My stories start with the characters.
The birth of any book begins with the creation of the character's personality, and only after that a lot of different details arise.
I mean the plot, the social environment, the problems...and so on.

I love all my heroes, even those who don't always fight for good and justice.
Even those who are cowardly and ignoble.
It's not my characters ' fault that I experiment on them and put them in difficult conditions.

Please share your experience. How are your books born?

    Silvia_Liam My stories begin with the plot, the characters, and then the world building. I spend a lot of time building my characters because what is a story without good characters to carry the story.

        I think up a weird idea and throw it at a canvas. From what sticks I expand upon in a growing explosion of random whatever.

          In the beginning, Author created the plot and outline. Now the plot was formless and empty, blankness was over the surface of the page, and the mind of Author was hovering over the keyboard.
          And Author said, "Let there be characters," and there were characters. Author saw that the protagonist was good, so he separated the protagonist from the antagonist. Author called the protagonist "Hero," and the antagonist he called "villain." And there was conflict, and there was resolution - the main outline.
          And Author said, "Let there be breaks to separate chapters from chapters." So Author divided the story into chapters that made it easier for readers to read, and it was so.
          And Author said, "Let there be a setting, a world in which the story exists in." For he had read many books and enjoyed many worlds. He proceeded to build a world of his own, making use of his own laws and imagination, conceiving a rich universe populated by characters of his own making. Contrived conflicts, convenient plot devices, Deus ex Machina - none were too taboo to insert into his world, for it belonged to him and him alone.
          And Author said, "Let there be drama, so that the story won't be so stagnant." For every crest, there was a trough. Thus the story strove toward the climax. Climaxes of many kinds, as Author came to a realization that sex sells, and so he developed romance between characters and sculpted them to look as beautiful as possible. Then he had them entwined in throes of naked and passionate esctasy, to appeal to the hormonal teenage audience. And Author saw that it was good.
          Then Author said, "Let there be a website where I can publish this for all to read." He proceeded to scrounge the Internet for a website that suits his needs, upload his story and published it publically. Author learned the tricks and tactics of becoming popular, and how to spread his Word to a captivated audience.
          Then Author said, "Let there be daily updates." For readers only want a consistently written story that has a new chapter posted everyday. Particularly as a way to alleviate their boredom. And thus the Author provided. All he asked in return was for comments and reviews, but only of the very specific kind. Any review lower than 3 stars, he eliminated, so as not to hurt his rating. Only praise was acceptable. Criticism was refuted, for the Author was a prideful person, and believed that his story was a masterpiece bereft of any flaws.
          Then Author said, "Let there be a contract." For his views have been artificially inflated, the rating of his story kept consistent at 5 stars, and critics silenced forevermore. Surely this meant that he could make money, that he was successful. For the world revolved around him and his story alone, and his desire for money cannot be suppressed. With one eye on Premium and another on Privilege, he began plotting - not simply the plotting of his story, but also of profits.
          Author saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Thus was the story created.

            I don't know why but I write a story not knowing what will be happening next.But I write till I think I should end it.

            I usually start with something personal that has either happened to me, or I've thought it would be a good story to tell. In each story there is some reference to my life so far. I am still pretty young and experiencing some things. I think the older I get, the more I want to write about the realities of our world. That side of the story that has never been told, and what people feel during that. I know for Totally In Love, I wanted something original but personal as well. I think cancer effects each of us. Whether we are the cancer patient, the parents , the lover/friend, or the bystander witnessing it all. Reality has an effect on us all. So my stories deal with real life things.

            As far as the characters go, I try to make them as original as possible. Some are inspiration of others, and some are not. I like to keep unusual names that people will remember. Plot, like I've stated reality ideals of the world. I want everyone to relate to it, but yet experience something completely different and unimaginable. My goal for every book is to make the reader experience it, all the good and all the bad. Whether the book was meant to make them uncomfortable about the reality of the animal suffers through during animal Abuse, that animals thoughts and feelings and how pure they truly are. If you were uncomfortable during it good, that was the point. You aren't supposed to be comfortable with animals being abused. If you were sad then happy in my other book, good you were suppose to experience that.

