 A recurring theme amongst would-be writers is “How do you start a story?”. For some people this is no problem. An idea pops into their head, they sit down at the place they do their writing and off they go. 80k to 100k words later they have the first draft of their book completed. But for others it doesn’t work that way. For others, getting started is the difficult bit. Sometimes they have an idea in their head, but sometimes they don’t. They just want to write, but how do they get going? Which is what this week’s blog is about. How to start your writing when you haven’t had that spark of inspiration to set you on your way.  Even I need somewhere to start, so I’m going to start with “prompt phrases”. This is simply taking a few words that already exist and then continuing on from where they leave off. I’ll give you an example. “The door opened and …” continue writing from there. Where the writer goes from there is entirely up to them. It may end up as a short paragraph that leads nowhere, or it may end up on the shortlist for the Booker prize. Who knows? But great work always has a starting point and that could be it. So, here are a few more prompts for you to think about.
 It may be that by the time you stop writing, you will actually be able to remove those prompt words and you will still be left with something that stands up on its own. The great thing is that you can use the same prompts over and over again but just continuing with a slightly different set of words to create something entirely new. You can even create your own prompts or take the opening words from favourite books and use those to inspire your own work. “Call me Ishmael” may have started Moby Dick, but it didn’t have to. There could have been a million different stories that emanated from those three words. And, providing you remove “Call me Ismael” from the starting sentence, no one will ever know you used it. If you search “writing prompts” on the internet you will come up with hundreds of articles with thousands more suggestions, some of which may be better than mine.  The important thing about writing prompts is that they actually get you writing, and once you have started, it is easier to keep going. The point about those prompts isn’t that they will lead the writer directly to a story. But they may give the writer a character, a location, a time, an incident or something else that then takes the writer to a story. It’s a bit like wanting to get to a certain street, but you don’t know where that street is. So you stop someone and ask for directions, or you go into a shop to do the same. That then gets you to the street where you want to be. The prompt phrase is the person you ask for directions. (For younger readers, people used to do that before we all had Google Maps). Then there is the “I remember” technique.  Write the words “I remember” then follow it with three sentences. For example: I remember I went to the pub last week. Harry was there. We talked about football for a long time.” At the end of that you can remove “I remember” and you’ll be left with “I went to the pub last week. Harry was there” etc. Where you then take that is where the story will lead you. It may not lead anywhere, and you may abandon it. But there are many exciting and unexpected prospects that can emerge from a trip to the pub. One writer I know gets her inspiration from her favourite songs. She uses them to tap into her memories and emotions and they then give her a starting point for a story.  Pick out a favourite song and listen to it. But while you are listening, ask yourself some questions and jot the answers down.
You might want to listen to the song several times to get more answers or to trigger fresh memories. Once you have that, you can start to assemble the words into sentences. Some words you may use several times and some you may not use at all. They’re your words, do with them what you please. But when you’ve written those sentences, don’t stop. Keep writing, perhaps taking one sentence and writing a second, related sentence, much as you did with the “I remember” technique discussed above.  You can do that with other media as well. A painting, a sculpture, a book, a poem, a TV show, a film, or a play. All of them have etched themselves into your memory for a reason and those reasons can be your source of inspiration. Photographs, like music, are another good source of inspiration. We all have favourite photos, but you might want to dig out your albums and start looking at the ones you took years ago. Or, for our younger readers, access your cloud storage to find your old photos. Use the same techniques as suggested for listening to music. Museums have archives of photographs, many of which are available on the internet. Browse those photos and pick out the ones that call out to you and use them to stimulate questions for which you can provide written answer. Remember Kipling's 6 friends: Who, what, where, when, why and how. Do remember that you can’t use the photos in your book, unless you have the copyright owner’s permission, which often requires you to buy a licence.  Then there’s TV, radio or your news feed on the internet. The basic idea is the same for all three. Turn on your TV or radio or select your news feed on the internet (you might also use social media channels). Make a note of the first thing you see, hear or read. Don’t go searching for ones that may be more interesting. That becomes artificial and removes the spontaneity that is crucial to creativity. It doesn’t matter what it is. It could be a news story, it could be an advert, it could be someone discussing buying a house or selling an antique. Just write it down. Then, using the techniques discussed earlier, elaborate on what you have written. Try to reach around 500 words before you stop. Then imagine a character who is involved in whatever you have written and start to describe them. Some of the things you might want to include are: 
Combining the first 500 words with the character description should allow you to build even more. For example, the character may have friends, an enemy, a lover, a helper and so on. How do these characters know each other? How did they meet? How is each one connected to the original 500 words?  The final suggestion I have for getting started with your writing is the “what if” question. Viewers of “The Big Bang Theory” may remember the episode in which the character of Sheldon Cooper imagines what The Hulk would be like if he was made for different materials, eg what if The Hulk was made of sponge? This is the same sort of thing. So, what if the old lady I saw on the bus yesterday is actually a serial poisoner?” So, you start writing “I saw an old lady on the bus today. She looked so sweet and innocent, but she had a deadly secret?  To change it into a third person narrative the sentence is started with “The old lady was sitting on a bus. She looked so sweet and innocent ….” So, here are some more “what if” ideas for you to play around with.
