Photo by Johannes Plenio Unsplash.com
Once you have identified your story’s premise and its essence, the next step is to build on that firm foundation and use what you already know about the story to figure out what we don’t yet know. In a series of explorations, we’ll figure out the who, what, where, when, how, and why of the story (not necessarily in that order).
First, write the story, as far as you know it right now in a paragraph or two. Keep it simple, just sketch out what you know.
Next, we focus on the problem of the premise. This is a focus on what. What is the nature of the challenge the protagonist faces?
To get to the bottom of this, we answer a few questions.
What is the problem from your premise that your protagonist faces?
Why is this a problem for the protagonist?
What is the external source(s) of their problem?
How does the protagonist first become aware of this problem?
Example
Problem: In my Wreck of the Ten Sail example, the protagonist, William Lawford, must conduct a rescue and salvage mission after ten ships run aground off of Grand Cayman Island.
Why is this a problem? Because his ship is wrecked, it means the mission is unsuccessful, and he will face a court martial inquiry into the loss of the ships. But his immediate problem is rescuing the sailors from the wrecked ship. They will need to be fed and housed until they can be evacuated. He must also see to the other vessels that didn’t run aground and begin a salvage mission to recover as much of the cargo as possible.
Source: The environment including the ocean currents and weather pose a danger. The merchant captains are antagonists whose behavior meant some ships were lured onto the reef. The locals on Grand Cayman Island don’t have the resources to take in so many sailors and want them gone. French Navy ships or privateers could appear while the convoy is vulnerable.
How does the protagonist become aware of the problem? During the voyage at night, one of the ships in the convoy signals for help because they have run aground.
This is not the end of the exploration on this point. We’ll need to expand and refine these ideas and come at the problem from different angles. More on that soon.
This post is part of a 75-day writing challenge and experiment. From September 9 through November 22, I'll be posting daily thoughts on writing, storytelling, and creativity based on recent readings or reflections. While my intention was to keep them very short—250 to 400 words—I've found that this range doesn't give me enough space to cover these topics adequately. I aim to keep them brief enough to be read quickly, but they will typically be longer than 400 words.