You've got a great idea. It came to you while you were driving home or in the middle of the night on your way to the bathroom. .
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The trouble is, it's not a story. It's just a scene, a location, a character, or a single line. Or so you thought. What you may not know is that one little piece is all you need.
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We can look at it two ways, via the metaphor of sculpture: additive and subtractive. .
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Additive: Say your idea is small in scale. It's a single line of dialogue, such as, "Things will never be the same." Take that lump of clay and add another. Who is saying this? Where are they? What had made them say it? .
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Subtractive: What if your idea is broad and undefined? Let's say you want to write about heartbreak. Heartbreak is the giant chunk of limestone in your mind. Chisel away at it with probing questions. Is it the heartbreak of unrequited love, of a good relationship that can't continue due to circumstances, or is it losing a loved one? Eventually you will home your limestone into a story.
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Whatever that lump of clay or block of limestone is, write it down. Your finished product might be in a completely different medium or turn out looking differently than you thought, but it's still worthy of writing down. .
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This can occur once or a million times over the course of writing a single story. The biggest lie you can ever be told about writing is that you have to have it all planned out before you put pen to paper. Your ideas are valuable and so is your work!