obstacles, person will have to actually get god-like powers
What does the hero’s new world look like?: The hero is transformed into a god who can make actual decisions based on people’s worth. He must choose wisely.
Theme to Literature
What is the theme?: Fate is not predetermined, nor is it random.
Put it Together
Idea: √
Concept: √
High Concept: √
Premise: √
Story: √
Themes: √
Start with a face-grabber: ?
Okay, so I would say that it mostly has legs. There is something to work with here, but I don’t feel it yet. I might just file this story as a near miss and work on something else. But when I look at the check list, I think it’s pretty obvious. It’s not visual, and there is no face grabber. It’s a small story.
Personally, I have so many story ideas, I don’t like to write the small ones. In this case, the story is not visual enough for me. Also remember, every hero has to solve The Biggest Problem in the World. I need to up the stakes.
I find the best time to tap into my creativity is when I am falling asleep or waking up, when I am between conscious and subconscious thought. So I plugged this problem into my brain and the answer came to me. Obviously the sitting in a basement scanning ads online is not a face grabber. But what if we move forward in time to after he makes his first fateful decision? What if we make that the beginning of the story?
So, let’s say he decides to use one of his “Answer a Prayer” cards, and when he gets out of the office and back on the street all hell has broken out. The cause and effect are directly linked. His beliefs, or lack thereof, have been instantly challenged and reversed. I won’t answer how these things are related, because it’s something I will work out later, but now I have it: some that is instantaneously visual. The face grabber.
Man grants wish. All hell breaks loose. Wouldn’t you be hooked? Then, I just time travel back and figure out what happened. It’s like a mystery that you solve for the reader. I’m guessing once he knows he has actual power, then we make it personal, as if he sees a prayer from somebody he loves. Now we have The Biggest Problem in the World shaping up. Big stories have to have personal stakes.
Are there other ways to solve this? Of course! A million of them, but this is just one example. I could have collapsed the face grabber opening with the personal incident and started with a visceral accident scene where a loved one is hurt. Given the premise, how would you fill in the form? Give it a go. Make adjustments as you see fit. It may just help your writing get to the next level.
References
“My Story Can Beat Up Your Story” can be purchased here
Jon Tobey is a short story writer who has been published over two dozen times. He is currently editing several of his novels. He won OWAA's funniest article in 2020 and has been a runner up in the Traver Awards. His main milieu is fly fishing noir, into which he folds the genres of romance, comedy, horror, science fiction, magic realism, mystery, ghost stories and anything else his fevered brain can come up with. He thinks about story theory a lot. You can read his musings on Storycrafting here
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