If you have particular concerns (poverty, social justice, climate change, animal welfare, health, wealth etc), they could be turned into some excellent “what ifs”.  Turning what you have written into a story is just a matter of technique. Short story writer E M Forster describes a story as “‘a narrative of events arranged in their time-sequence’ and a plot as ‘also a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality.’ To put that into context “The puppy howled piteously.” is a story. “The puppy howled piteously because it was hungry” is a plot. Turning that simple line about the puppy into a longer story is matter of asking some questions and then answering them, but again focusing on causality.
You may be able to think of more questions. None of the ideas discussed here are a universal panacea. Whatever you start out with may not lead anywhere. But it doesn’t have to lead anywhere every time. All it needs to do is get you writing.  Hold onto whatever you have created (I still have a box file from the days when I still used pen and paper) and go back and revisit these jottings from time to time. Perhaps they’ll provide fresh inspiration.
But, importantly, just because one prompt didn’t lead anywhere, it doesn’t mean that the next one won’t. Ultimately writing is about imagination and these prompts are designed to stimulate your imagination. The rest is down to perseverance. And if you have neither an imagination nor perseverance, you aren’t a writer. You may be thinking “That’s all fine, but this is all about the here and now. I write fantasy/sci-fi/horror/westerns etc and those prompts don’t help me. Wrong. There is nothing that those prompts produce that can’t be transposed into any genre. Those genres are just a set of tropes that tell the reader what sort of book they are reading. The rest of it can exist in any time period or location – real or imagined. To think otherwise is to reveal a lack of imagination. To use the example of the puppy, discussed above, it could live in Middle Earth, on the planet Gargelfarch or in a Native American tipi in 1879. It doesn’t even have to be the young produced by a dog. It could be a baby that has turned into a werewolf puppy and it’s howling because it can’t get out of its cradle to find a leg on which to chew. (Editor’s note: That idea is now copyright, Selfishgenie Publishing 2025). All writing should be fun and fun comes from playing. Anyone who has ever studied the processes involved in creativity and innovation will know that “play” is a big part of it. What this blog is about, really, is playing with words. It serves two purposes. The first is you learn by doing it. The second is that the ideas generated through this sort of play can be turned into something useable. It won’t happen every time, but it will happen. If you have enjoyed this blog or found it interesting, be sure to sign up to our newsletter by clicking the button below, so you don’t miss future posts. We’ll even send you a free ebook for doing so.
0 Comments
 I once made a claim to the effect that there were only seven basic plots for books. It appears that I was right. Experts think that there are seven basic plots for books. I would throw in an 8th, but I’ll get to that later. The idea was developed by someone called Christopher Booker, who carried out research across a wide selection of books and then published his results in a book (what else) entitled “The Seven Basic Plots: Why We tell Stories”, published in 2004. This was no passing fancy. It took him 34 years to write. Amongst his other credits is that he was one of the founders of Private Eye magazine. He has nothing to do with the Man-Booker Prize which is awarded for literature. As well as the 7 basic plots, Booker came up with the idea of the meta plot, that is the basic structure which the majority of books follow. This breaks down into four distinct phases.  Phase one is the call to action, in which the protagonist is drawn into the adventure to come. Some go willingly, like James Bond, while others, like both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, go less willingly. Phase two is the frustration stage, where the protagonist struggles against the forces arrayed against him (or her) in order to resolve the problems he is faced with and win the day. During this stage they discover their weaknesses, which they must overcome and also, usually, unexpected strengths. In the nightmare phase all hope is lost and all seems to be doomed. The protagonist may come close to death and is certainly in despair, though quite how this works for plot type 5 (see below) I’m not sure. Finally, we reach the resolution stage, where the protagonist, against all odds, wins the day and earns the title of hero. Again I’m not so sure that this works for plot type 6 (also see below). Readers of Jessica Brodie’s “Save The Cat Writes A Novel” (recommended) may recognise those four phases, though she breaks them down into 15 “beats”.  It doesn’t matter how many other characters there are in the book, it is with the protagonist that the reader’s thoughts and emotions ride. If he or she doesn’t succeed, then the story doesn’t succeed. Even if the protagonist dies at the end, their death must be a sacrifice to gain their success. Do you recognise those four phases (or 15 beats) from the books you read or write? I must admit that I find it hard to think of any book that doesn’t conform to that pattern So, what are the 7 basic plots that Booker identified?  Plot 1. Overcoming the monster. This might be a real monster, such as the Minotaur favoured in Ancient Greek literature, or it may be a figurative one: Big Business, Corrupt Government, Rogue CIA agent, etc. It can also include internal demons. A lot of Greek literature focuses on battling monsters, but it has stood the test of time. H G Wells used it in War Of The Worlds and Michael Crichton in Jurassic Park. And British readers can't overlook the story of St George and the Dragon. The ‘monster’ is also present in stories such as George Orwell’s 1984 and the Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher books. Just because it doesn’t have horns or a tail it doesn’t prevent it being a monster. Plot type 1 is, of course, a staple of the horror story genre: Frankenstein, Dracula, Halloween, Friday The Thirteenth. However, our author Robert Cubitt uses it in his World War II series, Carter’s Commandos, where the monster is the Nazi regime in Germany.  Plot 2. Rags to riches. The most obvious (for me) examples are Cinderella, Dicken’s Great Expectations. Aladdin, The Prince And The Pauper etc. First of all, the protagonist comes into great wealth before losing it all and then having their fortunes restored after they have learnt a significant lesson. Plot 3. The quest. This is much loved by the writers of fantasy novels, and Robert Cubitt used it in his Sci-Fi series. With the search for the magic sword, or whatever, also comes personal growth. The protagonist never comes out of a quest unchanged in some way. Its origins are as distant as Homer’s Iliad and progress through history with A Pilgrim’s Progress, Lord Of The Rings, Watership Down, etc.  Plot 4. Voyage and Return. Similar, in some ways, to the quest, the protagonist must leave his home (or comfort zone) in order to achieve something and, again, returns changed in some way. One of oldest versions of this is Homer’s Odyssey, but perhaps the best known of these is the Lord Of The Rings prequel The Hobbit. Other examples include Gulliver’s Travels and The Wizard of Oz. It is the principal feature of this genre that the protagonist isn’t (necessarily) financially enriched by the journey but is spiritually enriched.  Plot 5. Comedy. Is this really a plot in its own right, I wonder? Comedy can be inserted into almost any plot, even a tragedy if it’s handled correctly. That’s why we refer to “black comedies”. The protagonist is usually a light, cheerful character to whom life frequently hands the dirty end of the stick: a good person to whom bad things happen. However, they stumble along and emerge triumphant at the end, often through luck rather than judgement. Mr Bean or any Norman Wisdom film provides examples. Plot 6. Tragedy. In Ancient Greek theatre this was the partner of comedy as the Greeks only did two types of theatre. Again, I would dispute this being a plot in its own right. Most stories can include a tragedy or two. The protagonist either has a major character flaw which they are unable to identify in themselves or they commit an act for personal gain which has unforeseen consequences, and which spirals out of control. Either way it doesn’t end happily. There are many stories that fit this genre: King Lear, Macbeth, Bonnie and Clyde, Anna Karenina. This isn’t so popular in modern fiction and film as the public prefers a happy ending, so nowadays the inherent tragedy turns to success in the final chapter. While it was always normal for the protagonist to die at the end of a tragedy it is far more normal, now, for them to live. Not only will they live, they will also get the girl (or boy).  