BUILDING FROM A STRONG PREMISE

MARTINA  on the Children's Publishing Blog wrote a brilliant post about growing great ideas.

I have a strict 250 words only rule on my blog, so this is the condensed version of her advice. I transferred it in to my Notebook.

Starting with an elevator pitch and logline is easier than crafting a pitch for a completed, 80,000 word novel.

The premise itself can be honed until it is as strong, and as unique, as possible.

They say great literature contains:

• Layers
• Depth
• Great characters
• Beautiful writing
• Universal appeal
• Connection

The premise needs: 

·                     At least one fascinating character 

·                     An interesting setting

·                     An inherent conflict

·                     An emotional appeal

·                     A universal or familiar idea

·                     An original twist

·                     A piece of coolness – the envy quotient

·                     A high-impact inciting incident

·                      High stakes

·                     A pithy title

"Hook" doesn’t make it onto that list.

If the premise hits one or two of the following "it" factors, so much the better:

·                     A topical or current subject or event.

·                     A controversial, sensational, or heretical topic or subject.

·                     An alternate view or explanation for a known person, event or potential event.

·                     A mythological connection.

·                     A primal fear. 

  

Simple ;)

Lastly, the best-selling idea, your best-selling idea, has to make you care. It has to have elements you want to explore, characters you absolutely love, otherwise the heart will be missing from your writing. That's as important as concept, 
and a lot harder to define.


WOW!


Write the elevator pitch first is the best piece of advice I have learned about making the writing process easier.


WHICH ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU TELL A NEW WRITER?

COMMA, RULES? ;)

Today is WT*$*AISTPT Comma Day ;) 

This post is based on a piece of genius I have pinned up over my computer. 

I'm letting Rowland, from from my wip - STARRING - demystify the slippery little tadpoles of punctuation.  

COMMAS

Rowland drew a defensive ward.

One independent clause needs a full stop at the end.

Rowland drew a defensive ward when the forest was pierced by red eyes.

The independent clause is before the dependent clause.

(Punctuation only follows a dependent clause so the full stop is all that is needed.)

When the forest was pierced by red eyes, Rowland drew a defensive ward.

The dependent clause is now at the beginning of the sentence. As punctuation follows a dependent clause, the comma is needed.

Rowland drew a defensive ward; he repelled the danger.

These are two independent clauses; attach them with a semicolon.

or...

Rowland drew a defensive ward, and he repelled the danger. 

There is an alternative form of punctuation, because you can join independent clauses together with a comma and a conjunction. 

DO YOU FIND COMMAS SLITHER INTO YOUR WORK WHEN YOU ARE NOT LOOKING?

MORE POTTER? THAT WILL DO FOR ME ;)

IT CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH :)

 I’m a muggle with wannabe-wizardly tendencies so the countdown clock on JK Rowling’s website is driving me Weasley’s-car high.

Living only ten minutes from the Leavesden Studios, I’ve been excitedly counting down to Spring 2012 since the Studio Tours announcement was made, in March. I can’t wait.

Now I’ve been tantalised by Pottermore.

My guess is that this isn’t a prequel or sequel to the series. I’m with those who believe it may be an interactive site – possibly linked to the studio tours.

I read  – probably in The Guardian on-line – some one ask the question “Are the Potter books worth a second read?”

Do they really need to ask?

Sharing the books with my children, and at school, I have read every book aloud at least twice. Just for pleasure, I’ve read every book again, several times. I’ve made time to re-read them before every movie is released, in the UK.

When we were booking the flights for our holiday to America, we found the price was pounds cheaper if we travelled on Deathly Hollow Release Day. Is this significant? I think so.

I’ll only be fine if the cinema shows the movie at 8am. :( I’m looking for a London early release showing. If I can’t find one I may be found hunting around Times Square for a home-grown movie experience.

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY - STARRING THE BUTTERFLIES

Sunday is my favourite day of the week. 

