To make this as simple as possible, try using “The 7 Whys” method. I promise, it’s as easy as it sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>Just as a fun fact, when I was a kid, I was in the Gifted & Talented (GT) program at school. This is not a brag. It was more awful than awesome. (Ask me sometime about the teacher who kept calling me out of other teachers’ classes to scratch her back.) 4\/10 stars, do not recommend. This was where I was first introduced to The 7 Whys – but it wasn’t for writing stories. Our teacher asked us, “Why are you in the Gifted & Talented class?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spoiler alert: every single one of us ended the exercise with the following answer: “So I don’t die.” We were a bunch of horribly morbid 8 year olds, apparently. But if you were a GT student, you totally get it. I see you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Okay, so if you’re planning to write a story, you probably have some idea of a main character and their want or need. Jot that down as a statement (or type it or etch it into clay, your choice). Then start the process of The 7 Whys. Sometimes, a simple “Why?” doesn’t cut it – you might need to ask a more clarifying question like “Why does that matter?” or “Why haven’t they already done that?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Ready to see it in action? Of COURSE you are!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Identify your MC and a need.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To start this example, I asked two different people in line with me at Subway for lunch (yes, I really did) for suggestions. So I am using the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- MC: a sandwich artist<\/li>
- Need: a boyfriend<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Note: no sandwich artists were offended during this process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Create your problem statement.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Given the points above, writing a problem statement is super easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“A sandwich artist needs a boyfriend.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Ask your 7 Whys.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Don’t be afraid to answer your Whys in creative ways. Your imagination is your only limit! And remember that your Whys may need a bit of clarification to them. Your brainstorming may look a little like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A sandwich artist needs a boyfriend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHY?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was invited to her ex’s wedding, and she obviously can’t show up alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHY?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
If she shows up without a boyfriend, her ex will know she’s sad and lonely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHY does that matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her ex has always been the competitive type, and he will think he’s won if he’s getting married while she is still single.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHY doesn’t she already have a boyfriend?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
She has major trust issues with dating because this particular ex cheated on her with her estranged sister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHY is she going to his wedding then?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MC was actually invited by her sister because she’s family, but it’s a thinly veiled excuse for them both to rub their relationship in her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHY would they do that kind of thing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ex is a horrible human being who likes dragging other people down to make himself feel better. The sister is holding a grudge because one of her high school exes dumped her for the MC – but the main character, of course, never dated that person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHY does all history this matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the main challenges for the MC in getting a boyfriend is her poor experience with men in the past. She will need to overcome this AND not succumb to her ex’s and her sister’s horrible intentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Yay, you have a plot!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
At this point, you have a pretty good idea what the storyline will look like without plotting out specifics. If you’re a Plotter\/Architect, this is a decent springboard to start your outline. If you’re a Pantser\/Gardener, then you have a direction and off you go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/andre-hunter-p-I9wV811qk-unsplash-1024x681.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nYou’ll also have a tentative grasp on your genre. The outline above is clearly pushing towards a romance, but if that’s not your thing, you can always consider how the plot can be adjusted to match a genre of your preference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if you hate what you’ve come up with, just change one of the answers to a Why. That will create a domino effect for the subsequent Whys, and your plot might change entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
If you’re ever at a loss for a starting MC and\/or need, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to come up with random suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPhotos in this post are by Marcos Paulo Prado<\/a> and Andre Hunter<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Whether you’re a Planner or Pantser (or Architect or Gardener), you still need to have a super basic plot as a starting point to your story. Yes. Yes, you do. I’m not saying you have to outline your story, but you need to at least know the following: Who is your main character (MC)? What…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craft","category-writing-tools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":351,"href":"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions\/351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefoxae.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}