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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/33181
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

_Context_: I was a similar situation a few years ago. I wandered into a museum and by chance found a whole world that was there for me for the taking. I instantly knew that I wanted to write about this world. The only trouble was: I didn't have a story. I had this beautiful world that was teeming with conflicts, but I couldn't immediately harness any of it.

Here's what I ended up doing, over months of frustration, doubts, and useless trial and error efforts:

I started writing, all passionate and confident that such a great world would naturally produce a breath-taking story. The first draft was a disaster. The second didn't make it much better. The novel felt incongruent and lacked an emotional core. I was passionate about the topic, but I couldn't project this passion onto my characters, since I didn't know what exactly it was that I needed to happen.

Then I sat down and thought very hard about this question: **What is it that fascinates you most about your story set-up** (i.e. your world)? What grabbed your attention and refuses to let go of it? For me, it was a very specific albeit slow societal change that changed the self-perception of my protagonists and made them step out of their comfort zone to change their relationship with the rest of the world.

Based on this, **which conflicts are specific to your world**? It sounds as if you have developed a great world. What can happen in this world that is unique (or at least not arbitrary) and requires the framework of your specific world? Think of Nazi Germany (or, if you like that better, the wizarding world under Voldemort). Inter-societal trust has vanished. Peoples' lives are reigned by mistrust and paranoia. In a world like this, a story about betrayal can become very specific and explosive very quickly. Just think: Would you care in today's world if somebody told your boss you were a Jew? Likely not. In Nazi Germany, it could have been your death sentence.

In my case, "my" world allowed me to write about self-perception -- what is good, what is evil, what is sick and needs to be cured, and what of all these things am I? --, integration, and exclusion.

So, identify a conflict that is naturally amplified in your world and that sets you on edge. Last step: **Put it at the heart of your story**. Decide how the conflict will be resolved at the end of the book. (This ties in neatly with Mark Baker's excellent answer.) Then, and only then, you start writing.

Original score: 1