Waste not, want not. It applies to writing as much as anything else. There may be some little gems hidden in bad ideas. Here’s what to do with them…

I have a ton of plans on my laptop. Plus countless scraps of paper, notes on my phone, jottings in the back of notebooks… all relating to potential ideas for books, poems, films, plays, etc. Some of them, I consistently look at and add to and think: Yes, this is a good idea. But the majority, they’re made on whims. Ideas that I scribbled down quickly before I forgot, only for me to forget why I thought it was a good idea at all. And as such, they may never see the light of day as stories in their own right.

Bad ideas are, in my opinion, anything from which you can’t formulate a direction. Maybe you can’t attach believable characters or a feasible storyline. Perhaps the conflict is not plausible or credible. Or it may just be unoriginal. However, there may be flickers of usable content in those ideas.

So, the thing to do is start up a brand new Word document (or whatever word processing software you use). Use this as your bank for all your jottings. Include all the stuff you’ve noted on your phone, anything you have written on scraps of paper. Keep it all in one place. You never know — you may be working on one of those good ideas and something may call to you from this bank. A gem that you can salvage from the scrap. Whether that’s a character name, a piece of plot, or a line of dialogue.

Off-cuts and throw-outs

As many of you know, the two books in the The Berylford Scandals series took in total 12 years to complete and publish. And as you might expect, in that time, I read and re-read the manuscript countless times. Giving rise to a lot of story content and characters that didn’t make it to the final products.

This wasn’t necessarily because it was all bad, in my opinion. Some of it was, but not all of it. There’s a lot from the Berylford chronology that has been written, and gets alluded to in the two novels. The early political career of Abel Stirkwhistle, for example, and the subsequent mysterious death of a Norwegian nobleman. Or the marriage of Lady Vyrrington’s eldest daughter Venetia. These still exist, they just haven’t been published. And while the Berylford series is on hold for now… one day, who knows? I may find the time to go over those cut chapters and formulate brand-new, full-length stories.

If you run into the same situation, where you’re cutting and culling from your manuscript… if you find anything that you think has potential, but just doesn’t belong in your current story… again, use your bank document. Cut and paste it into there, give it a placeholder title and a couple of lines to remind yourself of the context. One day, it may come in useful.

In short, don’t permanently throw anything away unless it really is just terrible. Keep all your ideas – bad or otherwise – written down in one place, plus anything you throw out or cut from your drafts and manuscripts. You may thank yourself in future and find the right place for them.

Thank you for reading. Do you have a question about my ongoing and future work? If so, get in touch via my Facebook and Instagram pages. Also read further posts out more about my latest novel, and stay up to date with my podcast.

Examining some important elements that should go into every character profile, before, during and after the writing process…

As you’ll have seen in previous posts on this site, along with pretty much every other writing blog out there, character should be the writer’s Number One consideration. Crafting three-dimensional characters is a gradual process. They fill out as you progress with your work. Having a profile for each major player in your story can help you keep track of their development, their personality, their reasons for being themselves. This post centres around building a comprehensive character profile, and what things you should consider to inform their development and the greater story.

Relationships with other characters

Like real life, you can tell a lot about a person based on how they interact with others. When building a character profile, one of the first things I note is that character’s relationship to others in their sphere. Who their closest allies are, and their enemies. Are they close family or estranged siblings? Are they co-workers locked in a rivalry? Or are there ex-lovers and ex-partners who have made a return to the scene?

Also, it doesn’t matter if these other characters don’t actually feature in your story. Your main character may have a sister that they don’t speak to. That fact alone can tell your readers a lot about your main character. Perhaps family ties are not important to them, or maybe they’re stubborn and have stood their ground in an argument. We never have to meet the estranged sister. The readers will be looking deeper at your main character.

Religion, politics and social attitudes

Remember, the core of a good story is conflict. What’s often at the centre of a good conflict? Religion, politics, and/or society. So when you’re outlining your characters, take a moment to consider… what’s their political leaning? Are they conservative or more liberal? Do they have a religion? If so, how devout are they? What’s their take on social issues? Are they vocally in favour of one thing, or virulently against another?

Remember that all of these will be affected by the period you’re setting your story in. And they all go back to our previous point about relationships with other characters. How will a controversial opinion or decision by one character affect their friendship circle? Do they form a united front, but with some reluctance by one or two members? How is that reluctance dealt with? In short, how do these attitudes inform the conflict of the story?

What is their core principle or philosophy?

These may be tied to politics, religion etc. if you wish. Essentially, when you boil your character down to the bare bones, what’s the one thing that’s driving their existence, their actions and their thoughts?

If I’m to give examples from my own work, in Sin & Secrecy, Lady Vyrrington’s core principle is to love as few people as possible, to stop anyone getting punished for her sins. Abel Stirkwhistle’s philosophy is that he is the judge, jury and executioner for anyone he sees as a sinner or criminal.

In You Can Hear Chopin, the core principles of my main antagonist Leopold Upfauer are tied to those of the Nazi Party, with focus on their idea that mentally ill people were unworthy of life. That philosophy directly affects my main protagonist Heinrich Oeunhausen, whose wife Sofie has schizophrenia. All the same, he has to suppress his own principles and join the Nazi Party in the hope that he will be better protected. Which takes us back to conflict again. Mapping the core principles out can lead you to examine how they clash with those of other characters.

Do they have any quirks, eccentricities, or defining characteristics?

Use your character profile to note down anything unique about each person. Do they have a catchphrase? Or any tics, tells or quirks that stand them out from the crowd? They don’t even need to be anything extraordinary. In You Can Hear Chopin, Upfauer is always cold and stands by a fire when there’s one in a room, and complains when there isn’t one. Meanwhile, Heinrich often refers to his watch, always conscious of time, as anyone who works in a hotel should be. They don’t necessarily have to affect the story, but they add believable human qualities to the characters. Which is what readers want to see.

The question of good and evil

What side is your character on? Are they hero or villain? Good, evil, or neutral? Or, as with real life, are they capable of being more than one? Can your protagonists occasionally make a decision that will take them down an evil path? Or is your antagonist capable of occasional kindness? What does this say about them as characters? A villain who does the odd bit of good could be construed as manipulative, for example.

Don’t forget to answer WHY?

When you’re defining all of these elements in a character profile, don’t forget to be conscious of the reasons behind your decisions. Why don’t these two siblings speak to each other anymore? Was it a childhood disagreement that festered into adulthood? What broke down this ex-couple’s marriage? Was it a difference in politics? Knowing the answers to these can enrich characters’ backstories. It also gives you a much clearer image of the characters when you’re writing your story.

Keep your character profile updated

As we know, a lot can change in the course of writing a story. That’s why it’s important to check your character profiles regularly. Update them according to the latest version of your manuscript. If two characters you had down as friends suddenly have a falling out, make sure that’s noted down. Again, include the reasons why. These decisions might affect other character development and plot points.

Thank you for reading. Is anything missing from this list? Get in touch via my Facebook and Instagram pages. Also, read further posts out more about my latest novel, and stay up to date with my podcast.