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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36984
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36984
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

You've got characters, you've got a world. What you need is **conflict** : it is conflict that makes a story. This can be conflict between characters, conflict with some other force ("antagonist" or nature), even internal conflict. Your characters want something, and for some reason they can't have it - they have to struggle for it.

So how do you generate conflict? Consider what isn't right in your world that the characters might want to fix (from helping a homeless person to overthrowing a Dark Lord)? What isn't right and they just have to struggle through (desert, sickness)? If you have a group of friends, what can strain their friendship? If you have a group of enemies, what can bring them together? For each character, what do they need to learn? What are their goals, and what stands in their way?

Consider also what your characters' strong suits are. What events would make those traits shine? When would those traits be a hindrance? How do they clash with other characters' traits? How do they complement each other? Many things could happen to your characters. Which ones would change them? Which ones would be meaningful? Which ones would be funny?

Once you've done this, you've got a hundred ideas, if not for a complete story then for parts of it. Shake those ideas about, see which ones can merge into something larger, what works, what doesn't. That should give you a start. From that start, you can proceed with a story, whether discovery-writing it, or planning meticulously, or something in between.

Original score: 6