Brainstorming

by Melanie Hope
(Seymour IN)

Question: I have tried and tried to begin my story and just can’t seem to get it right because the beginning is everything in my opinion. I want to write about romance and fear and love. My story is going to be adult based and very mild. In addition it is going to be kind of out there. I have tried to write simple and basic love stories and I am so sick of all of the werewolf and vampire stuff I want to come up with something original and new. The beginning of this goes as Dane and Elli meet, Dane isn’t from around here but he has been looking for Elli for his whole life and now that he has found her on Earth of all places he doesn’t know his next step is getting her to fall in love with him and eventually telling her that she is going to be coming home with him to his world where he just happens to be the overlord.


I always seem to want to rush the story and find myself skipping over things that I remember thinking but not actually putting down.

Answer: I'm sure you can guess my response to your second problem: write things down. Perhaps, after finishing a section of writing, you can go over it, make notes on the ideas you feel you need to add, and then create a second draft incorporating your ideas.

As for your first problem (getting the meeting between the alien and the female lead right), I always suggest you think in terms of an event - an irrevocable change.

It sounds as though Dane is the main character and Elli the impact character, which begs the question: what is it about Elli that makes this alien traveler stop? What gets him so involved with her that the course of his life changes forevermore?

One possibility is that he sees her doing something he finds remarkable (this would be the first event of the Impact Character's throughline).

Another possibility is that the first event in the overall throughline (perhaps a plot that involves both worlds) gets Elli involved in Dane's quest.

Third possibility: something happens to Dane that gets him exhiled/stranded on earth (Main character throughline) where she stumbles across him.

Fourth: some event forces these two immediately into a relationship with each other (Relationship throughline). There are many possibilities. One could take responsibility for helping the other. They could face a common enemy or challenge, be assigned to each other, etc.

These are just general ideas of course. You have to create the specifics.

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