The Writer Within: Constructing a Solid Story

[Timothy]

Kira McFadden, Evolved Publishing author of numerous fantasy and middle grade stories, recently wrote a blog about how she outlines her epic series. (In her upcoming interview on our Evolved Publishing blog series, she admits to having over 70 titles planned in her world. 70! How in the world could someone keep all those plot and character details straight?)

Here are a few snippets from her blog post, Constructing a Solid Story:

I name each major character, list out what that character's goals are, and then I try to see how I can either make it impossible for them to reach their goals while still staying on track for the major plot lines, or I determine how (if the character is lucky) they eventually reach their goals.

To me, this is a bit different from outlining a book. Here, I'm taking it to another level entirely. I'm asking each character to show me what they want to achieve, and then I'm ripping that away from them.

...

Now, not every character will go through tough challenges at the same time. You need to let your readers breathe once in a while. The Soulless King is a good example of a book where the characters' plights will quickly overwhelm the reader if I'm not careful, so I chose a few scenes with care and allowed my characters to have something go right. This gives readers a chance to feel like the world I'm building, though difficult, is still fair. If the world is constantly unfair, then the reader will become depressed or disinterested, because they assume all of the good or interesting characters die or are maimed in some way.