Q&A for How to Write an Adventure Story

When titling a story, consider seeking input from trusted colleagues or friends to gain fresh perspectives. Break the isolation of the writing process by sharing potential titles and asking for their thoughts. Engage in a collaborative exploration, allowing others to offer different points of view that may spark the perfect title. Consider experimenting with titles that contribute an additional layer to the story, whether through a single word or a more extended-phrase. Titles that add depth or present a different perspective can enhance the overall impact. Don't hesitate to involve others in the creative process to discover a title that captures the essence of your story.

Think about the motivation of your character. Why do they need to find this artifact? If you have a unique character you can come up with a unique need for the artifact. That being said: there's nothing original under the sun. Don't be afraid to do something someone else has already done, just make it your own! There's a great book called Steal Like An Artist all about where to find inspiration. It's a good read if you're feeling blocked because it will motivate you to find your inspiration in the things you enjoy yourself.

Describe in detail the surroundings of the area your character is traveling in. You could also break up a traveling sequence with flashbacks or important dialogue, or, if your narrative allows for it, switch to following another character while that character is in transit.

Make sure you have an outline before you write. Whether it be a simple paragraph that explains what happens in order, or full on character designs and a step by step plot, you need something that outlines a plot before you start to write. From there you can change your story to fit what you want and write it eventually! Find a good spot where you can brainstorm, get a pen and a bunch of paper, and just write down everything you come up with, eventually putting it in an outline.

Adventure stories are typically a "happy ending" affair. So unless you're purposely aiming for a darker tale, make sure everyone important gets home alive, good triumphs over evil, etc. You could always do the opposite, and let the villain win, but readers may be disappointed. People want the protagonist to win!

Go for something unusual as the catalyst of your adventure--not the same old trip to some archaeological site or car accident. Also, give your protagonists weaknesses. It will make them more relatable and will increase the reader's compassion with their fate.

Baby name generators all the way. I have an app on my phone that I use whenever I need a name for a character.

It's always good to write about something that's interesting to you. If you try to force yourself to write about something you're not actually interested in, it will show. Just do what feels natural. Listen to other people's stories and try to figure out what sticks with people and what people forget.

Not necessarily. Not all adventure stories feature and artifact or a villain. Most don't have an artifact at all. While a villain is hard to exclude, it can be done if there is enough other interest, such as a romantic tension, a family bickering or something scary as opposed to villainous.

You don't need to, but this would shape your story.

There are no rules in writing. Zilch, nada, zero. Do what you want!

Sure! Try not to introduce so many characters that your reader loses track of who is who, but it's fine to add new characters as your story progresses.

Personally, I look at mythology and see what kinds of stories they told to get an idea for mine. Basic story structure will also help. If you know how a story usually works (either the 8-part story structure or three act), there are distinct steps in them to help progress the story. All you've got to do at that point is figure out what your character does when facing these steps. It's okay to take inspiration from other sources, just make it unique enough that it's your own.

There are some good tips in Create a Good Story Title .

That depends on your audience, but in any case, it's helpful to change your vocabulary instead of overusing words. For example, saying "said" (instead of "exclaimed" or other possible options) all of the time in your dialog can seem a tad annoying. Use your own writing style, though. Again, it all depends on the audience.

Start writing where the story gets interesting. This can be tricky, as I'm someone that personally enjoys backstory, but many people don't care right away. Start writing where the action begins, and give enough information about the character and their setting, so when the conflict is introduced, it the reader finds themselves caring and invested in what the character is about to go through.

The title should come from the setting or from the character. You could add the character and then the item or object they need, for example: Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. By making your story longer, you could add more details if not already added, (don't blab on and add to much) create a "pebble, rock, boulder" where you have a small problem for the pebble a bigger problem which links to the pebble for the rock and the big main problem.

You can go to a nearby museum and check out all the artifacts, or you could search some up. Another option is to choose one but then come up with it from there. Like an ancient rune, you could give it special abilities or a hint to something the main character has to find.

Not necessarily. Some characters might not have access to all 5 senses. For example, many stories are full of sight-based descriptive words as it's easily our most used sense. However, this won't work if the story is meant to be describing the world from the perspective of a blind person (that is unless they weren't originally blind). Even if someone has access to all 5 senses, you don't need to use all 5 all the time, nor do you need to limit yourself to the same conventional 5. Use as many or as little as you feel like, and experiment to see what works best for whatever scenario you'e working with.

It really depends on the circumstances. Are the events of the story actually happening right now, or are they happening as a kind of flashback? Maybe it's a prophecy telling what will happen. You could also mix and match different tenses to allow for the story to bridge together multiple points in time.

Unless you'e specifically writing to meet a deadline, there is no time limit. A lot of novels can take their authors months, if not years, to complete, as they go through and refine every aspect of their story.