            As an author, I try to communicate with the audience. Yes I love reading magical stories and bringing them to life. I try to deal with real life issues that way everyone can relate. I think that is something to appreciate about writing your stories. So when creating I always try to keep an open mind and think of creative ways to make the story better. How the readers would feel during each situation. I put myself in the readers shoes, would this be a story I would read? How am I suppose to feel during this? The characters actions and how do I bring them to life? As a writer, I challenge myself daily to keep this goals of writing reality and bringing it to life through the readers eyes. I always questioned of whether or not I have done just that, but I think that's what makes you a good author. You've questioned whether you done the best you can possibly do for your characters and your audience.

            So when I write my stories, I always keep an open mind and heart. I start with an idea something, other times I already have a plan. I like to start with a blank page and see where it goes, and see where it takes me in life. Whether I learned a lesson from the character or not. Sorry if this was long, it just really got me thinking. 🤣😂

              Honestly, some of my best story idea's come from dreams. I have rather strange dreams... lol
              I generally start with a general idea/concept and start with the main character. From there I setup a general outline and start writing. I'm more of a pantser when it comes to writing verses a planner. ( http://writingonpoint.com/post/terminology-planner-vs-pantser/#:~:text=Planners%20are%20writers%20who%20plan,the%20seat%20of%20their%20pants.&text=Pantsers%20often%20let%20their%20characters,down%20to%20write%20brings%20surprises. )
              Once I get started writing I'll start working on world building and tracking important points. Everything gets fleshed out when I go in for my first edit. Until then it's bare bones. On one of my current writing projects I legit have an excel sheet that tracks monsters, evolutions, characters and so on. If I didn't have that I would forget half of the people I write.

                Silvia_Liam Quite like you, I write my stories by building my characters.
                I create characters that are similar to who I am and then insert twists and turns to spice up the story.
                I'm more of a pantser than a plotter. The story writes me, kinda 😁😁😁.
                Also, I get inspired by music, dreams, and of course my bestie, the Holy Spirit ❤️.

                  Silvia_Liam Most of the time, it starts with feeling. Beeing the daydreamer type myself, I sometimes find myself thinking about something that would make me feel good. From this once scene that induces this feeling, I develop entire world, using some other (smaller) ideas to further the plot and make it wider instead of longer. WIth that done, I try to logically connect the dots of all the ideas into a single story, before moving on to write it.

                  In terms of figuring out what do you want to do with your story, I find outlining to be the best and easiest tool. Don't treat it like the given truth though, those are just directions you should follow. Because once the time to outline comes, you shed all the burdens of the writer, freed to use just a few worlds to describe huge leaps in the scenario. For once, before anyone else in the world, you get to live through the huge part of the story you want to craft. Spending 1-2h alone on just following your own instinctual ways of connecting all the strands into a proper way then refining it in the afterprocess you can basically take a glimpse at what will happen in the next 50, 100, 200 or far more chapters, allowing you to shape the proper foundation of where do you want the story to go. Without that, you are left in the dark, trying to figure out which idea will become leading one in the story. With outline, you know it from the beginning.

                  I'm too tired to care bout grammar

                      Lexi_Roberson Thank you very much for your frankness. I think you're a very empathetic person. I felt your tenderness and sincerity when I read your answer.

                          MotivatedSloth

                          It's just wonderful to be a dreamy person. By the way, I felt at peace when I read your answer as if I was meditating.

                              Silvia_Liam thank you! Sometimes the best dreams come later. That's why I recommend keeping a dream journal around your bed. So you won't forget it. I know I've had nightmares that have made some interesting stories. You don't have time exactly dream to get s good story.

                              You can think about your deepest desires and write about them. You could also write about a similar experience in your life. I'm sure you have interesting dreams, but the question is can you figure out those dreams.
                              Thank you for your comment!!!! Haha I like to think of myself as empathetic lol. I look forward to reading your stories! If you could give me the link those I might add? Thank you!

                              My advice is to write what you know, but also research is a little. I know that I have written what I know to the best of my ability, and had to research a little more. It makes the story authentic to it's fullest value. If you have any questions feel free to inbox on here? I dont really understand how this website works though haha! Good luck!

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