Crafting Your Next Story: Where Do You Start?

Every great novel begins long before Chapter One.

Writing advice is everywhere. Plot your novel. Don't plot your novel. Outline. Don't outline. Follow the muse. Trust the process.

After writing and publishing seven novels, and preparing to finish my eighth, I've learned one important truth: every book teaches me something new.

I've been fortunate to learn from author friends, mentors, editors, and readers over the years. Every project leaves me with lessons I'll carry into the next one. If I could pass along just one piece of advice to a writer starting their next story, it would be this:

Build a story bible.

Your idea is only the beginning. Sure, it is fun to hit the ground running, typing every idea and face-smacking quip, but the sooner you know what a character wants, the easier it will be to stay on target. Your bible does more than list character names, eye colors, occupations, and favorite foods. A real novel bible explores the layers beneath the surface.

Whether you're a dedicated plotter or a proud pantser, you'll eventually need to understand the people carrying your story forward. You'll need more than a plot to keep your readers turning the page. Your characters need wounds, flaws, quirks, fears, motivations, and contradictions.

Most importantly, you'll need to understand the lie each character believes about themselves. What false belief drives them? What truth do they need to discover? This is where your characters grow.

You may be thinking: Why do I need all this? Sounds like a lot of busy work. I will figure it out as I go. Those answers influence every scene, decision, emotional reaction, and relationship in your story.

Their backstory matters. Not because every detail belongs on the page, but because those experiences shape your characters. A person's history influences how they speak, who they trust, what they fear, and the choices they make under pressure.

In my current work in progress, one character dies before the story even begins. Yet their influence will appear throughout the novel. She must have a backstory too. Think of Mufasa in The Lion King. He's gone early, but his memory shapes who Simba becomes. That's the power of backstory. The people who came before help define the person your MMC/FMC becomes.

People are rarely simply good or bad. The same should be true of your characters.

"The lie a character tells themselves drives the story forward. The truth they discover gives them the chance to grow."

Worldbuilding deserves the same attention. Even if your readers never see every detail, understanding the politics, cultures, history, religions, economies, and tensions within your world helps create consistency. The deeper your understanding of the setting, the more naturally it will influence the story.

A strong book bible becomes a reference guide that keeps everything connected. When you're fifty thousand words into a manuscript and trying to remember how two kingdoms interact, what a character's greatest fear is, or how long it's been since the last major event, you'll be grateful for the notes.

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned is that an outline doesn't limit creativity. It supports it. Some authors worry that outlining will make a story rigid, but I've found the opposite to be true. An outline gives direction without removing flexibility. Think of your outline as a series of mile markers on a road trip. The scenes are points of interest connecting those milestones.

You know the major destinations you want to reach. How you get between them can change. The more details in your book bible, the less trouble you have with the mushy middle or the payoff. I know you can hear them, your characters questioning: "What's my motivation?"

"An outline isn't a cage. It's a compass."

Why am I sharing this now? Because as I prepare to start my next novel, I've found myself returning to this process that has evolved over eight books.

It starts with a story idea and the characters who inhabit it. From there, I started to build outward: locations, the story's outcome, and the major milestones that first sparked my imagination. Those daydream scenes, the moments I can't stop visualizing, become guideposts for the journey ahead.

Then I explore each character's backstory, wound, lie, motivation, and final state. How will they grow? I do this for my main characters, and many of my supporting characters.

Sometimes it's the smallest details that matter most. Consider a hand-me-down jacket from a character's mother. The worn cuff. The repaired seam. The hidden pocket stitched into the lining. Those details are more than props. They carry emotional weight. They tell us where a character came from and what matters to them long before they ever say a word.

In my outline, I create scene summaries and notes to track time of day, the number of days between events, locations, characters present, and each chapter's purpose. I also add notes on relationship development because growth doesn't happen in a vacuum. Friendships, rivalries, romances, alliances, and betrayals all need room on the page to breathe and develop naturally.

You may be surprised to learn that I track kisses. 💋

Yep, you read that right. I track kissing. Along with heartbreaks and every "I love you." Why? Because relationships should develop naturally. Whether it's love at first sight or enemies to lovers, readers need to feel those connections progress. I want to make sure those moments are earned.

The truth is, writing becomes much easier when you've done the groundwork first. You don't need every answer before you begin. In fact, discovering parts of the story along the way is part of the fun. But the stronger your foundation, the easier it is to navigate the twists, turns, and inevitable surprises that appear during the writing process.

The next time you're preparing a story, spend a little extra time building your book bible.

Future you will be grateful.

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