Developing story is the process of taking your initial idea and expanding it into a fully-realized narrative with compelling characters, immersive settings, powerful themes, and gripping plot. For some writers (especially those who aren’t natural storytellers), this is the most challenging part of the writing process.
In this stage, you begin to tease out the key characters that will create your central conflict. You will also start to develop their actions, motivations, and background. This includes their worldview, which is the constellation of religious, philosophical, or political beliefs that shape how they perceive and interact with others.
Your character’s action and reactions will help to define them and their world. At this stage, you will also begin to develop supporting characters that compliment or contrast your protagonist’s traits. This will add depth to your story and provide additional challenges for the protagonist.
You will also establish the Inciting Incident, which is the event or catalyst that disrupts your protagonist’s ordinary world. This will set the stage for the protagonist’s central conflict and give them a goal. You will then map out the progressive complications that will lead to their climax and resolution.
If you are writing a developing story, it may be necessary to revise these steps as you gain new insight or learn more about the topic. Developing stories often cover significant events like natural disasters or political scandals where new information can emerge at any moment. This requires ongoing coverage to ensure that the audience is informed and engaged as the situation evolves.