So you have an idea, but you don’t know where to start… and the end seems so far away it might as well be on Pluto. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Follow the 12 Baby-Steps to a Complete Story and you’ll be on your way. Each month, we’ll post a new exercise. Do each month’s exercise and by the end of the year, you’ll have a polished story (or personal essay, if you prefer non-fiction) ready to submit!

The time-line here is designed for a short piece of writing, not a book, but if you’d like to do it with a novel idea, you’re welcome to. If you’d just like to do the exercises as practice, and use different pieces for each exercise, that’s fine too. Adapt the exercises any way you like. There are no rules, just ideas.

Background Image: Chad Norman (CC-by-nc-sa)

January: Characters
Exercise #1

Make a list of your characters. Remember, if you’re writing non-fiction, you still have characters, your characters just happen to be real people.

Complete a full character biography for your main character(s). A character biography sheet can be found here or you can make up one of your own. Do a simplified profile for your secondary characters: e.g. name, age, appearance, job, etc. For minor characters, just list their name and why they’re included in your story.

Post and ask for feedback on it. Do readers like your characters? Hate them? Are they eager to find out what happens to these people? Make changes/additions incorporating the suggestions you’re given.