This Sunday is Fathers' Day so I've been doing the family things. 

Then I made time to read a play a friend has written: Antigone - based on the play by Sophocles. The play is written in verse.  Now I have a 2452 year-old headache ;)

My Six Sentence Sunday is from STARRING. 

In the calm before..., Lucas' quiet moment at the woodland edge is interrupted by the arrival of the Butterflies... the two girls who sit nearest him in class:

“Sorry, Cate drags me here whenever Dirk Hawkesmore is playing John Bowden."

On the distant tennis court, two older boys were thumping an innocent ball around and grunting like the game was warfare. 

“Who is she watching?” 

 "Either. She can’t decide which is all-that-'n'-more.”

Cate rested her head on one hand holding up her wide smile.

The pace is - finally - picking up. There are always lots of people about and I work best without interruptions.

CAN YOU CONCENTRATE WHEN THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE AROUND?

MY LONG RANGE FORECAST NEEDS SOME SPECIFICS

Because it is my birthday, I went to check out the long range forecast ;) 

Cafeastrology offered some insights into the year ahead:

If You Were Born Today, June 16:

Your imagination is boundless and you are a true visionary. You possess an endearing youthful quality throughout life, and can be quite persuasive when you want to be. You are given to daydreaming and require frequent periods of rest and solitude in order to renew your spirit. You do thrive on sharing your ideas with others, but you need time alone to refresh. You can be quite ambitious, and at times critical and impatient when feeling restless or unfocused. 

Your Birthday Year Forecast:

A Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in your Solar Return chart marks this as a year of great personal significance, when major new beginnings, endings, and activities occur. This period may be considered the culmination of a stage of personal growth and development in many ways. Events occurring this year may bring various developments in your emotional, psychological, or spiritual life over the past several years to a head. Relationships are especially important this year. There can be increased activity in your professional and public life, causing a conflict with your domestic and personal goals. There is little moderation in your life this year. Connections are made or ended; or your job focus may change as one focus fades to make way for a new direction. The year ahead is certain to be a very busy, dynamic, and significant period in your life.

For the most part, your feet are on the ground. You are able to meet your responsibilities, and you are more willing to make important commitments. Your concern for your future is stronger than usual, and you may find that projects you start, or investments you make, this year will benefit you for years to come. Your elders or authority figures in your life tend to look upon you favorably during this period in your life. Health is usually strong with this aspect. The key to success this year is adopting a realistic, practical, disciplined, and orderly approach to your life.

Certain elements of your social life and financial life are stabilized, secured, and more reliable this year. You may solidify a romantic relationship, or become involved with a mature partner. Circumstances may be such that you need to handle money more carefully this year, or this may simply come naturally to you now. Support from older people or authority figures may come by way of solid advice or more tangible help. Renewed ties to old friends are possible, or a new sense of responsibility in existing friendships, are also highly likely.

Intuition runs high this year. You are more sensitive artistically, your imagination is stirred, and you have an increased appreciation for subtleties. You are inspired and could even inspire others with your words. Some of your hunches could be prophetic. You are thinking more creatively, and express yourself with more sensitivity, compassion, and warmth.

Your ability to express yourself and to solve problems is enhanced this year. You may have opportunities to travel, and matters related to publishing, teaching, and writing should go especially well. You may find that you have the right information at the right time this year. You could also have big ideas and plans. Work, especially in communications, goes well. Relationships with young people may be particularly rewarding and positive. An optimistic attitude serves you very well. The desire to expand your mind is strong, and this is a good year to take up studies or to further your education. It's also excellent for teaching and speaking.

Jupiter in creative aspect to Neptune suggests that making connections with others from a different background is likely to figure in the year ahead. Widening your mind through unusual or different experiences can be part of the picture. Generosity and compassion increases, and your faith is boosted. You more easily make personal sacrifices for what you believe to be the better good.

