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

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.

Now, before you think: a low concept book isn’t sellable, let me stop you with a few low concept classics: The Secret Life of Bees. The Kite Runner. Or…even Pride and Prejudice could be considered low concept. The magic of these books is told in the unravelling of the story. It’s the inner conflict and the writing that drives a low concept story.

One women’s quest to help children see their worth in the world by having them write their stories. (Freedom Writer)
A professor of a stuffy prep school breaks convention and causes his students to think freely for the first time. (Dead Poet’s Society)
A woman writes the story of the African-American maids in 1960s Mississippi. (The Help)

These are fantastic books/movies with low concept themes that made blockbuster hits.

To make it easier, a low concept book biggest event is the relationship in the story.

A High Concept book is easy to spot. A high concept story is about an external event and can be summed up in one line:

A forgotten young boy discovers he’s the wizard who can save his world from darkness world. (This high concept can be applied to many titles and movies – from Star Wars to the Hunger Games)
When the world/country is invaded, it takes a ragtag band of misfits to save it. (could be Red Dawn…or even Independence Day).

The key to a High Concept story is that it centers around an EVENT in the story. Then, the “what if” can be summed up in one line.

When a volcano erupts in a small California town, the mayor must choose between saving her town…or her family.

A man discovers a hidden map on the back of the declaration of Independence that just might lead to the greatest treasure ever hidden.

But it doesn’t have to be a “world-is-ending” event. It could be an irony or “twist” to the event that creates the high concept.

A man falls in love with the donor recipient of his wife’s heart without knowing it.
When a man travels back in time and changes his family’s destiny, he must change it back or face his own obliteration.

Are all of these about relationships? Yes! But the summary sentence (or, in movie-speak: Logline) immediately tells us the conflict and what’s at stake.

How do you decide: Low or High Concept?

When you’re trying to decide if your book is low concept or high concept, look at the stakes. (we talked about this last week).

Are your stakes Public/Personal? Then you probably have a HIGH CONCEPT book.
Are your stakes Private? Then you probably have a LOW CONCEPT book.

Why is this important to the crafting of a plot?

First: Once you decide what kind of story you have, you can craft your one line summary/logline/pitch. Now, when someone asks you what your story is about – you’ll have a short, succinct answer.

Then: Ask yourself – what about YOUR plot is different? Stepping back to take a good look at it, ask yourself: Why do we care? What makes this story unique? Is it set in an unique time period? With unique characters? With an interesting twist?

Stepping back to take a good look at your story will allow you to see beyond the weeds of the story. And then, when someone asks you what you’re writing, you’ll be able to wow them –not only with your pitch, but everything after that.

(By the way, this is the just the tip of the iceberg for making a tired plot exciting – so start wide, and then we’ll narrow into detail over the next few weeks!)

Next week we’ll be taking about the Story Question, or the fuel for the internal journey of your story!

Go! Write Something Brilliant!

PS:

If you want more on this, try:

http://www.mybooktherapy.com/pitch-premise-spine/

http://www.mybooktherapy.com/processing-the-paralyzing-premise/

PPS – we have a FREE WEBINAR/Open House this week on Authorpreneurship: Build your Business as a Writer! Thursday, February 6, 7pm CST.

How do you figure out who you want to be as an author? It all starts with asking yourself the right questions, then setting up your business, not only legally, but with branding and activities and focus that fits you – and your audience. With our guest, Sharon Jenkins, author of the new book Authorpreneurship: Build a Successful Business as a Writer, This is a nuts and bolts class about figuring out what writing, marketing and fan-building style fits you best.

Learn: