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Extreme Book Makeover: Help! Why would someone pick up my story?

By on February 10, 2014 in 1. Discover your story, 2. Create Your Story, Crafting a Strong Premise, Extreme Book Makeover, How do I create a Storyquestion and Stakes for my story?, How do I Pitch my Book?, Susan May Warren

Make your reader care with the Story Question!

Why should someone pick up your story and read it – all the way to the end? We talked the last two weeks about having Story Stakes – or a reason your character should care about your story by giving your character something to lose. Last week we dissected the difference between High Concept and Low Concept stories (and how tell the difference), noting that High Concept stories are driven by high public & personal stakes, whereas Low Concept stories are fueled by the characters’ inner journeys, or the private stakes.

This week, we’re going to add another potent ingredient to the mix…the fuel for the inner journey of your character, the Story Question.

The Story Question is that question your character is asking as the book opens, ignited by the inciting incident and lingering in their mind throughout the second Act of the story. All the tidbits of truth your character discovers along the way contribute to the answer they discover at the Aha! Moment of the story, or the epiphany.

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Extreme Book Makeover: Help! I think my plot is boring!

By on February 3, 2014 in 1. Discover your story, Crafting a Strong Premise, Extreme Book Makeover, How do I create a Storyquestion and Stakes for my story?, Susan May Warren

I have to admit, I’ve never met an aspiring author who has said their plot is boring. Usually, what I get is a detailed waxing of the story, without any major explosions except the ones happening inside the author’s head. And lest you think I’m harsh, I’ve often been one of those authors! You know if you are boring someone, however, if they keep smiling at you while glancing away, or better, nodding, sighing and saying, “Wow! All that in one book?”

I was mentoring an aspiring author this weekend, and she said…well, why is my book different from every book out there? My answer: because she is different, and her voice is different, so she will tell her story differently.

But that still doesn’t make it sellable.

Sellable books come in two categories: High Concept and Low Concept.

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Extreme Book Makeover: Your story simply isn’t compelling.

By on January 27, 2014 in 1. Discover your story, Crafting a Strong Premise, Extreme Book Makeover, How do I create a Storyquestion and Stakes for my story?, Susan May Warren

We’re learning how to overhaul our stories this year, and we’re going to start with one of the biggest criticisms authors hear: Your story simply isn’t compelling. In order to overhaul a weak story, you have to start by standing on the outside of our book and asking the big question: WHY.

Why will someone care about our story?

A story usually starts with a story seed, something that has niggled at the author’s attention and made them ask, what if? From there, an author begins to build the story, adding in characters and plot. Sometimes, authors simply dive into the story from there, writing their way through it. Others step back and plot it out, seeing the big picture, and then diving in.

Regardless of your method, however, an author must consider the reasons someone might pick up your story before writing, or rewriting your book. This big WHY will comprise the backbone of your pitch, and keep your story on track as you write it.

The WHY of your story is answered in the STAKES of your story. And here’s the key – they are external stakes. Often, an author wants to pitch the internal stakes of the story – will she find true love? Will she learn to forgive? Will she overcome her fear? Of course she will – that’s the point of the story. And this question is posed in the Story Question/Theme of the book (which we’ll get to in an upcoming blog). The Stakes of the story are the external risks of the hero’s journey. What will happen if your character doesn’t complete his goal?

How do you find stakes? First, let’s take a look at the three types of stakes:

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Rachel Hauck

What Comes After “Once Upon A Time?”

By on November 14, 2013 in Crafting a Strong Premise

Well, here it is the middle of November and you’ve been pounding away on your NaNoWriMo novel.

Sometimes, it feels like this picture. Once upon a time…

And you’re out of room.

Out of juice

Out of creativity.

NaNo is supposed to be a grind-it-out month.

No stopping to plan or rework your story or edit.

Just write.

So what do you do if you’re just stuck?

Here are a few tips:

1. Remember what the story is about? What the protagonist want? Have you shown this enough? Have you caused them to move farther and farther from their goal?

2. Write a scene out of sequence. The other day I came home and wrote a scene for the first of the book rather than the beginning of the middle where I’d written to at that point. The scene came to me and I knew it was one I needed so I wrote it.

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