THE CURIOUS WRITER & STRUGGLE WITH WORDS

It is very difficult to weave words into a story, especially when you're a beginner and there would be times when even a professional will face the blank wall. Creative writing demands great efforts where the writer has a different approach while making an opening for a story. There are many elements that have to be taken into consideration - the plot, the characters, the setting (the era or history in which the story is related to) for the story. With the plot comfortably in the mind, the opening sentence or the deciding paragraph would be a big challenge to start with, which is necessary to capture the curiosity of the readers. If you desire to side up with fiction, the best thing would be to follow the journalistic principle - who, what, where, when and why. With your assumptions in place, you can form your rough draft what to write about elaborating on these interjections to weave your story to subtlety. The first thing to do is to ask these questions to yourself and you would be able to get the narrative going for your story.

WHO are your characters?

You'll always have a choice for characters according to the situation. You should be clear about the lead character or know who is going to be the protagonist and who is going to be the narrator. Mostly, the story is woven on the basis of a third-person narrator and the entire spectrum of emotions and thoughts of a character gets through the eyes of the narrator. The characters relation to each other in multifarious ways and the clash of emotional conflicts would define their point of view. 

WHAT occurs in the story?

What causes the story and what triggers the occurrence  of events in the lives of characters and how they manage their personal and interpersonal conflicts is an interesting feature. The main question is - What is the story about? There are other aspects attached with 'What' here. One of them would revolve around the question - What will be the effect of the story on the mind of the reader or what kind of impact you wish the story should make? Do you wish to have a larger theme for your story. 

WHERE is the story set?

It is very important to prepare a setting for the story, which should be appropriately connected with a specific historical and geographical context. The place and time must have relevance fully or partly and defined well in terms of its archetypal and timeless content and significance.

WHEN does the story start?

When does the story occur is also an important aspect to consider and should fall in line with the historical time of the story or as the characters get involved with the times. How is the past event being narrated in the present context - if it is narrated in the present tense or in past tense? However, there is a great difference in narrating the story in past or present tense - if the story is narrated in past tense, the narrative is strengthened by hindsight; and if the narrative is made in the present tense, the hindsight may fall out, but you get the benefit of the immediacy and suspense. There are other aspects too - one is related to the beginning of the plot of the story and the order of the events in the plot. The story could be narrated chronologically, moving backward or forward in time. 

WHY are the characters caught in a situation?

This aspect is very important considering the behaviour of the characters and why do they act in the manner they do? Why the characters are inclined towards doing good or wrong things? Why are the characters placed in such a situation in the story or why do they find themselves in such a situation - is it their own making or whether they've been compelled to be in such a situation. Why they do what they do is an intricate question, which must be elaborately explained as the story moves forward. This is an interesting part that is worth exploring and to build a great narrative around it. 

With the above factors in mind, it is not necessary that it will prove enough for you to expand your imagination to begin the story. However, you can always try to create an outline for your story and go on to improvise it according to the story. You can craft a beginning with a fragment of a situation and turn it into a larger format to spread the narrative. 

What do you need as a writer?

However, to be a writer and an exceptional one too - you must have a wide range for imagining things and also a sizeable vocabulary for expressing your feelings with appropriate words. I would discuss some significant factors that would prove handy for any aspiring writer or even a professional in the business.

The foremost factor is the artistic element that deals with the plot of the story. You may have a weird situation or a related incident that needs to be explored in depth to create the storyline. You have to think creatively and the 'relative principle' must be put to work here. Think as much you can - relating to things and people and what happened to them expanding your idea to match the situation in your mind. The story could be based around an object and how important it is for a group of people - from a family, society or an institution. It will depend how you wish to create the plot and build the conflicts - both with the object and the people. The range of characters will decide the interdependence between them and also the ensuing conflicts. There shouldn't be any idle situation or an idle character, which will ruin the story building process. Every character has a background, which must be recorded properly and if a character is not depicted according to his behaviour or cultural, economic standards, the story could've a wayward projection and confuse the reader. The conformity of a character's existence must fall in line with the story or the plot with an impressive description. 

Secondly, the involvement of technical aspects would be another factor, which would deal with the logistical element. You must a precise choice to make in connection with what verb tense you would stick with while carrying forward your story or what voice the story will have and who is narrating the story. You've to decide if you wish to keep the narrative in a dialogue form or run partly with description, setting up small situations and conflicts for the characters to drag on with the story. 

The most important factor is related to the psychological element that deals with manufacturing the emotional feelings and deciding its consummation as the story moves on. The emotional appeal is a vital content for any story and if the conflicts or situations fail to influence the character due to a wrong narrative, the emotional aspect will become weak and the story would lose its appeal. The psychological bearing is very important to register a feeling in the minds of the reader - right from the beginning of a story till the end. The narrative has to be based on the strength of psychological content and which passionately clings on with at least one or two characters. 

Descriptive feature

You must give importance to 'description' in your story - particularly when you mention a specific location or a particular character. A brief description of the character or at length will explain the character and his actions - Why does he act in such a strange or weird manner? Why is the character behaving in a particular manner etc. Description leads to an understanding of any place, event, incident, situation or location in terms of history, culture, economy and social aspects. The story is enriched by characters getting a description and the reader is able to understand the relative concepts on his own as he follows the narrative.

Hope you find this useful. Just make a beginning without fear and be ready to tear up many early drafts till you save one as final. Remember, writing is a process and it involves great imagination and expression of ideas and feelings.