Writing Novels #1: Your Central Idea (Fiction Writing Advice)

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Heads up--this Central Idea video is Part 1 of a series on writing novels. The next videos will look at the Drafting, Revising, and Editing processes. If you want to see more content in this series, let me know!

[@sahanhishara175]

Hey i like to see the next part

[@emilyeshraghi8197]

This was immensely helpful! Would love more videos where you break down/do the idea webs for other movies/books/stories like you did for Jurassic Park. Super helpful!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks! I'll keep it in mind

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Once you have an idea in place, what is the first thing you do? Jump right into the drafting process? Brainstorm? Let us know!

[@potatomanboooi3105]

i normally write a mind map and that thing to show the main ideas and conflicts in the triangle shape thing,i don't know what you call it.then i write the draft,edit the biggest problems once i am done add more to the story if there are any plot holes or if the pacing is changed,write the final edit the final and add a bit more if i feel like there could be more or even remove parts entirely that feel unimportant

[@BarzaRomanov]

I make templates for the characters, plot (and subplots), theme, tropes and cliches (I love them) and them I start de brainstorm, so when I have an idea for anything, it have a place to go and when I'm happy with what I have, I start my first draft.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

@@potatomanboooi3105 The triangle thing your describing sounds familiar. Where did you learn it from?

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

@@BarzaRomanov Nice--is the template something you made yourself?

[@potatomanboooi3105]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty my english teacher from last year

[@PhoenixCrown]

When I get an idea, I consider why it's interesting to me, and it usually revolves around some kind of analysis of my every day life, or larger world around me, how humans interact, the societies we've built, religion we follow for morals, technology that disrupts our rituals...

[@rogeras5966]

This Idea Web system looks pretty useful, sometimes I struggle to conect different parts but this will probably help.

[@batman5224]

I often struggle to expand my ideas into full-length novels. For better or worse, most of my stories tend to conclude at around twenty thousand words, making them novellas. Most of my plots only involve two to three characters in a single location, so it’s very difficult to expand them into novels. I have written full-length novels in the past, but my novellas tend to be far more polished and concentrated. In some ways, they are paced more like movies. It takes around two hours to read a novella, the same amount of time it takes to watch a movie. This is one of the reasons why I haven’t sought traditional publication. Most of my books are too short to be accepted by traditional publishers, but they are also too long for most short story magazines. Most of my books are published as short paperbacks, the prices being lower than the typical paperback novel. Of course, I’m planning on writing an extended flashback sequence in my current project, which might make it longer than usual. Ultimately, the story should end where it needs to end.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Here's the big question... Are you happy with writing novellas? If you are, then there's nothing to be upset about (other than the fact that they aren't as marketable as novels). One thing you might consider doing is packaging 3 or 4 novellas into a collection.

[@dianasaurstudio]

Oh gosh this was helpful! Love that you show the web and then an example using Jurassic Park! This type of teaching is super clear and helpful

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thrilled to hear it helped! Thanks

[@jeffdavidson6146]

After the main idea, the first thing I try to do is come up with the ending. If I have the ending, I can work my way backwards to the beginning. If I don't have the ending, it's like the old saying, "if you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else." Great video, Brandon, I appreciate your idea of the "story web," I have not tried that in the visual sense that you laid out so well. I look forward to experimenting with that layout. Much appreciated!

[@kenward1310]

Thank you for covering this part of the writing process. Having trouble with this of late.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Happy to help! Best of luck narrowing down your ideas

[@ludovico6890]

I write crime fiction. I usually start my stories with an anecdote or something I've read on the news. Something simple, which I build on.

[@potatomanboooi3105]

right now i'm just scraping and scraping ideas for the story because i'm still figuring things out

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Awesome...have you tried testing out any ideas by writing them into potential scenes? Sometimes that opens up doors for me

[@potatomanboooi3105]

@@WriterBrandonMcNultyi normally think about ideas and think of ways to tie it into the story.i mostly scrap the ideas cuz the dialogue was a bit wonky.just felt like it wasnt introducing the characters properly or the scene felt like nothing was happening and it was dragging on too long

[@mathisvatt8944]

I have found that I like a little of plotting and pantsing instead of just one or the other. I prefer to do a small amount of brainstorming upfront just to have something to stand on then I poke at it until something I find interesting surfaces. Then it’s all about tying things together. But the most important thing for me is finding what is interesting about my story that can be brought to the forefront, which when I’ve edited others is something they are not interested in. Their loss… my gain.

