I'm wanting to write a kind of short story/first chapter to see if I'd like to keep going with this story or if it'll just be a practice book for continued improvement.

Idea:

My plan for this book is to be a story about a barrel racer named Audry. I'm basing it off of my own experiences with riding with frustration and anger ; taking out her anger on her horse. I really want this to be enormously about character development: how she learns to overcome her anger and do away with it, how she copes and betters herself as not only a rider but a person. I'd like it to include the relationship she grows with her horse and their growing success in the barrel racing world.

My Issue & Hardships:

I'm horrible at following through with things, especially drawing. I have a hell of a time with thouroughly executing my writing ideas without burning myself out from all the prep work. So, advice on that would be absolutely amazing! I also am not sure what jackpots/gaming days/pro rodeos look like or feel like. I really want to enter, but me and my horse aren't quite prepared for that. So, if you guys have experiences with those things, I'd love to hear about them and what you guys saw.

My Half-Ass Storyline!

Beginning: Audry purchases a cheap prospect at auction. She follows through with training him and in the process learns he was well trained. But, in learning his buttons, experiences strong anger and frustration. After senselessly beating her horse in a blind rage, it dawns on her that she needs to figure out how to deal with her anger. So, she begins her trip in finding how to be calm with herself and while riding to better her relationship and rebuild trust with her boy.

Middle: Shows Audry's trials and how she tries to defeat her rage. (Not sure what or how I want these scenes to unfold. If any ideas, I'd love to hear them!) Audry begins to enter local jackpots and gain experience and begin her winning career.

End: Entering her biggest rodeo yet, (a local Pro Rodeo) she suddenly falls back into her darkest place before she is to compete. She is finally able to break down her biggest wall and defeats the three day competition. (Not sure whether I should add anything else).

That's kind of my idea and a rough layout of my plans and what I'd like to put forward. I'm not sure where else to take this prep process, so again, if anybody has ideas for that I'd love them! ^^

Later, when I get a handle on a rough of my first chapter (may turn out to be quite a few pages long, not sure yet. That might be a good thing, what length of chapters do you guys prefer/like?) I'll go ahead and put it up here to see what ya'll think! :D

My Questions:

1. What other prep work can I do?

2. What are your experiences with competing at jackpots/game days/rodeos?

3. What would you guys suggest to do to develop Audry's character thouroughly?

4. How can I conclusively end my story?

5. What are your favorite chapter lengths? 1-5 pages? 6-10? 11+?

Any writing advice, even as a general is greatly appreciated! I don't even care if it pertains to these ideas! Thank you all in advance!

Elsea Acres said:

Wow! That's a great idea, I love it! Unfortunately, I can't help you with question #2, as I've never gone to a show before. Audry needs some faults to be a good character, and it sounds like you've already got some, so that's great. Make her a character that people can identify with, not someone that's perfect. There are so many different ways to end a story. I think one of my favorite ways, though, is when it's not calm exactly, but not all the action is at the end.

I think a nice chapter length is between 5-10 pages.

I also write, I don't publish, but I love to write. Pm me if you want some more help. Again, I love this idea!

Wild River Stables said:

I have a few questions to ask. Question One: What role does Audry's family play in this story? Do they help or hinder her on her journey to become a better person? I find when writing that the family should have at least some impact in the story, which would make it more relatable. Question Two: Has she always dealt with situations in similar ways before? It would seem strange if that was the very first time it ever happened, especially if it gets overboard. Question Three: Was there something in her past that might have caused her to act in the way that she does?

CC Knabbstruppers said:

Wild River Stables said:

I have a few questions to ask. Question One: What role does Audry's family play in this story? Do they help or hinder her on her journey to become a better person? I find when writing that the family should have at least some impact in the story, which would make it more relatable. Question Two: Has she always dealt with situations in similar ways before? It would seem strange if that was the very first time it ever happened, especially if it gets overboard. Question Three: Was there something in her past that might have caused her to act in the way that she does?

I definitely want Audry's dad to play a major role in helping her start up her career and helping her get through her frustration.

I think I'll bring up some parts in the story that shows she has been through it before, but hasn't realized it was an issue until she unfairly brought her horse into it.

Maybe her mom's passing could've made it to where she bottles up her feelings? Or maybe she never knew her mom and instead her first horse's tragic passing makes it hard on her? What do you think would be more interesting? I feel like the parent passing away is a very overused cliche.

FirstLightFarms said:

So I've written a few full-length equestrian novels (on wattpad, but still) and I've picked up a few things along the way, so feel free to message me if you ever find yourself needing feedback!

That being said, here are some of the biggest things I've picked up over the years:

Make your horse a character! So many books I've read have had the horse doing nothing but existing while the riders ride around and have crisises and virtually ignore the horse unless they're on it or describing tack in great detail (also: don't do that). Figure out your horse, and let it breathe and have a personality of it's own. Smart, dumb, slow, fast, spooky, bombproof? And let the horse have a bit of character development. Maybe it's a bit stubborn at the beginning of the story but learns to respect its rider at the end. Maybe it had an accident and has to learn to trust again. Regardless, bring your horse to life!

Another thing I've learned is that you need to stock up on side characters. Let the story feel full of life and people and their own quirks. If you find yourself really enjoying one side character, use that! Let them have a bigger role than you may have originally planned. One of my all-time favorite side characters was supposed to be briefly mentioned in my main character's class and ended up becoming his love interest and having a whole character arc of his own outside of the romance as well. It was really fun and some of my favorite writing and it was COMPLETELY unplanned. Basically- if you want to do something, do it. Readers can tell when a writer enjoyed writing something, and it makes the reading experience so much better.

My last piece of advice is one I think you've already discovered, given recent conversations and the topic of your story, but I'll say it regardless. Let yourself explore emotions and feelings and scenarios in your story. You'll discover things about you, and it's a safe place to try new things and see how they work without having real world repercussions. That's a hugely important part of storytelling that I think a lot of people overlook, but it's there for a reason. Stories, while they seem fabricated on the surface, inhibit something that's actually brutally honest. So use that. Stories can be so, so good for you.