So, following have to be answered…

•Who is this secondary character?

•Why is he telling story instead of main character?

•What is his connection with main character?

Weave in some information about secondary character so we can gain a better understanding of his role in story.

So when you are still in that one sentence stage, using ‘What If,’ technique is a good way of generating ideas to build on that initial story idea.

While you are in plotting stage, experiment. Your aim should be to write best story you can. Experiment to see what bits and pieces you can put together to write best story ever.

So using ‘What If,’ ask yourself questions then answer them…

What if character was like this?

What if this happened to him?

What if I placed him in this situation? How would he react?

What if I took this away from him?

What if his worst fear came true?

What if he doesn’t get what he wants? What will he do?

What if I placed this obstacle in his path? What will he do?

You’ll be surprised what you come up with, if you take time to experiment.