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Q&A How do I turn a premise into a story?

The part that is most obviously missing from what you describe is "why?" Character provides the why. But equally importantly, the why provides the character. A character is a person who would do th...

posted 7y ago by Mark Baker‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2020-01-03T20:41:52Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26843
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T06:08:58Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26843
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T06:08:58Z (almost 5 years ago)
The part that is most obviously missing from what you describe is "why?" Character provides the why. But equally importantly, the why provides the character. A character is a person who would do this thing in this way.

You can start with the character and then ask yourself, what would this person do, given their character? Or you can start, as you have, with the action, and ask yourself why would someone do this thing in this way. Once you can answer that question, you have the core of your character. Once you have the core, you can fill in whatever detail you think appropriate that are consistent with that character.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-02-21T13:05:11Z (over 7 years ago)
Original score: 3