You’ve generated a good idea, and you know it’s got legs. But how to develop that idea into an interesting journey worth reading for 300 pages?  

Here are 5 strategies to take your idea from a good concept to a phenomenal page-turner:

1. Freewrite

If you’re inspired, you should have no problem with this one. Get out a notebook or open a word document and dump out all the ideas that have been swimming in your head about this book in as little time as possible. Who are your characters? What are they up to? Where do they live? You can even jot down snippets of dialogue or setting descriptions that have been on your mind. Any and everything you’ve been thinking about this book should go into it. Have fun with this, and pretty soon you’ll have a basic guide to the book you want to write.

2. Character Sketch

Draft up your hero/heroine. Who are they? What do they need/want? What’s keeping them from getting there? Who are their best friends and enemies? Some writers—like myself—enjoy creating character profiles and writing up backstories.  Others might prefer putting together an aesthetic of how their characters would look on Pinterest. Whatever helps you get to know your characters and their personalities will be helpful in the development of their arc as well as your overall plot.

3. Draft up your plot

Now that you know your MC’s goal and what’s getting in their way, how are they going to achieve that goal—or not? As a plotter, I’m a huge fan of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel for my story structure, but a vast variety of story structures options are available. For pantsers, you can stick to drafting a basic beginning, middle, and end. The key is to give yourself guideposts to write toward to prevent your scenes from wandering offtrack. Note pivotal moments and plot twists you’ll want to include along the way.

4. Keep it interesting

Take the time to sprinkle in some fun elements and characters you’d like to see in your story. What do you think would take this story from great to epic? What kind of tropes do you enjoy? Draft out what you’d like to include and their significance. Identify where you’d like to weave them in for maximum impact.

5. Create some scene cards

 Start jotting out the scenes you’re looking forward to writing the most. This will give you several mini goals to work towards and is bound to get you amped to start writing. Some enjoy color-coded index cards for this. I prefer making charts and outlines in a word processor. You can be as general or detailed as you like. Whatever gets you excited to get going on that story is what matters.

Conclusion

Taking a little time to explore your story and the details you’d like to include will make all the difference in taking your book from good to great—not to mention, save you a ton of time in revision! Brainstorm lists or draw out charts to figure out what you’d want to read, then choose your favorite options. Still hung up on what to write? You might have Writer’s Block. Check out our next series here.