Before you start any writing challenge, I highly recommend you figure out what kind of writer you are. Using the wrong process can kill your story and damage your love of writing! Take the time to figure out your process. There’s not a quick way around this: you’ll have to write at least a few short stories and take note of what makes writing easier for you.

When discussing writing process, writers typically fall a spectrum somewhere between ‘plans before writing’ and ‘writes before planning’. There’s no wrong way to approach writing and no style is universally better. You may be fully involved on one end, the other, or somewhere in between.

The exercises below will help you develop your story idea and are broken down based on what style of writing you find most helpful.

What Kind of Writer Are You?

Plan First You might be referred to as ‘plotters’ or ‘architect’ writers. This means you need a solid plan before you start writing. How extensive your planning needs to be varies from writer to writer.

Write First You may be referred to as a ‘pantser’ or ‘discovery’ writer. You start writing with ideas and see where the story goes. How much you need drafted before you begin editing varies from writer to writer.

Somewhere In Between Commonly called ‘planters’ you’re the kind of writer that mixes planning and writing as you go. You may start with a brief plan and then write a lot, or you may even build a plan for later revisions while you’re writing the first draft.

For The Discovery Writers

No, you don’t have to outline. You may still find it helpful if you’re working on a later draft, but it’s not necessary. Instead you’ll need to make sure you have enough ideas to get you through the month.

Prompt Collection

There are hundreds of prompts to choose from, start by selecting one you want to base your story around. Your next task is to collect a few more. Build a list of prompts that go together. Aim for a minimum of ten to fifteen.

Tip Check prompt collections for art challenges. Try searching ‘Inktober art prompts’ or even ‘art prompt list’ to get a few different themes.

Freewrite

Set a timer for ten to fifteen and then write, stream-of-conscious about what you’d want to see in your story. The goal here isn’t clean writing, it’s to get a page about what you want from the story.

Flash Fiction Explorations

Start with a list of questions. This could be a list of character interview questions, world building questions or even your own list of questions you’d like to explore in a story.

For each question, set a timer for ten to fifteen minutes and write a flash fiction story answering the question.

For the Architect Writers

For writers that thrive on planning, the natural first place to start is an outline. If you already have that or are about to start one, try one of the following exercises:

The Beat Sheet

Beat sheets are easy to fill out and may work well for writers who want a more flexible outline but still need a plan. These are more focused around ‘moments’ that drive the story forward. Try creating one to map out your main plot.

Character Motivations and Goals

To avoid things happening because ‘the plot needs it’ give your characters three things: a long-term goal, a short term goal, and a motivation. Start by making a list of every character, including your minor and side characters. Then figure out what they want for a long-term goal, and at least one short-term goal. Look at each one and determine why they want these things, this is their motivation.

Bonus: Once everyone has a goal, write down what’s keeping them from getting that goal in the context of your story. You’ve just added potential plot points to overcome.

The Back Copy Blurb

Another good way to define your story is to try and write a 200-300 word summary of it. Start by looking at the back cover blurbs on any of your favorite books, then write one for your story.

For The In-Betweeners

The best part about being in the middle of the spectrum is that you have complete flexibility. Take a minute to read through the above exercises and then try one for Discovery Writing and one for Plotted Writing.

My recommended combinations:

• Prompt Collection and Beat Sheet (best flexibility)
• Freewrite and Back Copy Blurb (better for refining initial ideas)
• Flash Fiction Exploration and Character Motivations and Goals (best for character concepts or no plot)

We’re less than a week from the start of June’s 30 Days to 60k. If you haven’t already, check in with your time commitments (see this post for more) and remember to tell people you’re writing this month!