Do you have an idea for a story? Have you put it together in your head but still don't know where to begin? Maybe the setting isn't quite right?
Here's a few questions or thoughts to think about:
Have you drawn the setting?
Neighborhood?
Do the characters fit inside of the setting?
I grew up in Minneapolis and used to go shopping in downtown Minneapolis with my girlfriends and or grandma when I was younger, then I married and eventually moved to Bemidji. However, when I first began to write, I knew that Minneapolis would be the setting for my books. I loved the area on the other side of downtown, the older part of the city. The street is still cobblestone and the Stone Arch Bridge is nearby. In fact it's a lovely area to stroll in the summer or to walk from the bridge up to Hennepin Avenue bridge, cross the river, and go back. It's a gorgeous walk.
Once you've decided upon a setting, then what?
Draw it! Yes! Sketch it out on a sheet of computer paper so you have it. By drawing the neighborhood, it'll make sense once you're deeper into your story. Will your character fit the scene? The setting?
Make sure you draw all four corners of the chosen setting. Put in the building names, cafe, bookstore, etc. You get the picture.
Now you can start to think about what goods you'll have inside of each building. Oh yes!
Do you have a drugstore? Grocery? Gas station?
Give it life. Your character will live then, too!
I have a very interesting personal story to tell about something that happened to me as a boy. It is real and a very rare insight into how I was almost taken in my sleep by four entities at my Grandmothers home while I was visiting her in her hometown of Bottineau ND. Luckily the abduction was botched and I was able to escape .. a lot of interesting things were shown to me in the two minutes I was with them ... happened 1970.
ReplyDeleteGary, what an awful experience. That's horrible but luckily, you have a happy ending to it. Have you ever considered writing a short story about it? You have the making of a good story. So much trauma involved. Thanks for sharing.
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