Know Your Roots
No, I’m not talking about that sketchy relative way back on the family tree. I want to talk about foundation. The foundation of a story, of characters, of a setting. The roots. Everything grows and blooms and branches off or withers and dies from here.
For me, this is one of the most vital steps in my writing process.
I simply call it research or fleshing out. You can call it whatever you like. I find it equally imperative in screenwriting as in writing a book.
If you don’t know who, what, why, where - utterly and completely - before you type “Fade In” or “Chapter One” you’re doing yourself and, in the end, the reader, a huge disservice. Doing this ahead of anything else allows you to know every aspect of your story - your characters in-depth, the setting, actions that propel it forward, ultimately allowing you to simply write.
By this stage, you’ve got a brief, if not more involved, outline of your story, main characters, supporting (or secondary) characters, and setting. So, jot down your notes about anything and everything. Make a file for your story. For each of the characters… you get the idea. Then fill those files up.
Is the setting in a city or place you’ve never been to? Research it. Have you been there, like, once and think you’re all set? Nope. Research it. Is it a completely made up town? On a beach? What time of year? What’s the weather like then? Is it a spaceship? What’s the layout? What’s outside the windows?
The setting itself can be a character. Hogwarts in Harry Potter. Panem in Hunger Games. New York City in Sex and the City. Serenity in Firefly. The Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Does your setting play a pivotal role or backdrop?
Go deep.
Beyond the physical characteristics of your characters, especially main, what’s their backstory? Was daddy abusive? Did they grow up in foster care? Come from old money? Have a happy, healthy childhood? Have a crazy granny in the deep south? Want to have children but can’t? Caught their spouse cheating? Flunked out of college? Busted their ass to be a successful CEO? Grow up in extreme poverty? Was their father put in stocks in the town square and whipped for stealing a loaf of bread from one of the King’s markets?
Every bit of backstory and characterization you assign can become a motivation - whether outright or subconsciously. Flesh out anything you can think of. Not only will this give you fuller, more well-rounded characters, but it will also aid in continuity as you write. You’ll know them intimately - what makes them tick, propels them to act, why they react to certain things, what they need.
The last thing you want a reader to do is suddenly disconnect from your story because someone said or acted in a way that isn’t in their “character” as you’ve set it up. And the last thing you want to do is have to stop and think about a character or motivation in the middle of a scene or dialogue.
“First get your facts, then distort them at your leisure.”
Even objects can be important to your story or characters. A pocket watch, a sword, a worn-out baseball mitt. Is there a backstory there? Why is it important? A necklace that we see the main character put on every day without fail. Maybe later we learn that her mother gave it to her. Since we already know through the story that her mother died, the reader understands why she wears that hideous thing all the time.
Just keep adding layers.
If you research and flesh out the important components of your book or screenplay before you sit down to write, you’ll produce an incredibly rich and vibrant story for your readers. You’ll know everything so intimately, you’ll be able to just let the story flow out of you without having to think about it.
When the roots are there, with a little time and effort, they’ll grow into something amazing.