On writing: Testing concept potential of story seed #1
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Once you have ensured that the story seed you came up with connects with you enough, you should probably test its concept potential. The following are the notes on the subject I gathered years ago from many books on writing.
-Is the idea big enough for a fully dimensional story, or is it merely an anecdote?
-Does your idea only provide a unique way of starting the story, and then all the uniqueness would disappear once the plot starts going?
-A story without a concept leads to a story without dramatic tension, which leads to a character who has nothing interesting to do or achieve.
-A great concept serves as a catalyst for the story elements of character, theme, and structure. Without this power, the story goes nowhere because it has nowhere to go. The concept creates the journey because it creates conflict in your story.
-What is the notion, proposition, situation, story world, setting, or fresh take that creates a framework or arena or landscape for your story, one that could hatch any number of stories, and one that doesn’t require us to meet your hero or know your plot to make us say, “Yes! Write a story based on that, please”?
-State your concept in the form of a “What if?” question. It usually doesn’t involve specific characters, just drama and tension. For example, “What if scientists figured out how to revive dinosaurs, and someone built a theme park to show them off?”
-Try to come up with a “What if?” strong enough that a plot could manifest spontaneously.
-Does this “What if?” situation ask dramatic questions that promise compelling, interesting, and rewarding answers?
-If you can add “hijinks ensue” to the end of your concept, you may be on to something good. If the hijinks themselves lend a conceptual essence to the idea, then include them in your statement of concept.
-Would your concept elicit that sought-after response: “wow, I’ve never seen that before, at least treated in that way. I really want to read the story that deals with these things”?
-What is the kicker that twists and ordinary idea into something unique, original, and compelling? Try to explain in one clear sentence.
-Judge your concept against these benchmarks: What does your concept imply, promise, or otherwise begin to define in terms of an unfolding story driven by dramatic tension? What might a hero want within this concept, and why, and what opposes that desire? The right concept will lead you to this.
-How does this concept identify a need? A quest? A problem to solve? And/or darkness to avoid? How does it have stakes hanging in the balance, in the presence of an antagonistic force?
-How does the concept lend itself to a dramatic premise and a thematic stage upon which your characters will show themselves?
-Could the “arena” of the story offer a conceptual appeal, as much or more as the characters themselves?
-Could you get, through this concept, to inhabit a glamorous (or fascinatingly gruesome) world you would otherwise never get to visit?
-Could the story have a conceptual hero? A story built around a protagonist leveraging her conceptual nature. Is there a proposition for a character that renders the character unique and appealingly different? Would that difference scream for a story to be told?
Once you have ensured that the story seed you came up with connects with you enough, you should probably test its concept potential. The following are the notes on the subject I gathered years ago from many books on writing.
-Is the idea big enough for a fully dimensional story, or is it merely an anecdote?
-Does your idea only provide a unique way of starting the story, and then all the uniqueness would disappear once the plot starts going?
-A story without a concept leads to a story without dramatic tension, which leads to a character who has nothing interesting to do or achieve.
-A great concept serves as a catalyst for the story elements of character, theme, and structure. Without this power, the story goes nowhere because it has nowhere to go. The concept creates the journey because it creates conflict in your story.
-What is the notion, proposition, situation, story world, setting, or fresh take that creates a framework or arena or landscape for your story, one that could hatch any number of stories, and one that doesn’t require us to meet your hero or know your plot to make us say, “Yes! Write a story based on that, please”?
-State your concept in the form of a “What if?” question. It usually doesn’t involve specific characters, just drama and tension. For example, “What if scientists figured out how to revive dinosaurs, and someone built a theme park to show them off?”
-Try to come up with a “What if?” strong enough that a plot could manifest spontaneously.
-Does this “What if?” situation ask dramatic questions that promise compelling, interesting, and rewarding answers?
-If you can add “hijinks ensue” to the end of your concept, you may be on to something good. If the hijinks themselves lend a conceptual essence to the idea, then include them in your statement of concept.
-Would your concept elicit that sought-after response: “wow, I’ve never seen that before, at least treated in that way. I really want to read the story that deals with these things”?
-What is the kicker that twists and ordinary idea into something unique, original, and compelling? Try to explain in one clear sentence.
-Judge your concept against these benchmarks: What does your concept imply, promise, or otherwise begin to define in terms of an unfolding story driven by dramatic tension? What might a hero want within this concept, and why, and what opposes that desire? The right concept will lead you to this.
-How does this concept identify a need? A quest? A problem to solve? And/or darkness to avoid? How does it have stakes hanging in the balance, in the presence of an antagonistic force?
-How does the concept lend itself to a dramatic premise and a thematic stage upon which your characters will show themselves?
-Could the “arena” of the story offer a conceptual appeal, as much or more as the characters themselves?
-Could you get, through this concept, to inhabit a glamorous (or fascinatingly gruesome) world you would otherwise never get to visit?
-Could the story have a conceptual hero? A story built around a protagonist leveraging her conceptual nature. Is there a proposition for a character that renders the character unique and appealingly different? Would that difference scream for a story to be told?
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