4 answers
Nathan
Student
Rock Hill, South Carolina
1
Question
Asked
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What are some tips for brainstorming and creating storyboards for writing?
I love reading fiction stories and have been wanting to practice my creative writing skills. I am struggling to come up with story ideas, and would like to know if there are any tricks I could use to develop ideas for a plot. Also, what different formats could I try to best structure storyboards?
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4 answers
Tom Foster
Freelance Writer with a lot of life experience
56
Answers
Forest Grove, Oregon
Updated
Tom’s Answer
Watch movies, read books, heck, read comic books, and anything else you can get your hands on. There's nothing too juvenile or too complicated to use as inspiration, and while the approaches of those that have answered this question are sound and do work, you need to find the process that speaks to you the most. Not every process will work for everyone, since writing is not a one size fits all process, unless one is talking about the most basic fundamental that is needed to proceed, which is: Just write.
I've said this more than once since it was delivered to me as an idea many years ago at a writing conference, and it's just as powerful now as it was then. Don't think, don't obsess, and don't aspire (definitely don't aspire), just DO. Put your pen to paper, or your fingers to the keyboard, and let it out; whatever is in you that wants to be let loose, whatever ideas that are begging to be allowed the room to run, let them frolic on the page and do what they will.
It sounds odd, doesn't it? Trust me, letting the story tell itself is easier than it sounds, but it does take practice. If you want to write, then write. You might not tell a compelling story at first, but that's to be expected. It takes practice to paint a picture, to sculpt a statue, and to write a story. But you know what? Practice won't make perfect; it will make you stronger as a storyteller, and more experienced in how to make your own way into the literary world.
Now, after all that, my best advice, and most sound practice, is what I already mentioned. JUST WRITE.
If you can get that part down, you've taken the first and most important step. From one writer to hopefully another, take that first step, and see where it takes you.
I've said this more than once since it was delivered to me as an idea many years ago at a writing conference, and it's just as powerful now as it was then. Don't think, don't obsess, and don't aspire (definitely don't aspire), just DO. Put your pen to paper, or your fingers to the keyboard, and let it out; whatever is in you that wants to be let loose, whatever ideas that are begging to be allowed the room to run, let them frolic on the page and do what they will.
It sounds odd, doesn't it? Trust me, letting the story tell itself is easier than it sounds, but it does take practice. If you want to write, then write. You might not tell a compelling story at first, but that's to be expected. It takes practice to paint a picture, to sculpt a statue, and to write a story. But you know what? Practice won't make perfect; it will make you stronger as a storyteller, and more experienced in how to make your own way into the literary world.
Now, after all that, my best advice, and most sound practice, is what I already mentioned. JUST WRITE.
If you can get that part down, you've taken the first and most important step. From one writer to hopefully another, take that first step, and see where it takes you.
Thank you for the advice.
Nathan
Gloria Ortiz
Instructional Designer
850
Answers
Irving, Texas
Updated
Gloria’s Answer
Hi Nathan,
I write for a living and personally. You can come to a story in a variety of different ways. Many times, you start with the goal - how the story is going to end. This is kind of important since it tells you when you are going to stop writing. Some individuals just start writing and then they go on and on since they hadn't planned where they would stop. A story can get away from you quickly that way. With that in mind, you can then work on the multiple ways that you can get to your desired end. I saw Sci-fi in another post. So maybe your ending is "A group of people successfully reach their new planet after overcoming a series of challenges."
Now that I know where I am going, I have to figure out how I want to get there. I think of this much in the way that I plan a road trip. I know where I am going - say Seattle, WA. I live in Dallas, TX. So I have a variety of ways to get there. I can go across the Southwest (NM, AZ, CA) or I could go north (OK, NE, etc). I could go diagonally through Colorado and Nevada. Lots of ways to go. I need to ask myself - how do I want to make this journey? From my home, I can go through predominantly desert, over flat lands of the mid-west, or a lot of mountains. I may go over major highways or small rural roads. So how does that apply to writing? How do you want to travel as a writer at this moment in time? In writing that can be anything from your perspective (first person, third person) to where is it set (US, Canada, South Africa) to when it is set (current, past, future, alternate universe) to the tone (humor, tragedy, adventure, horror). In my job, we write scripts for videos, and we often bounce around various techniques that fits the goal of what is being expressed.
