Extreme Book Makeover: Help Me Hook My Reader: Starting on the RUN!

I watched the Oscars last night. (Best. Oscars. Ever. #OscarTwitterPic #PizzaDelivery)

I’d only seen one of the movies in the Best Picture category – Gravity. In fact, I saw it this weekend, in our home theater, where I think I only breathed twice in an hour. Terrifying, in a non-horror-film, wow-I-never-want-to-be-there way.

The story, in a nutshell, is about a scientist who is working on the space shuttle – specifically OUTSIDE the shuttle in a spacewalk – when, due to a crazy set of circumstances — she gets untethered and thrown into space. Her quest is to somehow get back to earth.

It’s an amazing movie – the special effects will blow your mind.

And, it’s a great example of starting a movie with just the right amount of PIPE.

Pipe is the distance between the first sentence and the Noble Quest. As an author, you’re opening the faucet of your story, and the pipe is how long it takes for it to start spilling out. The shorter the pipe, the sooner your reader receives the benefit of the story.

However, many authors suffer from Too Much Pipe Syndrome, or the belief that they must tell their reader everything about their main character before the story starts for the reader to enjoy the story. Another way to put it is they start their story way too early.

Help! How do I make my reader care?

I sat on the tarmac on my way to Florida for five hours last week (#IloveMinnesotaweather), and while we were waiting, I stirred up a conversation with my seatmate.

“What do you do for a living?”  I asked.

“I break into building to check their security.”

#Cool!

Poor guy suddenly discovered the dangers of sitting next to a novelist. By the time the plane took off, we’d plotted a story about a man living two different lives – a spy living in suburbia, posing as a regular guy.

Then came the moment when we had to figure out the first scene.  “We need to make him relatable,” I said to 24B.  “Someone who the reader can relate to.”

“Why?” 24B asked. “He’s not a regular guy.”

Extreme Book Makeover: Help! Why would someone pick up my story?

Make your reader care with the Story Question!

Why should someone pick up your story and read it – all the way to the end? We talked the last two weeks about having Story Stakes – or a reason your character should care about your story by giving your character something to lose. Last week we dissected the difference between High Concept and Low Concept stories (and how tell the difference), noting that High Concept stories are driven by high public & personal stakes, whereas Low Concept stories are fueled by the characters’ inner journeys, or the private stakes.

This week, we’re going to add another potent ingredient to the mix…the fuel for the inner journey of your character, the Story Question.

The Story Question is that question your character is asking as the book opens, ignited by the inciting incident and lingering in their mind throughout the second Act of the story. All the tidbits of truth your character discovers along the way contribute to the answer they discover at the Aha! Moment of the story, or the epiphany.

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.