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Q&A I have a name, and no plot

So you have Sir Nathaniel Charles III. A nobleman, obviously. Is he from a famous family? Or some minor, not well known nobility? Did he grow up in a castle? Or did his family lose their estates an...

posted 5y ago by celtschk‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T09:04:47Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48571
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T13:09:07Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48571
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T13:09:07Z (almost 5 years ago)
So you have Sir Nathaniel Charles III. A nobleman, obviously. Is he from a famous family? Or some minor, not well known nobility? Did he grow up in a castle? Or did his family lose their estates and he grew up in poverty? Did others respect him for his nobility, despise him for it, or not care about it at all?

Does he live in medieval times, in modern times or in the future? In an alternate history? In a fantasy world with magic and dragons? In a galactic empire with space ships and space stations?

To summarize, build a world around him.

Next, what are his character traits? Both naturally, and how the world around him formed him. Is he brave? Is he a coward? Is he intelligent? Is he ruthless? Is he careful? Is he a very social guy, or more of a loner? What are his strengths and weaknesses?

What are his interest? What does he know about his world, and what does he not know? What does he wrongly think he knows? What does he love? What does he hate? _Whom_ does he love or hate?

In short, define his character.

Next, find a conflict. Something happens to him or his world which brings him out of his comfort zone, or increases his already existing discomfort beyond a tipping point, or contradicts his beliefs. Or maybe he falls in love. Anything that triggers a change in his life.

At that point you should have the beginning of a story.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-10-15T20:29:05Z (about 5 years ago)
Original score: 1