Your ability to live in the here and now is stronger than usual, and this benefits many life "departments", and yet you are also thinking especially creatively. Your social life is likely to be reliable and steady. Learning and communications are especially favored this year.

I love this forecast. The editing mostly removed Saturn in transit and the Sun in the South Node ;)


Would you like to add to my forecast?


I can think of a few specifics I'd like to have seen included here ;) 


I couldn't find the section where it said that it will be raining literary agents for months after June. Maybe, I need to check out the weather forecast and see if I have any more luck :D

READING - IS LIKE BREATHING. I took a lungful of Alien Invasion & Other Inconveniences

Alien Invasion & Other Inconveniences  ~ Brian Yansky

Jesse survives more than a dull history class when everyone around him falls dead. Within seconds, an uncompromisingly efficient alien race – The Sanginians - destroy earth’s population. Jesse and the other survivors are no more than a useful commodity, as they have the ability to hear telepathic communications.

The remaining humans are slaves. Monitored closely, they are set to work tidying up and making things nice for the new owners. Any indication of disobedience is met with instantaneous finality by their conquerors.

The Sanginians believe themselves to be superior but they fail to notice when some of the humans begin to master the skill of telepathy.

Physically and psychically, the humans are weaker than the Sanginians. They have nowhere to go since the aliens “greened” up the planet and the settlers have begun to arrive. 


With their newly developed telepathic skills, the human product evolves.

The human survivors have hope that the aliens might not be invincible after all.

For the Sanginians, if it becomes known that some humans have the capacity to be more than beasts (if they are skilled in this way,) more than their profit margin will be compromised.

I was hooked from the first word to the last. Alien Invasion & Other Inconveniences is the best book I have read, this year.

This novel is more than a book for boys and sci-fi fans.

Have you read a book, this year, that has really stuck in your mind?

Reading is to writing what inhaling is to exhaling. Just as it's impossible to breathe out without first taking a breath in, it's impossible to write well without first taking in deep, gusty, refreshing drafts of the writing of others. All those ideas and ways of using language simmer in your brain, undergoing chemical changes, until--presto!--you have the tools with which to develop your own voice. Never forget to breathe.    Susan Williams Beckhorn

6 RULES, WHEN NEARLY ISN'T NEAR ENOUGH

Less is more?

“I like your writing a great deal, and while the narrative is skilfully handled it just didn’t quite get under my skin sufficiently”

“Your manuscript displays strong writing abilities and you've created potentially interesting situations and characters”  

How can I turn "Nearly" into, “Yes, please?”

I get bowled over by details (the images and associations behind every interaction) they make me start and stutter. I know more than the reader needs to be told.

1 When it comes to details, less is more

Even with a plan and character descriptions, I re-think every scene, every day, before I write. Have you ever compared the time it takes to write a section, with how long it takes to read it back? 

2 Just write.

Once a month, I research the library lists, Lovereading4kids and agents’ lists of up-and-coming titles. Is there anything left to write that isn’t already out there? If the supermarket shelves show what was hot, does the car-boot sale show what will come again?

3 Write what you would want to read

I capture note books full of ideas, each one complete with a voice and hook. Shaping a work-in-progress should be a joyful thing. Why do new ideas conspire against old ones? When did ideas become a distraction?

4 Resist temptation, and finish. 

Short sentences are powerful. Long sentences let the writing flow and steer the reader down the page to ever more excitement. Fragments... really?  What do readers need from punctuation, except clarity?

5 You need to mix up the sentence lengths and let each type do their job. There are books and websites burstin' with information. Try to avoid breaking the rules of writing.

Editing, re-editing and revisions, I’ve read all the rules about how to re-master for the perfect manuscript. I chop and change until I mess up the voice. 

     

     6 Keep the writing simple, the plot controlled and the tension high 

Writing is a personal achievement, but not an insular pursuit.

The art and craft of writing is not all about the writing.

Are you feeling positive about your writing process?