Story development is the journey of taking an idea and expanding it into a compelling story with fleshed out characters, powerful themes, immersive settings, and a gripping plot. This can be an arduous and time consuming process for many writers, taking months if not years to reach a point where the narrative has reached its full potential. In the world of film and television, it is not uncommon for a script to undergo multiple rewrites and polishes before hitting the green light.
At this stage, it is common for ideas to pop up everywhere. Writers may be prompted by news articles, conversations, or images. During this stage, it is important for writers to write down these ideas as they occur and also to explore what possibilities are inherent in each of them. This includes identifying (or creating) the “hot spots” in each of these ideas: the parts that have the most conflict or emotion, and how this could be developed into a story arc.
Then it’s time to start developing the overall structure of the story, including how one element of the story impacts another. This is where it can be helpful to use storytelling frameworks like the three act structure, Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, or Blake Snyder’s beat sheet. It is also at this stage that it is recommended to consider incorporating other storytelling techniques like flashbacks or nonlinear narratives. These can add additional layers of complexity and depth to the narrative, making it more complex and engaging for readers.