Hii!  °｡⋆𓋼𓍊☆𓍊𓋼⋆｡°

I am currently starting a new writing project and i thought i could share the early steps of my process here! Maybe it’s helpful for someone :D

*̣̥☆·͙̥‧❄•̥̩̥͙‧·‧̩̥‧̩̥·‧•̥̩̥͙‧·‧̩̥˟͙☃˟͙‧̩̥·‧•̥̩̥͙‧·‧̩̥•̥̩̥͙‧·‧̩̥❄‧·͙̥̣☆*̣̥

How did i even got the very first idea for this story?

So basically i was seeing a tiktok where someone was giving tips to find new story ideas, i didn’t really need a new one but i watched the video anyway and one of the tips was to write about something you know very well or maybe something local. Like maybe the area where you live has an interesting history or a cool building that you could use or that could inspire you.

However, i saw that and thought: there is absolutely nothing interesting about the place where i live.

But somehow i kept thinking about that, this tip came to my mind again and again and after some weeks i realised: there are actually quiet a few things here that i could use for a story. In my head a idea for a horror story started to develop: mineshafts, cold ass winters, creepy forests in some small village in the middle of nowhere. And since then it hadn’t left my mind so i decided to make this my new project and started working on it!

First step: the idea

First i wrote down which genre i want this book to be (Horror), then the first ideas i had and then i thought about the general vibe i want this to be and wrote that down as well.

Nothing here is set in stone, it can and probably will change over the course of developing. But i personally find it helpful to have the very first version of my idea written down.

1,5 step lol

After the first step i did look through my other ideas i had in the past and i got the idea to combine this idea with another one. Which has now also brought an academic aspect to the story and also a lots of paranormal stuff and mystical creatures. Oh, and also a vague idea for one of the characters :D

Second step: a mindmap

I really love doing these! They help me a lot with sorting the random bits and pieces that are floating around in my head. Same here as with step one, the things you put on the mindmap might be going to change. But thats totally fine, that’s part of the process!

Here is an example for a mindmap you could do, if you need some inspo(hope you can read my handwriting):

Third step: making a Pinterest board and a playlist

Yess, a classic but it’s so much fun. If you don’t know what to look up on Pinterest, the mindmap helps a lot with that.

Also you might think that these are just some extras that don’t help with developing or plotting but for me, they actually do help! How? Making a Pinterest board and a playlist takes time and during that time the idea is kinda rolling around in my head and slowly evolving – especially with the new input from the pictures and the music i often get quiet a few new ideas that i add to the mindmap.

A Pinterest Board and a playlist do usually also really good in getting the mood set while scrolling through it or listening to it, which makes it easier to get into the story.

Fourth step: Characters

This one is and the next step is where it kinda gets messy lol I’m usually jumping between these two back and forth.

I look at the character list from the mindmap and make a digital page for the important ones. Then i usually start with the looks of the character and after that i use a slighly edited version of a character sheet i got from a youtube video by the channel Abbie Emmons. Here’s the link if you are interested:  https://youtu.be/k1W5DSOlPrw?si=MC3GS7AGLhM_GORH

Fifth step: Events

Like I said in the previous step, im usually jumoing back and forth between these two. Here i just brainstorm some events/moments for the story and write them down. That could for example be something like: character moves to this town, sees something weird on the car ride there. Or multiple characters are taking a walk in the forest and they come across this one person that gives off a strange vibe. 

I do write everything down that comes to my mind, even the things that might not go with something i already wrote down before. I really take my time with this step (multiple days/weeks).

Sixth step:

This is where i try to put the events from the previous step into order. It works best in my opinion with post-its, but can obviously also done digitally. And after that i try to fill out the gaps between the events. Also, at this point im usually still going back to step four and add or change things about the characters. 

I know some people like to plot out every single chapter (i don't tho), and i think this would be the point where you'd do this.

Last thing

At this point you have probably spent hours or maybe days and weeks thinking about your story, developing and plotting. And maybe you still don't have an ending you like or there is this plot hole that you just can't fix - you have no idea how. 

This is where i would start to actually write that story! Yes, even when you plot has holes and your story doesn't have an ending. You will very likely get new ideas while writing!

Let's all be nice to ourselfs and others,

- Lucien ༊*·˚