Most of My Stories Start as Dreams (Yes, Really). Here's How They Become Books.

Very rarely do I start with a plot.

My stories start with a feeling or a dream I can't shake.

I've always had vivid dreams. I used to write them down to better understand these subconscious creatures of the night. Now, I reverse engineer them into novels.

Here are some examples:

Started as a dream about three warring factions and one girl living in the sewer who rose to rule them all. The current plot is MUCH different and receiving its third structural edit.

Started with a stress dream about arguing with a barista at an absurd juice shop. It eventually became a story about legacy, identity, and activism.

Wasn’t a dream at all, but a visceral feeling after a racist encounter in a museum. That emotion fused with my complicated relationship to Cinderella to create Ashes to Ashes.

To learn more about these stories and where the plot went in the long run, visit my Upcoming Works page.

A dream doesn’t become a book until I figure out the emotional question behind it. The dream that inspired Blended Roots came to me at a time when I was struggling to decide what I wanted to do with my life. Am I a writer, an activist, or will I work dead-end jobs until I die? My quarter-life crisis quickly materialized into a subconscious breakdown in a juice bar. Since starting to write Blended Roots, I've made numerous life choices, including deciding to pursue a career and writing as a means to express myself and my activism.

These streets just aren't for me anymore, y'all.

Once I understand the emotional core, I have to decide how to build the story around it. After conceptualizing the purpose of the dream, I then begin to build one of two things first.

1. Characters

2. Plot

For Blended Roots and many of my stories as a writer who prioritizes character-driven plots, I focused on building my main characters by creating character maps, like the one below.

This is just one way to develop a character map, and I don't always do it this way, myself. There are lots of formats out there, but if you like my version, here's a blank one for you to try out!

Character Map.pdf

Download PDF • 445KB

Once my characters and their motivations are fleshed out, I reference my written notes from my dream to develop the setting and a basic plot.

For developing the setting, I love a good free write and space for notes. If I feel there isn't enough to guide the reader, I reference that sheet. It's also worth noting that sometimes, as I develop the plot, the setting can change. So, having a document to go back to where I can write notes or do an additional free write helps keep things consistent.

For a recent project, my characters spent most of their time in a very specific car. I researched this vehicle, consulted my husband, who is a certified car guy, and took notes on details such as speed, horsepower, transmission style, and other technical details. After that, I put myself in the car, describe it physically, and write about why the character is there and really any other thought that pops up. The point is to develop immersion and emotional attachments.

Now we have characters, we have a place, the only thing we're missing is an actual story. By this point, by developing the other sections, you should have a decent idea of a basic plot. But if you're not there, here are some helpful tools.

Plot Diagrams

The first time most of us saw a plot diagram was sometime around second grade, probably right after learning what a noun was and right before being told to stop talking during read-aloud. But as simple as they look, they’re actually a great way to check whether a story has movement.

I don’t treat plot diagrams like laws. They’re more like a GPS: I don’t have to follow the exact route, but it’s nice to know if I’ve accidentally driven into a narrative ditch.

At its core, the diagram just tracks how the story builds and releases tension. It consists of:

• Exposition – where we get our footing. Who is this person, and why should we care? Good exposition is like salt: not enough and everything’s bland, too much and you’ve ruined the meal.

• Conflict – the reason the story exists. Something is wrong or about to go down. This is usually the part I understand first, especially when working from a dream.

• Rising Action – the messy middle where characters make choices, regret those choices, and get pushed toward change. This is where most of the real work of the story happens.

• Climax – Where everything comes to a head. All that pressure finally has somewhere to go.

• Falling Action – Loose ends get tied up and consequences land. In romance, this is often where the best friend or someone’s dad shows up to say, “Go get her, son.”

• Resolution – the payoff. Not everything is perfect, but something has changed, and the characters have earned whatever ending they reach.

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Do I follow this perfectly every time? Nah. Stories bend, wander, and occasionally refuse to behave. A story doesn't have to conform. But checking the overall shape helps me make sure the narrative is actually progressing instead of just vibing in place.

Beat Sheets:

Another super helpful tool is beat sheets. Beat sheets are genre-specific outlining guides. When I started writing romance more intentionally, guides like Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes helped me understand the rhythm readers expect from the genre.

You can Google beat sheets for your specific genre. Many writers and bloggers have developed their own format. Below is one I created after reading Romancing the Beat, using Hayes' methodology. I highly recommend reading her book for yourself, though. It includes way more advice than I could begin to fit in this simple chart.

Romance Beat Sheet Outline.docx

Download DOCX • 23KB

And just like that, I go from waking up at 3 AM whispering, "What the hell was that?" to having a structured story. That's the fun of being a writer: It's not the dream itself, but what you decide to do with it that makes the magic happen.

I'd love to hear your developmental methods and how your stories come to you. Are you a planner like me, or do you fly into a story by the seat of your pants? Comment below, or tag me in your response on TikTok.