On writing: Developing the premise #8
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Are you happy with your concept? Then grow a premise out of it. Premises involve a task to be accomplished and a character that must accomplish it in the midst of conflict.
The following notes, gathered years ago from many books on writing, focus on going deeper. Throughout the process of developing your premise, you must have settled for elements that seem good enough. However, you’re still at the stage where you can vastly improve your future story if you strengthen it from multiple angles.
-Are you sure the big-picture proposition of the premise is strong enough?
-How strong is the drama the premise promises, as opposed to just the intrigue of a static situation?
-Consider how big a challenge the premise presents, to make it the most compelling.
-Expand on the ordinary. Is it possible you could transform your premise into something more original, more exciting, more likely to grab the attention of a literary agent or reader?
-How could you make the premise fundamentally ironic?
-How can you instill tension at the premise line, the continuing feeling of unease, of things not being right in the world?
-Make the ticking clock louder and the obstacles more ominous. Assign a deadline for what the hero needs to accomplish.
-Try to have a plot that only fills half your pages, and then let your complex scenes expand to fill the rest with unexpectedly volatile emotional complications.
-If your characters are simply people you know, in settings you know, having experiences you’ve had, will that be enough?
-How great is the gulf between expectation and outcome, to maximize the meaning the story will have?
-Is there at least one “Holy crap!” scene?
-What’s the one moment that will make readers perk up and go, “Whoa! I’ve never seen that before. This story actually went there. I’m out of my comfort zone now.”
-How could this story of yours be the one to do that thing that none other would do?
-What themes, issues, or volatile topics does your premise involve? Think of at least three and write ways you could add them to the story line.
-How many mysteries can you introduce in the story, for the audience to have more reasons to keep reading?
-Are you sure there’s something interesting or unique about the protagonist, the setting or the situation?
-How could you add a deeper empathy for the characters?
-How do you make sure that your characters cannot escape from the troublesome situation they need to face?
-Why can’t the protagonist just get what he wants? Why can’t she simply talk it out? Why can’t he just walk away or quit? Why can’t she simply change?
-As much as you love your protagonist, your goal is to craft a plot that forces her to confront head-on just about everything she’s spent her entire life avoiding. You have to make sure the harder she tries, the harder it gets. Her good deeds will rarely go unpunished. Sure, every now and then it’ll seem like everything’s okay, but that’s only because you’re setting her up for an even bigger fall. You want her to relax and let her guard down a little, the better to wallop her when she least expects it. You never want to give her the benefit of the doubt, regardless of how much you feel she’s earned it. Because if you do, the one thing she won’t earn is her status as a hero.
-Could you move the premise to a higher level of conflict?
-Try to make sure that the premise involves genuine conflict, scenes where characters don’t want to do something for reasons such as these:
--it would require them to question their deep-seated assumptions.
--it would require them to overcome an inner weakness.
--they promised someone they wouldn’t do it.
--it would reveal their painful secrets.
--it would get their love interest or a family member in trouble.
Are you happy with your concept? Then grow a premise out of it. Premises involve a task to be accomplished and a character that must accomplish it in the midst of conflict.
The following notes, gathered years ago from many books on writing, focus on going deeper. Throughout the process of developing your premise, you must have settled for elements that seem good enough. However, you’re still at the stage where you can vastly improve your future story if you strengthen it from multiple angles.
-Are you sure the big-picture proposition of the premise is strong enough?
-How strong is the drama the premise promises, as opposed to just the intrigue of a static situation?
-Consider how big a challenge the premise presents, to make it the most compelling.
-Expand on the ordinary. Is it possible you could transform your premise into something more original, more exciting, more likely to grab the attention of a literary agent or reader?
-How could you make the premise fundamentally ironic?
-How can you instill tension at the premise line, the continuing feeling of unease, of things not being right in the world?
-Make the ticking clock louder and the obstacles more ominous. Assign a deadline for what the hero needs to accomplish.
-Try to have a plot that only fills half your pages, and then let your complex scenes expand to fill the rest with unexpectedly volatile emotional complications.
-If your characters are simply people you know, in settings you know, having experiences you’ve had, will that be enough?
-How great is the gulf between expectation and outcome, to maximize the meaning the story will have?
-Is there at least one “Holy crap!” scene?
-What’s the one moment that will make readers perk up and go, “Whoa! I’ve never seen that before. This story actually went there. I’m out of my comfort zone now.”
-How could this story of yours be the one to do that thing that none other would do?
-What themes, issues, or volatile topics does your premise involve? Think of at least three and write ways you could add them to the story line.
-How many mysteries can you introduce in the story, for the audience to have more reasons to keep reading?
-Are you sure there’s something interesting or unique about the protagonist, the setting or the situation?
-How could you add a deeper empathy for the characters?
-How do you make sure that your characters cannot escape from the troublesome situation they need to face?
-Why can’t the protagonist just get what he wants? Why can’t she simply talk it out? Why can’t he just walk away or quit? Why can’t she simply change?
-As much as you love your protagonist, your goal is to craft a plot that forces her to confront head-on just about everything she’s spent her entire life avoiding. You have to make sure the harder she tries, the harder it gets. Her good deeds will rarely go unpunished. Sure, every now and then it’ll seem like everything’s okay, but that’s only because you’re setting her up for an even bigger fall. You want her to relax and let her guard down a little, the better to wallop her when she least expects it. You never want to give her the benefit of the doubt, regardless of how much you feel she’s earned it. Because if you do, the one thing she won’t earn is her status as a hero.
-Could you move the premise to a higher level of conflict?
-Try to make sure that the premise involves genuine conflict, scenes where characters don’t want to do something for reasons such as these:
--it would require them to question their deep-seated assumptions.
--it would require them to overcome an inner weakness.
--they promised someone they wouldn’t do it.
--it would reveal their painful secrets.
--it would get their love interest or a family member in trouble.
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