On Writing – Story Or Title?

When I spend time on one of the writing forums where I’m a member, I see variations of the same question. “What’s the magic process for writing?” The authors asking the questions would never admit that this was the question they are asking, but it is. When the question concerns the correct time, the right process, the right technique, the writer is involved in “magical thinking”. As a storyteller, that’s not a bad thing. As a creative person, it is.

There ain’t no magic.

Every author approaches the craft and art differently. What works for me may or may not work for you. The answer is – find your own way. I believe that if you are looking for the “easy answer” you may not understand the process of creation. Again my belief, there is no “easy answer”.

Now I’m going to spin around in mid-post and say these are not bad questions. Just badly phrased. There is no magic, but it’s not a bad practice to ask other authors what has worked for them. The answers will not be definitive. (Some writers will try to make you believe they have the answer. Many of them end up offering classes and products that will claim to give you the secret to writing success. As near as I can tell the secret is to publish something that claims to have the secret to success and sell it. I am unconvinced.) They can provide a starting point or a new idea for you to explore.

With all of that in mind, let’s look at the question of where a story begins. Does your process begin with a story, a character, a situation or the title? I’ve seen responses from authors that start at any of those places. For me, it’s all of the above. I have written stories to match a title idea, I have had a character walk in and make themselves at home till I wrote their story. I’m working on a story that began with the image of an upright piano sitting in a dark room playing a quiet, discordant tune (I’m pretty sure something bad is going to happen because of that piano!) For my process, I never force where it begins. Story ideas arrive from many places. Sometimes I look for ideas, sometimes they find me like a stray cat looking for food. Wherever their origin, I welcome them.

So don’t worry about what comes first, the title or the story. Whatever order, whatever part of the story arrives, put that story piece to work. Remember that story ideas are seeds and seeds grow at different speeds. I have titles in my idea file (I’ll write about that in the future) that have been there for years. They are ideas I like, ones that appeal to me at some level, but they haven’t blossomed yet.

So my advice on the original question is to not worry about it. Different stories will begin in different places.

Take what you get and write.