Hello!

Reminder: I'm running a free workshop on "Seven Steps to a Strong Story Idea" later today, at 7pm UK / 3pm EDT / noon PDT.
👉 Register for the workshop (or scroll down for details)

---

Do you have an idea for a novel?

Your idea is where it all begins. It's like the seed of your novel: it may seem tiny, but it has the potential to grow into something amazing.

I see novelists getting stuck at the "ideas" stage all the time ... and that's why I wanted to share three important things to know about ideas.

#1: You Should Absolutely Pick Your Best Idea

Often, writers hesitate to work on their favourite idea: the one that excites them most.

I did this too. It was a couple of years between when I had the initial idea and when I started writing my first novel Lycopolis. In between, I drafted a whole novella (that I later scrapped) and wrote a bunch of short stories. I didn't think I was "ready" to tackle my best idea.

Since then, I've realised that writers never really feel "ready" ... and that it's very tough to get through the many months of writing a novel if you're working on an idea that's second-best.

#2: Other Writers Won't Steal Your Idea

Lots of writers worry that if they share their idea, another writer might steal it and use it. And I absolutely get this fear ... your idea may feel incredibly compelling. But that's because it links into things that matter to you.

Other writers have their own precious ideas. They're highly unlikely to want to steal yours.

Plus, lots of ideas get written about over and over again: what makes the stories special and unique isn't the idea itself, but the way the writer develops it. (I've seen several popular books in the last year based on the premise of "two babies are accidentally switched at birth", for instance.)

#3: Your Idea May Not Be "Novel-Shaped" ... Yet

Another issue with ideas is when writers dive in and start writing, based on a slightly wonky idea.

They might have a set of characters, but no real ideas about the plot. They may know how the story begins, but not how it ends. Conflict might seem a bit random or unnecessary – friends bickering, characters making silly mistakes – because there isn't a clear antagonist (or antagonistic force). Scenes feel like a patchwork, not quite fitting together clearly. The middle of the book is saggy and meandering.

None of this is inherently bad. It's fine to dive in and do lots of discovery writing, if you're willing to scrap a lot of your initial material.

But for most writers, it's helpful to spend a bit of time making sure that initial idea is "novel-shaped". Just a few minutes tweaking part of the idea at this stage could save hours of writing and rewriting later.

With that in mind...

[Free Workshop]✨ Seven Steps to a Strong Story Idea

🖥️ Free online workshop (45 mins, plus next steps / Q&A)

📅 Tuesday 10th March (TODAY!)

⏱️ 7pm UK / 3pm EDT / noon PDT

If you'd like some help turning your idea into something more novel-shaped, come to today's workshop, Seven Steps to a Strong Story Idea.

We'll be fleshing out your idea in under an hour, and I'll be answering any questions you have, too, as well as talking about next steps.

Want to join us? Just click this link to register, and you'll get all the details (joining link etc), plus the workbook.

👉 Register for the Seven Steps to a Strong Story Idea workshop​

What We'll Be Covering

These are the steps we'll be running through:

Step 1.✨ Capture Your Story Spark

Step 2. 💡 Explore Your Novel Idea

Step 3. 🙋‍♂️ Get to Know Your Protagonist

Step 4. 🎯 Understand Your Protagonist’s Goal

Step 5. ⚔️ Build Conflict Into Your Novel

Step 6. 🏝️ Decide on the Setting

Step 7. 🧩 Put it All Together!

I'd love to see you there.

Happy writing,

Ali

P.S. Feel free to register even if you can't make it live: you'll receive the workbook straight away, plus I'll be sending out the recording tomorrow to everyone who registered.

Here's the link again:

👉 Register for the Seven Steps to a Strong Story Idea workshop​

---

Use the password alinewsletter to get freebies at aliventures.com/newsletter-secret​

​Aliventures Blog | Writers' Cafe |

Find me on Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook​