Starting out

A ton of writers,myself included, have trouble starting a new project. I try to remember that the best stories are the ones with simple clean story lines. They are the easiest to begin, then once your comfortable with the characters you can begin to make them more complex and build upon them. An example of a basic story line is Judy loved Frank, but doesn't anymore; She wants out of the marriage but refuses to divorce Frank. Simple, a story about love that has died. From there we can easily build it up. This story could go different ways, a murder story where Judy tries to off Frank but fails every time or maybe a romance where Frank knows what is happening to Judy and resolves to win back her love. The key to it all is keeping things simple and being able to get into your character's mind, can you understand Judy's point of view? Why is she so dead set against divorce? Is it because of her religion, money maybe, or does she have another reason? To tell your character's story properly from their voice, not yours, you need to be able to understand them from top to bottom. Have a discussion with them, start out by asking them questions about their life (Kind of like a Q&A) and really pay attention to their responses. Their responses will tell you about them, their personality gems will sparkle thorough the dust. It may seem like a silly exercise but it works. Some questions you could ask them, Do they smoke? If yes or no ,why. Do they carry weapons on them at all times? If so why. What is their favorite type of shoe? A shoe can tell you volumes about a person. If they prefer to be barefoot perhaps they are a carefree person who could care less about social expectations, or if they wear combat boots and they only own combat boots they could be a person who is prepared for the worst, who knows when they will need sturdy foot gear to kick in a door. The most basic of questions will enable you to see who your story is really about and their main goals. Getting to know your characters is the easiest way to begin. Who knows you might actually like who they are.