How to Write a Brilliant Novel: The Easy Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Story (Go! Write Something Brilliant) by Susan May Warren Page B
Authors: Susan May Warren
Tags: Fiction, General Fiction, Reference, Writing, Writing; Research & Publishing Guides, Writing Skills
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murder. Find that thing that is most important to the character.
Let’s consider the veterinarian. Let’s say she is returning home to her mother’s funeral— only to discover her mother was murdered.
Wayward daughter Rachel Higgins wishes she hadn’t waited until her mother died to return to Anytown, FL. If only she’d been here, maybe she could have stopped her murder. Now, she’s on the trail of the culprit . . . and discovering that the killer has turned his sights on her.
Okay, that’s rough. But it’s a start. Let’s keep moving.
Step Three: Throw in the conflict. Often, it’s the hero, and you need to return to Step One to identify him, with a brief stopover at Step Two to also collect his goals.
Wayward daughter Rachel Higgins wishes that she hadn’t waited until her mother died to return to Anytown, FL. If only she’d been here, maybe she could have stopped her murder. Now, she’s on the trail of the culprit . . . and discovering that the killer has turned his sights on her. The last thing Detective Brett Collins needs is a grieving daughter to tell him how to do his –job—a job he’s close to losing, thanks to a fear that’s plagued him ever since he was shot.
Step Four: Now, you want to sift through all the stakes in the story, all those pivotal events, all those themes, and find the most compelling. Frame it in a statement of conflicting values, or goals.
Wayward daughter Rachel Higgins wishes that she hadn’t waited until her mother died to return to Anytown, FL. If only she’d been here, maybe she could have stopped her murder. She’ll stop at nothing to find her mother’s killer. The last thing Detective Brett Collins needs is a grieving daughter to tell him how to do his –job— a job he’s close to losing, thanks to a fear that’s plagued him ever since he was shot. But Rachel is a good sleuth—good enough to land her in the killer’s sights, and Brett must choose between protecting her, and catching the murderer.
(Notice that I took out the sentence: Now, she’s on the trail of the culprit . . . and discovering that the killer has turned his sights on her . I decided I wanted to use the word “sights” later to ramp up the tension in the last line. I also don’t like the use of the word “stop” twice in the beginning. I’ll change that later when I polish the premise.)
Step Five: Now we’re onto the last line, the Story Question, or the ominous statement. I could probably stop the premise where it is right now, because there is enough information to know what is at stake. However, because it is also a romance, I’ll add a line to focus the theme.
Wayward daughter Rachel Higgins wishes that she hadn’t waited until her mother died to return to Anytown, FL. If only she’d been here, maybe she could have stopped her murder. She’ll stop at nothing to find her mother’s killer. The last thing Detective Brett Collins needs is a grieving daughter to tell him how to do his
–job—a job he’s close to losing, thanks to a fear that’s plagued him ever since he was shot. But Rachel is a good sleuth—good enough to land her in the killer’s sights, and Brett must choose between protecting her, and catching the murderer. But worse than putting hislife on the line is knowing that he just might lose his heart.
That’s still rough. But we’ll fix it:
Step Six: Using strong, colorful words to add to the theme and tone of the premise.
If only wayward daughter Rachel Higgins had returned home sooner, her mother might still be alive. Now, Rachel’s last act of atonement will be finding her killer. The last thing Detective Brett Collins needs is a desperate victim derailing his investigation—especially since his job is at stake. He’s been off his game ever since he was shot. Rachel is a good sleuth, —however—good enough to land her in the killer’s sights. Brett must choose between protecting her, and catching the murderer. And when it all goes south,
Let’s consider the veterinarian. Let’s say she is returning home to her mother’s funeral— only to discover her mother was murdered.
Wayward daughter Rachel Higgins wishes she hadn’t waited until her mother died to return to Anytown, FL. If only she’d been here, maybe she could have stopped her murder. Now, she’s on the trail of the culprit . . . and discovering that the killer has turned his sights on her.
Okay, that’s rough. But it’s a start. Let’s keep moving.
Step Three: Throw in the conflict. Often, it’s the hero, and you need to return to Step One to identify him, with a brief stopover at Step Two to also collect his goals.
Wayward daughter Rachel Higgins wishes that she hadn’t waited until her mother died to return to Anytown, FL. If only she’d been here, maybe she could have stopped her murder. Now, she’s on the trail of the culprit . . . and discovering that the killer has turned his sights on her. The last thing Detective Brett Collins needs is a grieving daughter to tell him how to do his –job—a job he’s close to losing, thanks to a fear that’s plagued him ever since he was shot.
Step Four: Now, you want to sift through all the stakes in the story, all those pivotal events, all those themes, and find the most compelling. Frame it in a statement of conflicting values, or goals.
Wayward daughter Rachel Higgins wishes that she hadn’t waited until her mother died to return to Anytown, FL. If only she’d been here, maybe she could have stopped her murder. She’ll stop at nothing to find her mother’s killer. The last thing Detective Brett Collins needs is a grieving daughter to tell him how to do his –job— a job he’s close to losing, thanks to a fear that’s plagued him ever since he was shot. But Rachel is a good sleuth—good enough to land her in the killer’s sights, and Brett must choose between protecting her, and catching the murderer.
(Notice that I took out the sentence: Now, she’s on the trail of the culprit . . . and discovering that the killer has turned his sights on her . I decided I wanted to use the word “sights” later to ramp up the tension in the last line. I also don’t like the use of the word “stop” twice in the beginning. I’ll change that later when I polish the premise.)
Step Five: Now we’re onto the last line, the Story Question, or the ominous statement. I could probably stop the premise where it is right now, because there is enough information to know what is at stake. However, because it is also a romance, I’ll add a line to focus the theme.
Wayward daughter Rachel Higgins wishes that she hadn’t waited until her mother died to return to Anytown, FL. If only she’d been here, maybe she could have stopped her murder. She’ll stop at nothing to find her mother’s killer. The last thing Detective Brett Collins needs is a grieving daughter to tell him how to do his
–job—a job he’s close to losing, thanks to a fear that’s plagued him ever since he was shot. But Rachel is a good sleuth—good enough to land her in the killer’s sights, and Brett must choose between protecting her, and catching the murderer. But worse than putting hislife on the line is knowing that he just might lose his heart.
That’s still rough. But we’ll fix it:
Step Six: Using strong, colorful words to add to the theme and tone of the premise.
If only wayward daughter Rachel Higgins had returned home sooner, her mother might still be alive. Now, Rachel’s last act of atonement will be finding her killer. The last thing Detective Brett Collins needs is a desperate victim derailing his investigation—especially since his job is at stake. He’s been off his game ever since he was shot. Rachel is a good sleuth, —however—good enough to land her in the killer’s sights. Brett must choose between protecting her, and catching the murderer. And when it all goes south,
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