The Development of a Story

Often people ask me how I come up with my ideas for the books I'm writings. Well, that's a bit of a difficult question to answer with "I just think it up". 

I do just think it up, but there's more to it than that. I do seem to have a fairly vivid imagination, but it goes beyond that. When I sit down to write, I begin to play the story in my mind like a movie. I try different ideas before I come up with the best possible scenario. Before I can even begin to write a book, you have to have great characters. 
I map out a few key players, assign names and traits and what their relationship is to the protagonist. I also put together a basic outline of the book so I have a direct sense of where the story goes and how quickly it gets there. Add in some twists and surprises and viola! A book is born.  
Well, it's still not as easy as all that. Time is one of my worst enemies. It does takes time to site down and write. But on the flip side of time, it can also be your ally. The more time you site and write, the farther along your story evolves. 
I also discovered that it's OK to change it up during the writing process. By all means, if you discover a better way to make something happen, then do it. Just make sure you'r story holds together and is consistent. You may find it useful to keep notes as you go and where main events occur so you can go back and alter them to fit.  
A key thing to remember is that writing is a work in progress. Even when the book is finished and you begin the first pass editing, you may think of a better way to make something happen that is just awesome. Again, its OK to make those changes as long as it doesn't destroy other events. 
Think carefully if you decide to make major changes. I have never made  major changes to the story when its final as I feel my first instinct is right. When I was finishing my last book, "Secret of the Crystal III - Destiny", I had the ending all ready formulated. I began to wonder if there would be a better way to end the story, so I came up with three possible scenarios. All that did was put me in a conundrum on which awesome ending to actually use. In the end (no pun intended) I ended up using my original idea (OK, OK, you got me, I did intend the pun).
The main thing to remember if you are a struggling new writer and can't decide how to do something, or if you have get a bit of writers block going on, its OK. Everyone suffers that from time to time. I know I have my moments, but I remember the main reason why I like to write - I enjoy it! It makes me happy and relieves stress.
So have fun, site down and get er started. There's no better time than the present. Don't worry if the words don't come right away. Just like any thing else in life, practice makes perfect. It took me nearly 15 months to write my first book, and 4 for my second (mainly because I was so pumped after finishing) and 5 months for my 3rd. 
If you're a writer, or a reader, I would love to hear from you on your thoughts. Please feel free to leave a comment below.
Happy Story Telling...
From the Author's Chair,Brian K. Larsonthe #DyslexicAuthor