Before you begin to write, spend five minutes brainstorming the story.
Write with a pen on paper. Thinking on paper brings clarity to ideas, increasing the chance of finding solutions.
Step into the character and experience the world as he does. What can you smell, seeing, tasting, hear?
Rummage through his pockets. An old piece of string? A penknife? A snotty handkerchief?
Feel the cloth of his clothes. Is it fine or rough? Bought on the high street or in Savile Row?
Look at the photographs on the mantelpiece. Photos of a marriage or a friend or the Nepalese mountains? What nicknames and keepsakes does he have on his desk?
Where does he hide his addictions? Cigarettes, drink? In the cupboard, behind a copy of Charles Dicken’s Bleak House?
How do you know what to write? Where do you begin? You have an idea and you want to build it into a story.
So, put your protagonist in the dock
Start with the Opening Statements
Before the prosecution and defence present evidence and witnesses, both sides have the right to give an opening statement about the story. These statements provide an outline of what is the arguments to come.
The prosecutor must convince you that your character committed a crime.
Presentation of the Evidence
The prosecutor presents the evidence with such items such as
He then presents the case through examination of prosecution witnesses. The defence then is allowed to cross-examine to show the witness’s stories are not true or reliable.
The defence may be able to force the witness to admit that he or she is biased. She may hold a grudge against the accused or be a friend of the victim.
Or question whether the witness wore glasses, drank alcohol, was close enough to see clearly, or whether it was too dark to see well.
The accused must always question anything she disagrees with in the witness’s account.
After this, the lawyer for the accused will present its case through by calling its own witnesses who are then cross-examined by the prosecutor.
The accused can decide to testify. If her version of what happened is important, she must tell it at this time, under oath. If the accused testifies, the prosecutor will cross-examine her to try to show that she is not being honest or that she changed her story. She will have to answer all the questions that the prosecutor asks her. The prosecutor is looking for ways of getting her to say something that hurts her case. This is what you want to do: to rip off the mask and reveal the real person beneath.
Sometimes a judge will not allow certain kinds of evidence to be used. For example, hearsay, when someone said something to the accused that she wants to use as evidence, this person must come to court to repeat it.
Finally, after all the evidence, you might want to summarise the story by writing two closing arguments: a version of events from the point of view of the prosecution and the defence.
When developing story ideas, think about your characters’ attitudes towards family, friends, sex, freedom of speech, work, law and order, personal rights, abortion, drugs and drink.
With one character supporting one side of the argument and the other character supporting the opposing side, suddenly you’ll see plenty of potential story ideas with clear and strong dynamics.
When brainstorming ideas for stories:
First, ask ‘What if… ?’
Then ask ‘How does this end?’
Next, ask ‘Who are the characters?’
Finally, ask ‘Why do I care?’
Use questions to build your stories. Sit back, put the keyboard aside, or the pen down, and let your mind wander. What things do you want to know? Allow yourself to think up questions.
List these questions in your notebook and then put it away and go make yourself a cup of tea (you know by this that I am a Londoner). Later, return to your notebook. What are the answers? Fill the book with your answers and watch your story grow.
