Before you put pen to paper, or more like fingers to keyboard, you need to brainstorm and outline your story or you’ll have a spaghetti mess of characters and plot that won’t make sense to a reader.
Brainstorming is where you get the ideas out of your head and decide which would work the best for your novel. In this stage, it is critical to create a judgement-free zone where all ideas are welcome, even something you might think is crazy at first, should be considered. Any idea can spark something that you later may view as a perfect idea! And keep track of your brainstorming sessions - so you can go back and improve on them or use them as a springboard for more ideas.
There are many brainstorming methods you can use to get ideas flowing. Mind mapping, word mapping, word association, asking yourself ‘what if’, and pulling from real life and current events are a few you could use. I use a method I like to call immerse and daydream. I go for long walks, listen to country music and daydream. While I listen to the music, I think about what character could I picture doing this or saying that in the song and just let my imagination run from there.
Then I use the bounce method, where I bounce ideas off of a partner. I find my daughters and husband make the best partners. I run my ideas by them and ask if they think it could make an interesting story. If not, I ask what they would change to make it interesting. This usually spawns a nice back and forth, or bouncing of ideas which I capture in a word document.
More to come in my How To Write A Novel Series - Story Bible Creation and Outlining