Imagine, If You Will . . .

. . . that you lived in a story book world. What kind would you choose?

• Adventure, with a tad bit of romance thrown in for good measure–like Tamera writes? Some dashing heroes like pirates and historical settlers; maybe some men and women who explored the country and conquered unknown worlds.
• Would you want to spend your days living the life of the Amish, like our talented Mary Ellis has written (she’s moved on to mystery!) or a German Baptist lady like our good friend Sharon Lavy writes? Did you know they have problems and real-life issues to face too? 
• Ah, maybe you’d choose a mysterious or suspenseful theme to your world. Maybe you’d be the world’s best detective (like some well-known characters from today’s shows) or Holmes, Drew, Poirot? Does scary situations pass over your head and you plunge headlong into the next new situation that promises to exercise your brain and challenge your talent in solving crime, thefts and murder.
• Or perhaps you prefer to live in a fantasy life where odd creatures abound, technology is super-advanced and the setting is other-worldly. New colonies, spaceships and a different language would be old hat to you because that’s the kind of books you read.

Guess what! Writers live in these type of worlds every time they pick up their pen . . . er, use their computer. Writing in their chosen story world (genre), they expound on their plots and ideas to create worlds that readers can enjoy, review and share.

Work? yeah, some would call it that.

Here’s how it works for most authors:

• An idea blossoms.That might come from a random comment heard at the luncheon diner where you eat every day. Or it might come from a magazine article, a person strolling down the street might set you to wondering if and what. It can come from a name, a picture, a scent or even a dream. 
• Plotting begins. 1.) You decide on the setting: country, city, desert, forest, outer space, a cavern, office, home, restaurant, mountain, sea. The possibilities are endless, and the nice thing is, you don’t have to use just one. 🙂  2.) Then you create your characters. What do they look like? How do they react? Personalities? Talents? Tastes? Problems? 3.) You work on a premise, the major plot, and if you want a few subplots too.
• Research is a good idea for historical writers and for those who are creating things they know little about. Great writers don’t guess. They interview, search books, ask questions and find answers.
• 1.) Some writers are Outliners. They go into detail of what the book will be about, what happens in every chapter, which scene goes where. They know before they start where their characters will be a third of the way through their book. 2.) Then there are the “infamous” ones (who write just as good–don’t let my joking about the nickname scare you!) who are seat-of-the-pant writers. They may have a vague idea–outline–of how their book will begin, move forward, and end, but they are just as happy letting the creativity flow as it will.
• The writing. This takes perseverance, love of writing and determination to finish. A real writer will settle himself in his chair and get words down on the paper–often. There’s no certain number of words, no set schedule, but the real writer wants to see his novel written and finished.  
• You have the brainstorming. When you’re stuck, frustrated or discouraged, this is a good time to call in a close friend, writer or otherwise, who can listen to you outline the details of your story, then throw ideas and suggestions at you until suddenly, you’re no longer discouraged or stumped. Something is said, that vitalizes your creative juices, and you’re off and running again.
• Prayer. If you’re a christian author, you’ll always call on God for help. You want to do the best you can. You want God to use your book. And you want others to be blest over the words you’ve written.

There’s a lot more to creating story worlds, but that’s the gist of it. Hard work, I hear some murmur from out in cyber world. Yeah, you could say that. But real authors will also claim it’s the best job in the world. That it’s a lot of fun. That they couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

And a whole lot of other claims that can’t be proven wrong. At least, it hasn’t been yet.