Plot 7. Rebirth. This is the plot for any story in which a villain or an unlikeable character ends up as the hero. It involves the protagonist going through an experience that changes them radically in some way, making them a “new” person. There can also be an element of this in some of the other plots, particularly 3 and 4. Here we find A Christmas Carol (not our alternative version), Beauty And The Beast and Despicable Me. Now we come to my additional plot, Plot 8: Romance. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl for some reason (OK, girl can also lose boy), boy and girl either struggle to get back together, or fight against the inevitable attraction, and finally get back together again at the end of the book (and, of course, there are LGBTQ+ equivalents). This is the territory of Mills and Boon and Barbara Cartland, but has been used by many other authors. In which other genre would Pride And Prejudice fit?  Here is the challenge. Can you think of any book that doesn’t fit into one of those 7 (or 8) categories? I have tried and I can’t think of any. If you are an author, have you ever written a book that doesn’t fit into any one of those categories? Would you even try? An interesting thought is that we might each be living our lives in one of those ways. In other words, there are only 8 life stories. That sounds a bit scary, as we all consider ourselves to be unique in some way. However, much as that idea both scares and appeals to me, I have no evidence to back it up so I’ll leave it there. What is of considerable interest to me is this idea of change. All those plot lines require some form of change to be undergone, in order for there to be a happy ending. This is where the story and real life part company. As a species we aren’t good at changing. If we were we wouldn’t keep repeating the mistakes of the past that lead us into all sorts of messes, up to and including war.  So, if there are only 7 (or 8) basic plots for books, why do we keep buying books? After all, once we have read one book from each plot type we have read them all, haven’t we?
This is where the skill of the author comes in. He or she makes us believe that their story is both unique and original. Firstly, they will mix and match the plot types to give variation to them. As I suggest above, a quest can also be a journey, and frequently is. Sling in a romance and a bit of personal growth and you tick the boxes of another two types. However, that still limits the number of stories available (Just over 40,000 by my calculation). Yet literally millions of books have been written. It is the author that makes the difference. The skilful author makes you believe, through his or her mix of character and plot, that their story is unique. All the great authors have done this. It is called “finding one’s voice”, in other words saying something different. It is hard to say which authors will find their voice and which will never be heard, because this is down to the reader to judge. But what is clear is that if the reader wishes to find a new voice to listen to they won’t find it by reading what everyone else is reading. A new voice can only come from a new author. If you have enjoyed this blog, or found it informative, then make sure you don’t miss future editions. Just click on the button below to sign up for our newsletter. We’ll even send you a free ebook for doing so. This week we are pleased to welcome Beth Harris as our guest blogger. As the founder of businesstipscenter.com, Beth Harris knows a thing or two about making smart business decisions. She founded her company with the goal of providing entrepreneurs with an all-access platform full of business resources and tips. Beth understands that every day brings new opportunities to make the best decisions possible for your business. That’s why she’s dedicated to making it happen.  Like it or not, being self-published author is the same as running your own business. And, like any other business, it helps if you know what you need to do to make your business a success. Many blogs focus on the importance of book marketing, but there is more to running a self-publishing business than just marketing your books. This blog takes a look at some of those other business management issues in order to allow your business to grow. When you decide it’s time to expand your business, you’re not just scaling operations—you’re reshaping your entire ecosystem. Growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It touches every corner of what you’ve built, from team dynamics to the way customers interact with your brand. Before you hit the gas, you need a grounded, thoughtful approach that ensures your next chapter doesn’t derail the momentum you’ve worked so hard to build.  Hiring Beyond the Résumé (CV) At some point you may need to hire people to help you with your business. It may be that you only hire them as freelancers, for a specific task, but you may need longer term help at some point. Adding new people to your team isn’t just about skillsets—it’s about culture, adaptability, and alignment. When you're growing fast, you need employees who can evolve with you, who won’t get flustered when job descriptions change overnight. Prioritize candidates who show initiative and a willingness to take ownership over those who simply tick boxes on paper. You’re not just hiring for what your business is today; you’re hiring for what it will become six months from now.  