How To Develop A Story Idea

  Chances are, you've got an idea for a story... Maybe even multiple ideas. But can that idea last a whole book? Is it half-thought out, and you don't know how to flesh it out a little more? Do you need to make the plot more complicated?
  Well if yes, here are my favorite ways to develop my story ideas...

1. Subplots

  Subplots are awesome. More ways to show who your character is, more stress on the character, and a way to switch things up a little! I'm pretty sure everyone knows what subplots are so I won't give an explanation for that, but here some pointers to make sure you've got the right subplots...

•  It adds to the story
•  It's not redundant (for example, if you've got a superhero story and add in another villain as a subplot.)
• It ties in with the main plot somehow (as in it shouldn't be a totally different story within your story, it should be woven in with the main plot and other subplots. It should also influence your character and the other plots.) 
• It's something that fits your character (Shouldn't need to be said, but yeah. If your character is a loyal guy happily in a relationship, then a subplot of him trying to cope with the loss of his ex doesn't fit and sends conflicting signals that could make him look bad!) 
• It's not cliche. 

2. What Could Go Wrong? 

  Time to bring out your inner sadistic self and think... What's the worst, most painful thing that could happen? (Within reason! Don't kill too many people or ruin the story!) Conflict of any sort is what keeps the story going, stop your character from reaching their goals! 

  I personally have a notebook full of ideas... Anytime I hear about an accident, natural disaster, a horrible way someone got cheated or dumped, sickness I've never heard of, murder, etc. I write it in the notebook and reference it whenever I don't know how to crush my character's dreams... 

  Don't go too overkill with this, if your character can't realistically get through it and get to their goal then you're just going to look desperate and melodramatic. 

3. Build The Characters and The Plot at The Same Time 

  The plot revolves around the character, challenging and changing them. And the character does the same to the plot, trying to get through and make it to their end goal. They've got to fit together like puzzle pieces, perfect for each other, completing each other. The best way to accomplish this is to build them off each other, at the same time. 

  How you do this is have the basic idea for your plot, and then figure out what kind of character would be needed to be able to overcome the challenges while still being challenged. Then once you've got that basic character thing, you add onto it and see how the new additions affect the plot, then just keep adding and seeing what happens until you have a deep, detailed plot and character. 

4. Add More Characters? 

  This one... I hate to say is usually not a valid option, but it worked for me. My story wasn't nearly as long as I wanted it to be and I had no idea what to do to make it longer without making it cluttered, so I added in the point of view of another character. This doubled the length, and I was able to get much deeper into the story! 

  Doing this just because is generally a bad idea... Done right, yes, it can be awesome. But not done right, and you've just kind of got this messy thing that seems unnecessary...