: Re: How to develop a story for a novel? I am looking for some inspiration on where to start writing a novel. I have a general idea for a plot and characters, but I don't feel it's enough for

@Frith254

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I think I've written this before (or upvoted someone who has written it), but so what:

You need a basic idea. Oh, you have one, good.
You need a main conflict. Otherwise you do not have a story. That means your hero wants something and someone is putting obstacles in his way. Like Remeo wants Juliet, but their families are against their relationship. Hero wants peace, but villain wants to conquer the world.
You need more conflicts. Smaller ones along the way. Inner conflicts of the characters. Leaves conflict with the tree and water conflicts the river. Conflicts everywhere.
Characters. Characters drive the story (well, normally). Write down the biography of your characters. How do they look, when left they school, how many children, inabilities, do they smoke, torture puppies, eat children, hate women, were violated by their daddy, whatever. Ask your characters questions to get to know them. "Would you drive 100mph in a city if you knew you weren't caught?" "Would you play football naked in a sold out stadium?" Stuff like that.

If you have your basic idea and the main conflict, start to develop your characters. When you know who will drive the story, you get more ideas for the other conflicts.

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