Funding That Doesn’t Cost Your Soul Expansion needs fuel, and that usually means cash. Whether you’re pulling from reserves, seeking investors, or applying for loans, the key is clarity. Know exactly what you need, what you’re willing to give up, and what strings come attached to that money. A funding partner can open doors—or drain you dry—so be picky, even if the offer looks great on paper.  IT Security Whether it is protecting yourself against scams, protecting your hardware against viruses or protecting your work from getting lost, you need to understand what is happening in the world of cyber security. Undertaking some form of professional qualification is probably your best bet, but just keeping up to date with what’s happening in the world of IT is essential. There are numerous blogs available on the subject and you will do well to subscribe to them. But there are 3 key things. 1. If something seems too good to be true - it probably is. Step back and look for the possibility of a scam being perpetrated. You could lose a lot by rushing in - but you will lose nothing by being cautious and checking things out. 2. Have good anti-virus software - and keep it updated. Yes, it costs money - but it will cost you more to get a virus removed. 3. Back up your work regularly. It doesn't matter if you use the "cloud" or a USB stick, the day your computer crashes is too late to realise you should have backed up your work.  Marketing with Fresh Eyes Marketing during expansion is about more than just making noise; it’s about reshaping perception. Your audience is changing, and you need to evolve your message to meet them where they are. That might mean pivoting your brand voice, exploring new platforms, or telling your story in a different way. You’re not just trying to reach more people—you’re trying to reach the right ones, with a message that sticks.  Adding Value with Purpose, Not Pressure There’s always temptation to launch new books, new products or new services when you’re expanding—just to show growth. But if those additions aren’t rooted in real customer needs or clear data, they can backfire fast. Instead of chasing trends, look for gaps: what are customers asking for that you’re not yet offering? Innovation should feel like a natural next step, not a desperate reach for relevance. Forming Partnerships That Pull Their Weight Strategic partnerships can offer reach, resources, and credibility—but only if the relationship is balanced. Don’t jump into deals where you're doing all the heavy lifting or compromising your brand identity just to chase short-term wins. The best partnerships feel like multipliers, not band-aids. Set clear expectations, get everything in writing, and remember that synergy doesn’t happen by accident—it takes planning and trust.  Tech That Grows With You
You may just be selling your books through Amazon today, but who knows where you might be selling them in 6 months time? Your current systems might work fine today, but will they still hold up when your user base doubles or your inventory triples? Evaluate your software stack, automation tools, and internal workflows before growth exposes the cracks. Scalability in tech isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Upgrading ahead of time can save you from breakdowns when it matters most. Growing your business isn’t a moment—it’s a mindset. Every decision during expansion sets the tone for how your self-publishing business will operate moving forward. You can’t afford to rely on old habits or guesswork. Instead, you need a strategy that’s rooted in self-awareness, backed by data, and led by people who believe in where you’re headed. Done right, expansion doesn’t just scale your business—it deepens its impact. Discover a world of captivating stories and talented authors at Selfishgenie Publishing – your next great read is just a click away! If you have enjoyed this blog, or found it informative, then make sure you don’t miss future editions. Just click on the button below to sign up for our newsletter. We’ll even send you a free ebook for doing so.  In our blog a couple of weeks ago I posted a table (the one to the left) that showed the way read through rates for books in a series declined the longer the series ran. I said at the time that there were reasons for that decline – some author driven and some reader driven – and that the explanations were really the subject for a whole different blog. This is that blog. This table shows the “benchmark” average read through rates for a series. The average is probably skewed by series with very high read through rates, such as the Harry Potter books, Jack Reacher books and others. I suggested that read through rates of 70% from book 1 to book 2 for the average Indie author probably weren’t to be expected. But I also suggested that a read through rate of less than 50% was a matter for concern.  Let’s start with the reader driven reasons why the read through rate for a series isn’t 100% every time. Firstly, not every series is going to appeal to every reader. They may enjoy book 1, but they may decide that 1 book is enough and they want to find something different to read. That’s fair enough. I have enjoyed many a book but not gone on to read anything else by the same author, because I fancied something different. The next reason is “reader fatigue”. This is readers who have read book 1 and maybe also book 2, but are starting to get a little bit bored with the series. Like the first cause above, the reader is hankering after something a little bit different and book 3 of your epic saga is not going to provide that - or so they believe. I have experienced that with the Jack Reacher books. Having read several, I have taken a break, and I haven’t yet gone back to them.  