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So, how is everyone doing this fine Monday morning? I wasn't able to work on my book this weekend (I was too busy getting my butt handed to me by my mother during a few tense rounds of Bananagrams) - but I spent a lot of time going over things in my head. Plot points, pivotal moments, action, romance, do I need more emotion, more fighting, more this more than and the other.....and since I was playing around with things anyway, I sat down and worked up a preliminary query.
Now, I'm at least two months from needing one, but I've found in the past that working on a query is a great way to get things hammered out. It forces me to look at the main plot points of my book. And it really is great at showing if my story arc is strong enough. It shows me if it's exciting enough, if it's unique enough, and it helps me see where I need to focus my creative energies.
Which led me to thinking of other activities that help with this. Here are my top five:
1. Writing a query
2. Writing a hookline/logline
3. Making a book trailer
4. Creating an elevator pitch (which for me is similar to a hook line but can be slightly longer...as long as I can get everything out in about 10 seconds)
5. Writing the back cover blurb (sort of like the query letter but I can be slightly more vague/mysterious)
Each one of these activities forces me to look at the bare bones of my story, to get out the ESSENCE of it with as few words as possible. Each item on this list forces me to focus on the most exciting, most unique, most important aspects of my story in just a few delicious sentences.
It's hard. Sometimes frustratingly so. But it's also great at helping me really focus on the true meat of my story.
Do any of you do stuff like this to help focus things?
So, how is everyone doing this fine Monday morning? I wasn't able to work on my book this weekend (I was too busy getting my butt handed to me by my mother during a few tense rounds of Bananagrams) - but I spent a lot of time going over things in my head. Plot points, pivotal moments, action, romance, do I need more emotion, more fighting, more this more than and the other.....and since I was playing around with things anyway, I sat down and worked up a preliminary query.
Now, I'm at least two months from needing one, but I've found in the past that working on a query is a great way to get things hammered out. It forces me to look at the main plot points of my book. And it really is great at showing if my story arc is strong enough. It shows me if it's exciting enough, if it's unique enough, and it helps me see where I need to focus my creative energies.
Which led me to thinking of other activities that help with this. Here are my top five:
1. Writing a query
2. Writing a hookline/logline
3. Making a book trailer
4. Creating an elevator pitch (which for me is similar to a hook line but can be slightly longer...as long as I can get everything out in about 10 seconds)
5. Writing the back cover blurb (sort of like the query letter but I can be slightly more vague/mysterious)
Each one of these activities forces me to look at the bare bones of my story, to get out the ESSENCE of it with as few words as possible. Each item on this list forces me to focus on the most exciting, most unique, most important aspects of my story in just a few delicious sentences.
It's hard. Sometimes frustratingly so. But it's also great at helping me really focus on the true meat of my story.
Do any of you do stuff like this to help focus things?
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→When Jumping the Gun Is Helpful
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