[@resistancepublishing]

Thank you for this. This method you used for coming up with different ideas and connecting them all to the characters is brilliant

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Can't remember if I mentioned it in this video, but I got this idea from a book called Blueprint Your Bestseller by Stuart Horwitz. Might be worth a read if you're interested

[@resistancepublishing]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty thank you very much. I’ve been writing since 2019 and I recently found your channel and I’ve been binging your videos. Great and helpful information. I always learn something new

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

@@resistancepublishing Glad to hear--thanks!

[@Fantumh]

That idea web is really an interesting way of looking at your book. Of course a lot of writers might start with a character or a relationship as a starting point, or they start with the plot, or theme, setting, but even so, the writer needs to turn it into a book and this web would be helpful, especially since one can forget your book, no matter the genre, really needs a central idea at its core.

[@quantumhelix8668]

Once I have an idea I like to mentally play with it, and see what things perturb it the most. From these pertubations I make my characters and what they will roughly do. Once I have those things, I start writing. Very much discovery. Though I am always drafting in my head and seeing what causes dead-ends and what causes a better flowing narrative.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Mentally playing with ideas is something I do as well, but I like to write the ideas down to keep my honest and focused. And I'm with you with looking to the future for dead-ends and possibilities. Sometimes that shuts me down though. Definitely a double-edged sword

[@PuppetMaster-Blade]

What i do is pretty similar to this, find an idea that grasps me and go bananas afterwards 🤣. For the last 10 years I've been creating the same idea/world/concept all in my head. I just walk around my room or living room for hours brainstorming settings, characters, themes, etc for my world but never write it down 😅. So over the last year or so now, by using that same strategy, I've been creating a story for the world. And recently i finally figured out the story BUT I have zero clue how to write, which is why ive been watching all of your vids and others 😅😅. In all what i do though is just turn the lights off, enter the deepest darkest part of my brain, and walk around my house for hours on end until something hits me, even if it doesnt belong in my world i know its a great idea and will use it for a different world if i want to 😂

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yep, idea farming always helps, even if you don't use the ideas till years down the line. And I'm glad you set out to learn more about the craft so you can put your ideas to use. I think in another comment you said you were 22, and that was the exact age when I committed to writing every single day. Hope it works out for you

[@AnthonyLeighDunstan]

My first world problem is that I have too many ideas and get quickly overwhelmed/confused. And because I never plan anything, this comes into effect almost instantly. So thanks. As a composer I worked hard against this natural inclination and I’m now seeing similarities with writing. There are some things I’ll never escape I guess. 😂

[@TheBluenyt09]

Awzum tips! 😎👏👏 What I do is actually I don't have a format, I don't even outline, But I already have a clear image of whats gonna happen in each scenes. I do a lot of research on themes, settings, time periods, etc. I wanted to convey. I guess I like writing story plans in my brain instead on paper because writing them down doesn't work for me I guess.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

So you do some mental planning while also following your intuition, pursuing ideas, etc.? i know what you mean. I do it too, but I like to write things down because it makes me feel more productive (plus I can always refer back to it later if I need to)

[@tiarailic4086]

I finished my first draft yesterday! 147 pages. 59,000 plus words! Lots more to do but it feels like a big accomplishment. Thank you so much for all your advice and I'll be continuing to watch your channel as I go into working on draft 2!😊

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Awesome! Congrats and best of luck with rewrites/revisions!

[@kathyl6677]

I'm writing a novel about a little girl (8 or 10 yoa) gets cursed by accident; but I don't know how to cure her without having to escalate things into "saving the world." HELP! Also general conflicts. I'm still learning to think of and develop those.

[@roxc.507]

If I have a great idea, it often comes to me first as a scene, so I will immediately write the scene to capture it and I will take note of any new ideas that come as I'm writing or have just finished writing that scene Then I will brainstorm and incubate the idea as I try to understand the characters, motivations, conflicts and other plot elements better. If it comes to me as an idea, rather than a scene, I brainstorm story elements and try to have a general outline for what will happen for at least the first third of the story before I start writing. And let new ideas come to build out the story as I go. So far, I haven't felt completely ready when I started writing and neither of my first drafts have satisfying endings yet.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

I never feel completely ready when I start writing. The process actually gets easier as you write deeper into the story and allow yourself to make mistakes

[@roxc.507]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty thank you! I'll keep that in mind.

[@azazelthefallen3380]

What if I have to write a million words long web novel? It needs to be uploaded daily. (No less than 1000 words daily)

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yikes, a million words? That's easily over 1000 pages. The same basic principle would apply... Find a central idea and build around it. Does the story have a bunch of different plotlines? Does each plotline have a central character?

[@yourmomlovesme6223]

i just found your channel and i love it! thanks for the wonderful writing tips, help, and motivation :)

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for the kind words, and welcome aboard! If there's ever a topic you'd like me to cover, let me know

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

❤️ ❤️ ❤️

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for watching!