The final reason is distraction. The reader has every intention of reading the next book in the series, but they just happen to see a “shiny object” on Amazon, or maybe someone recommends a book to them, and they decide to read that instead. They feel sure they will return to your series later, but they never seem to get around to it because there are always more shiny objects and book recommendations. eBooks make distraction so much easier to interfere with sales, because a hard copy book sitting on a table or bookshelf is hard to ignore, but one hidden away on a Kindle is far less intrusive. I am as guilty of this as anyone. I have actually returned to a series downloaded through KindleUnlimited only to be told that the reading date has expired and I’m going to have to download it again. So, I go onto Amazon to do that, only to be distracted by another shiny object. There is nothing much you can do about any of these reader behaviours. The best you can hope to do is make your series so compelling that boredom and distraction can’t find a way in.  Now we come to author-based reasons for poor read through rates. These the author can fix, but they have to realise that they have a problem so that they know they have something to fix. First of all, there is optimising the series to improve read through rates. It has to be set up on Amazon (and elsewhere) as a series. If it isn’t then read through rates will suffer because people think they are buying a standalone book. It also has to have a series blurb that is every bit as compelling as the blurbs for the individual books. The easiest book you will ever sell is to someone who has just enjoyed one of your books and wants to read another. This means setting up your “back matter” at the end of the book to make it easy for the reader. Include the opening chapter of the next book (perhaps more than one chapter if they are short). I would suggest at least 5k words. It is normal for readers to read those and once they have started, they find it difficult to stop – so you don’t really have to do anything else except make it easy for them to find the rest of the book.  Which means putting a link of the extract in the ebook so that they can click straight through to the sales page and hit that “buy now” button. Make it a universal link so it goes to the right page for the territory in which the reader lives, because the more times they have to click the less likely it is that they will buy. Make sure the link goes to the series page – not to the individual page for book 2 (or whatever book it is). There are very sound reasons for linking to the series page. First of all, there are no adverts on that page – so no shiny objects to tempt the reader away. Secondly, there is a great big button that allows the reader to buy the whole series at once – which some readers do. Even if they don’t buy the whole series, they may buy more than one book. It is a smart button, so it knows which books in the series the reader has already bought and doesn’t include those in the price. It even knows when you are running a Kindle Countdown Deal so it will adjust the price for the series. One important thing to know about series pages is that every time you add a book to the series, Amazon changes the ASIN. That means that you have to create new universal links for it and change them in all your marketing and your backmatter. If you don’t the reader will see a “page not found” message and you will lose the sale.  Next up is category selection. Some readers only read a single genre of book. They have seen yours, thought it was in the genre they like and bought the book. They may even enjoy it up to a point. But they won’t buy the next in the series because it isn’t in their favoured genre. Book covers are the usual cause of the reader being misled, but if it shows up in a category search under the wrong category, that will also cause the problem. So, choose your category or categories with care and make sure the cover is appropriate for those categories. You may think that is a pretty obvious point to make, but some authors mistakenly think that listing their book in the most popular categories will be good for sales. It isn’t, because the readers who buy by category alone don’t like being misled. It can also screw up your advertising strategy big time but that, again, is the subject for a different blog  But the main reason for poor read through rates is a bit more difficult for authors to accept.
It may be that readers just don’t like the first book, so they aren’t interested in buying the second. There can be many reasons for that dislike: poor quality writing, uninteresting characters, poorly structured plot, too many typos and a whole lot more. You have to identify those issues and fix them, or you will never get good read through rates for the series. It is the major reason for the benchmark read through rate from book 1 to book 2 being only 70% in the first place. For the Indie author that rate (as explained above) is going to be lower anyway, but you can improve it if you can fix the worst issues. So, to summarise. There is nothing much you can do to change reader behaviour when it comes to improving read through rates, but there is plenty you can do to fix author behaviour. You can either accept your poor read through rates – or you can take action. It’s over to you. If you have enjoyed this blog, or found it informative, then make sure you don’t miss future editions. Just click on the button below to sign up for our newsletter. We’ll even send you a free ebook for doing so. |
AuthorThis blog is compiled and curated by the Selfishgenie publishing team. Archives
June 2025
|
RSS Feed
Copyright Selfishgenie Publishing 2025
Web Hosting by iPage