After you make all of these decisions, then you start working on the details of the story. You may consider just writing down a bunch of ideas on a piece of paper. Just let your mind go anywhere it wants to and write down everything that comes to mind. Do this for about an hour. Then take a look at your ideas and circle the ones that seem to work together or feel like really good ideas. When I was in school, I learned how to outline. I sometimes default to that as a way to outline one way that I see how the story would work. I think about all the story points that I want to hit (characters meet, twists in the story, clues on what happens next). Then I move them around into an order that becomes a storyline.
I am so excited about your writing journey. You do not need to limit yourself to being a published author, although that is amazing. I did that and got frustrated. I found that I can be creative in a variety of jobs, screen writing, marketing, training, video creation, song writing. Creative Writing is often at the core of all of them.
Gloria
I write for a living and personally. You can come to a story in a variety of different ways. Many times, you start with the goal - how the story is going to end. This is kind of important since it tells you when you are going to stop writing. Some individuals just start writing and then they go on and on since they hadn't planned where they would stop. A story can get away from you quickly that way. With that in mind, you can then work on the multiple ways that you can get to your desired end. I saw Sci-fi in another post. So maybe your ending is "A group of people successfully reach their new planet after overcoming a series of challenges."
Now that I know where I am going, I have to figure out how I want to get there. I think of this much in the way that I plan a road trip. I know where I am going - say Seattle, WA. I live in Dallas, TX. So I have a variety of ways to get there. I can go across the Southwest (NM, AZ, CA) or I could go north (OK, NE, etc). I could go diagonally through Colorado and Nevada. Lots of ways to go. I need to ask myself - how do I want to make this journey? From my home, I can go through predominantly desert, over flat lands of the mid-west, or a lot of mountains. I may go over major highways or small rural roads. So how does that apply to writing? How do you want to travel as a writer at this moment in time? In writing that can be anything from your perspective (first person, third person) to where is it set (US, Canada, South Africa) to when it is set (current, past, future, alternate universe) to the tone (humor, tragedy, adventure, horror). In my job, we write scripts for videos, and we often bounce around various techniques that fits the goal of what is being expressed.
After you make all of these decisions, then you start working on the details of the story. You may consider just writing down a bunch of ideas on a piece of paper. Just let your mind go anywhere it wants to and write down everything that comes to mind. Do this for about an hour. Then take a look at your ideas and circle the ones that seem to work together or feel like really good ideas. When I was in school, I learned how to outline. I sometimes default to that as a way to outline one way that I see how the story would work. I think about all the story points that I want to hit (characters meet, twists in the story, clues on what happens next). Then I move them around into an order that becomes a storyline.
I am so excited about your writing journey. You do not need to limit yourself to being a published author, although that is amazing. I did that and got frustrated. I found that I can be creative in a variety of jobs, screen writing, marketing, training, video creation, song writing. Creative Writing is often at the core of all of them.
Gloria
Fernando Iriarte
Freelance Writer & Editor
153
Answers
Puerto Rico
Updated
Fernando’s Answer
When it comes to brainstorming it all starts with what type of stories you'd like to read. Make a list of ideas/concepts you like, it doesn't have to have a uniform theme, the purpose is to get all the ideas you have in your head out on paper. From there it's all about going down the list and seeing what sparks the imagination the most. If you come up with new ideas while going over your first list write those on a separate list for later, right now it's important to focus on what you currently have. Once you narrow down what you want to write I recommend to have sessions where you just write the first things that come to mind. Don't be discouraged if what you write feels unrefined it's just part of the writing process and any rough areas can be adjusted through proofreading.
One trick I like to use is using certain concept as a scratch board where in I'll write various ideas, conversations or scenarios to see how it flows. If there's a piece I feel is good I'll save it for later or try to incorporate it into either a story I'm working on or another story later down the road.
One trick I like to use is using certain concept as a scratch board where in I'll write various ideas, conversations or scenarios to see how it flows. If there's a piece I feel is good I'll save it for later or try to incorporate it into either a story I'm working on or another story later down the road.
Thank you so much for the advice.
Nathan
Priscilla Cardoso
Product Manager
37
Answers
Cooper City, Florida
Updated
Priscilla’s Answer
Hello Nathan, I love reading, specially Sci-fi and Fantasy. I love Brandon Sanderson's books *(Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, etc), and he has amazing videos online on how to write. His explanation on how he creates characters is epic. I'm not a writer, and I still watch his videos because they are very entertaining and revealing.
Good luck, and I hope one day your book will be in the best seller's list!
Good luck, and I hope one day your book will be in the best seller's list!
Thank you so much. :) Sci-fi is also among my favorite genres. I'll be sure to check out those videos.
Nathan