Story ideas seem to pop up when we least expect them. Generally, the first thing one will do is tear over to the computer and begin typing away; this isn’t necessarily wrong, as you should always write down an idea immediately so that you won't forget. However, force yourself to stop there. Write the idea, perhaps even map it out fully, but don’t begin the first chapter just yet.

Mostly, this is because it's a pain in the neck to get half through a story and realize that the plot has hit a brick wall, or to see that you've backed yourself into a corner. Many struggling authors will come up with feeble escape routes, which rob the story of its originality, creativity, and leave readers disappointed and/or bored. Below are questions that you should be asking yourself prior to pen hitting paper. This will help you decide how to fix a broken plot and whether an idea is a good, imaginative one.

1) What is the purpose of this story, and for whom am I writing?

I suspect quite a few of you will disagree with this, but possibly one of the most boring types of stories are those written for the sole purpose of putting two characters together in eternal, endless love.

Romance lines are fine, but have another plot line moving along with it. For example: you want to put Ron and Hermione, Harry and Hermione, or Snape and Umbridge together? Again, that’s all right. Go ahead and do it. But first, ask yourself: is the goal of this story to have the two characters tossing around under the sheets? If so, what exactly do you plan to put in the middle? Are you going to make it realistic? How? Are you going to use canon or fanon?

Let me put this simply: if the objective of your story is to make Hermione beautiful, Ron toned and muscular, and Harry a Casanova-type with all the right moves, then you've got a story containing little to no substance. (Even if this isn’t your objective, per se, be aware that it might end up that way regardless if you don’t put forth enough thought and effort.) If you must have a romance, then write it, but have other things happening in either the back or foreground. The war that the Wizarding world is in at the moment is a good example, albeit a common one.

Lastly: are you so desperate for more reviews that you’ll crank out a chapter in twenty minutes, not edit it, or even re-read it before you post it? This should be the ultimate red flag that you are not writing for yourself. Stories written from the heart are the best, most sincere ones, and if you're writing a certain genre just because it's popular, or drilling out updates simply to appease the populace, then you are— again— giving out a story with no substance. If you're not insistent on producing your best work, then deep down, you're not enjoying what you're writing, and it will show.

2) Am I writing for quality or quantity?

Why do authors become discouraged if they write short chapters? A good five-page chapter is fine, as is a good eleven-page chapter. What is the point of throwing in extra filler that you don't need just to make the story longer? In the end, it will clog up your plot line and confuse readers. Stick to what you're comfortable with, and remember that readers worth satisfying are ones who are more concerned with the story itself, not the length of it.

3) Am I making the plot clear for my reader?

I'm sure at one point in time we've all had a magnificent idea and been extremely pleased with ourselves for thinking of it. Then, as we try to explain it to our friends or family members, we realize that the idea is less clear than what was previously believed, and the listener is smiling and nodding in a confused fashion. The same happens quite often with stories. The best advice I can give is to discuss your plotline with a close friend or family member. Two heads are, actually, better than one, and it will allow you to fully sort your thoughts. Furthermore, write down the idea— map it out, from chapter to chapter. This doesn’t mean you need to know what each character is going to say, or even where the scene(s) will take place. But having a clear map of what is going to happen, in terms of the plot, will pay off in the long run.

4) Am I alternating enough between dialogue, description, and narration?

A good mixture of dialogue, description, and narration keeps a story fresh and entertaining. You want to show your reader, not tell them. This is an age-old fan fiction proverb: show, not tell. Your words need to be a brush, painting the picture. Make sure you’re describing the scenery, the dialogue, and the characters themselves at some point in each chapter. The reader needs a clear idea as to the time and space; do not underestimate the uses of describing scents and sounds, either. The narration aspect, however, needs to incorporate more than description. Narration (or the actual telling of the plot) should have plenty of verbs. This is the action of time and how that action is interacting with your characters and your characters’ situation(s). Here's a tip: if you're unsure about a section of your story, or you think it sounds boring and sluggish, try re-writing the same section as a dialogue if you wrote it as a description, and a description if you wrote it as a dialogue. Read them both and decide which is more gripping.

5) Am I writing what I know?

The general rule of thumb among writers is that we write what we know. If you don't speak Spanish it isn't logical to write a Spanish character, is it? This is one of the simplest concepts to providing a good story and plot. Plus, writing what you know makes you sound like you know everything, and your readers will bow down to you as the supreme ruler of the universe. Okay, maybe that's a little bit overboard, but you grasp the idea, right?

6) Are the chain events in the plot related?

I hope so. Not having connected problems can make for a very disjointed story. Make sure everything in your plot is somehow connected or related to everything else. Take a look at your ideas, and ask yourself, “how is this relevant to the rest of the story?” for each individual aspect.

7) Am I starting the story with a crisis?

Starting with a problem hooks the reader and starts the story off with a bang. For the sake of your story and all those reading it, please do this.

8) Am I providing a threat to the protagonist?

This should be pretty self-explanatory. What would Harry Potter be if he didn't have Voldemort trying to kill him and take over the Wizarding world? Uncertainty of outcome also falls under this category. DO NOT BE AFRAID OF LETTING SOMETHING BAD HAPPEN. I cannot stress this enough. Do not provide a series of threats against your good characters and have nothing bad happen to them— let the apple fall. Make the reader unsure of when you're going to do it again. It might be a bit painful, but your story will be more genuine and much more captivating this way.

9) Am I throwing in Red Herrings?

Sprinkle a couple of seemingly harmless bits of information throughout the story. Then— BOOM. Pull them out and catch the reader completely off-guard. This is always fun. However, do not dangle clues and then not resolve them in the climax. An example of Rowling’s red herrings is when Sirius almost gets stabbed by a rogue knife at Grimmauld Place, and narrowly escapes its path by snatching his hand away quickly. Later, of course, we realize this was an omen of his impeding death.

10) Am I making the character's problems as big of a deal as they make them?

If a problem your character has is a big deal, or is central to the plot, you need to make it sound as important in the text as you do when the character is speaking. By making their problems sound insignificant while narrating, yet having them worry/complain/obsess over it during dialogue, you're undermining the character and making them sound like a drama queen/king.

11) Am I making things better or worse?

This is pretty simple. Things are meant to get progressively worse up until the climax. If your story starts going uphill half-way through, then you have some work to do. Consider Goblet of Fire: if Rowling had made the tasks and the situations in general less difficult as the year progressed, until finally everything was “normal” and “resolved,” by chapter fifteen, where would that have left the readers for the last quarter of the book? Answer: in a ditch of boredom.

12) Am I turning my character into Super Man?

A good way to make things seem even more hopeless is to have your character's efforts to make things better fail. Not only does it make your character much more realistic and multi-dimensional, but it keeps the plot moving steadily as well. Furthermore, no one cares to read about a flawless individual. Not only is this out of character for the HP folk, but it is also cliché, boring, and unoriginal. Plus, there is a high probability it’ll get your story rejected.

13) Am I writing an appropriate climax?

A climax should do all of the following things:

A) Resolve the problems/questions presented in the story.

B) It must pull together any red herrings and other information and happenings— basically, connect all the dots. Not doing this effectively will lead the reader to believe that the writer forgot a few things.

C) It should be written effectively; reveals the central mystery.

D) The climax should be a point of high tension and drama.

Remember that your plot is your story. Your characters are immensely important, but for the most part they have already been developed for you via the books. Your plot, however, is the one aspect of your fiction that is a direct reflection of you as a writer. Take your time, map it out, and talk it over. It’s always exciting when a writer gets a plot bunny, but acting hastily will not help you, your story, or your readers.