Telling someone else what to write about isn't my forte. If you're the writer, I feel that you should be your own "well" to draw ideas from; Not us random people here. But if you're the artist and you struggle with plot ideas/storytelling/etc., I would suggest that you team up with a writer to help get the story going. Truth of the matter is, when you're attempting to create your own manga, you can't keep coming to random people for ideas.

If the trouble you're having is to create a longer story, then don't worry about it. Most mangakas start out with a collection of short stories before they get hired and set up with a professional editor who helps them to churn out a longer running series.

Just remember that romance + high school life = / = shoujo. Oh, and that readers are all different people with different personalities. You can't and shouldn't make characters just to cater with all their likes and dislikes. Readers will ALWAYS complain about something anyway. That's their job. I say, make characters that you find interesting and won't bore you . Don't worry about what we, the readers, think. If I kept thinking about how much people would dislike my characters, I would never be able to write anything.

Good luck with the story.

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The hardest part for me has always been to think of plot. I'm not going to suggest plot points because I don't think that's what you're asking. My advice is to invent original characters that you want to live with for the duration of your story, then let their actions determine the direction of the story. Here's a couple of thoughts:

Stories are driven by conflict. If you can, set up a conflict that is at the heart of your story. Ex. Romeo and Juliet, lovers from rival families.

Don't be afraid to hurt your characters. We nurture our characters, we made them, we love them, we don't want to hurt them. But a story with no real chance of something bad happening is dull. Go ahead and give them something to cry about - they can handle it.

One of my favorite writers says that she generates plots by deciding what the worst thing that could happen to a character at any one point would be, and making that happen. What the worst thing is, depends on your story and character. Ex. If she wants to get the lead in the school play, the new teacher in charge will be man she mistook for a pervert and slapped on the train.

A good book on plots is 20 Master Plots and how to build them by Ronald B. Tobias. It talks about the basic structure of a plot and different types: quest, revenge, rivalry, maturation, adventure, underdog, etc.

melon-ramune-freak has also given you good advice. Hope this helps a bit, and good luck!


I'm sorry, but a story is not a thesis. The way that writing was taught to us in school is the opposite of creative writing.

Yep, the characters write the story. But not everyone can do that.

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"I'll shut your mouth~~~~~ with mine~~~"

二息歩行

Yep, and when writers don't know what their writing about you get doorstops.

Last edited by Toto at 11:42 pm, Mar 27 2012

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"Officially, this machine doesn't exist, you didn't get it from me,
and I don't know you. Make sure it doesn't leave the building."

It sounds like you are confused on how to develop your characters, how to structure your story, and (by the vagueness of your question) I'm assuming you are also confused on the general direction of your story. Ask ten different professional authors on how to solve these problems, and you'll get ten different answers. You'll have to search for an approach that works for you. And the best way to start is seeing how the people who do this for a living do it. It doesn't matter in what medium you write (whether a script, novel, manga) or what genre it is (whether it is science fiction or romance). The basic principles on how to write stories are the same.

On that vein, I wrote some sites below that I found personally helpful:

Jim Butcher, the author of the Dresden Files, gives a quick crash course on how to develop character, how to determine the main conflict of your story, how to determine which scenes go when, what happens in a scene, and more in the site below. His brief guide is invaluable source for a good foundation on writing a story.
http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/

Gail Carson Levine, the author of Ella Enchanted, has her own blog that gives amateur writers advice on writing. Each post talks about common problems beginning writers have: from how to get ideas on what to write next, to building characters, to writing believable dialogue, and everything in between.
http://gailcarsonlevine.blogspot.com/2012/05/open-ended.html

Beginnings, Middles, and Ends by Nancy Kress
This book offers invaluable advice and insight to building a story and is written in such a relaxed casual style that it never comes across as boring. Scratching the surface, it teaches how to make an interesting opening scene, how to keep your story going through the middle, and how to make a satisfying ending.

Fundamentals of Fiction Website
http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/fiction01.shtml
Not sure who wrote this, but I found the advice practical and useful bird's eye view on writing stories. And (later on in part 2) it gives you more perspective on what writers think about when reading other stories.

Now, I want to point out that Gail Carson Levine and Jim Butcher have two completely different styles of writing their stories. Gail mentions frequently that she figures out the story she wants to tell and who her character are, as she goes along, with little pre-planning. Jim Butcher goes in different direction, offering great ideas on how to plan out your story from beginning to end, and while you don't have to stick to it, having a deep understanding of where your story can go can make your job much easier. Nancy Kress is sort of the middle ground, where you plan and write as you go along. The fourth site sort of brings a different perspective, that echoes a lot of the advice from all three of the ones I mention while at the same time providing new insights. I consider these four resources to being great informative, instructive guides in writing my own stories. I hope that the resources can provide some small insight to you.

lol dat was funny
lol yeah everyone sud avoid dat kinda worthless story

Well I think love triangles and unnecessary drama resulting from such always make a shoujo automatically annoying... If you focus more on how it's hard for the two people to get together and/or communicate their feelings I think that would be interesting. Also, I like to see the problems that occur after the couple are in a relationship since often times a manga ends soon after a couple gets together -_- Also, unconventional couple is usually very interesting.... Just be honest with yourself and say what you want from your heart in your manga!