Premise & Story Focus

Heart of the story

Welcome to the first month of our year-long journey to a polished manuscript. No matter what shape your story is in (concept, first draft, revised draft, etc.) you can join us on this adventure. Now, before you begin a revision, or possibly even before you start drafting your novel, you’ll want to have a solid premise.

Premise
Your premise is the core of your story. Its heart. The sun around which the rest of your novel spins. Without a solid premise, the story will lack focus and direction. That’s why it’s key to solidify your premise before jumping into a major revision.

What is a premise exactly? It’s the one sentence (or maybe two) that sums up your entire novel.

Simple, right? Not so much.

So, where do we begin? A premise starts with a very basic concept. Good versus evil. Two people fall in love. Aliens invade.

That concept is the first brushstroke of the premise. From there, you have to define what sets your story apart and makes it unique compared to every other story out there. We can build that in pieces by defining the following:

Protagonist: Who the story is about. Every story has one main protagonist, even if you have multiple POVs. Make sure you know who that main protagonist is.
Goal: What the protagonist hopes to accomplish.
Situation: The thing that happens to start the action.
Antagonist: Who or what is working against the protagonist.
Conflict: What prevents the protagonist from accomplishing their goal.

Key supporting characters, love interests, unique story elements, etc. can be mentioned in the premise if they make it unique and help set it apart from other stories; however, make sure the focus is on the elements above.

These elements come together to form the premise: [When something unique happens][our protagonist][sets out to achieve X goal][but the antagonist stands in their way][and conflict arises that forces them into a difficult situation]

Examples:
Let’s work through a few examples to see the elements above in motion.

#1: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Concept: Good vs. Evil
Premise: A young hobbit inherits a magical ring of power which he must destroy before the dark lord can obtain it and use it to conquer the world.

The pieces of that premise:

Protagonist: “A young hobbit”
Situation: “inherits a magical ring of power”
Goal: “which he must destroy”
Antagonist: “dark lord”
Conflict: dark lord seeks to obtain and use the ring

Can you see how those elements fit together to present one concise premise for the entire story (and in this case, the whole trilogy)? It’s important to note some of the things that are not mentioned here, too: the various other members of the fellowship, the many races and countries involved, detailed descriptions of the world or the characters themselves, subplots, and the ending. Never give away the ending in your premise. It should entice, not spoil.

Let’s look at another one:

#2: The Hunger Games

Concept: You win or you die
Premise: A young woman volunteers to take her sister’s place in a game orchestrated by the corrupt government where children must battle each other, and only the winner gets to live.

Protagonist: “A young woman”
Goal: Save her sister
Situation: “volunteers to take her sister’s place”
Antagonist: “corrupt government”
Conflict: “children must battle each other and only the winner gets to live.”

Sometimes the goal (or even the conflict) is implied, as is the case in this premise. While it doesn’t specifically say that Katniss wants to protect her sister, Prim, we can deduce that from the fact that she volunteers to take her place.

This example, along with the one before, also gives just enough detail to hint at the genre without stating it explicitly. Corrupt government? Sounds like dystopian. A hobbit, magic ring, and dark lord? Definitely fantasy. Look for ways that you can speak to readers indirectly via your premise.

What about comp titles?

Comparative titles are not essential for your premise. However, before you breathe that sigh of relief, comp titles are important for another element of your story’s focus: framing.

A frame is essentially “this” meets “this”. It gives readers an idea of what to expect from your story based on what they associate with an existing work. It’s also a great tool for helping publishers know where your book fits in the market, what shelf it belongs on, and specifically which readers it may appeal to.

Let’s look at an example:
The Selection = The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games

Each of these comps calls to mind various things.
The Bachelor: Many women vying for one man. Drama. Tears. Fancy clothes. Kissing. Reality TV.
The Hunger Games: Teens battling one another. Corruption. Dystopia. Rigid/restrictive society. Fight for survival. Sacrificing for family.

All of those elements we just described fit The Selection, and therefore, make those comps a perfect frame for that novel.

The right frame can enhance (not replace) your premise and provide significant additional information about your story in very few words.

Finding the right comps can help you center your story and identify some of the key themes and elements that you will want to make sure are represented throughout your revision. Comp titles can also help you know what to avoid in your own work. How can you differentiate your story from the comps? What makes it unique? What should you avoid so that your story doesn’t feel like a copy of another one? These are all things to think about as you finalize your premise and plan your revisions.

Further uses for your premise:

Consider your premise while revising to help you tighten the story and improve pacing. Every chapter and scene should revolve around the premise in some way. If it doesn’t, this may be an area you need to cut or heavily revise.

Your premise will also be useful once you’ve completed revisions. It’s what will sell your book to an agent, editor, and future readers. It’s the key to advertising and marketing your story. It helps booksellers know how to sell your book. A succinct and compelling premise could be the difference between a story that gets lost in the shelves and a best seller.

Join the Rewrite It Club revision journey:

We invite you to join along with Rewrite It Club to revise your drafted manuscript throughout 2020. Let’s see if we can take that manuscript from draft to polished over the course of twelve months.

January’s assignment: Define your premise.

Start with a sentence or two to answer each of the following questions:
Who is the protagonist?
What do they want?
What situation or crisis is the character facing?
Who or what is working against the protagonist?
What happens to prevent the protagonist from reaching their goal?

Once you have each element clearly defined, begin combining them into one paragraph. Work from there to reduce and simplify your answers to these questions until you have a one to two sentence pitch that sums up the heart of your novel. Aim for 35 – 50 words max. You should be able to recite it verbally in about 30 seconds.

If you get stumped, ask friends or critique partners who are familiar with your story for help. Sometimes a different perspective or idea is all you need to find the nugget of gold you’ve been searching for.

Take your time. Don’t rush this process. The premise the foundation for the rest of your revision, so it’s worth spending as much time as you need to get it just right.

We would love to follow your progress. Please share a link to your own blog post chronicling the identification of your story’s premise in the comment section or on twitter using the hashtag #RewriteItClub.

Further articles for consideration:

https://www.writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/how-to-structure-a-premise-for-stronger-stories/
https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/story-concept/
https://thewritepractice.com/premise-definition/
https://www.livewritethrive.com/2016/06/13/understanding-premise-and-the-one-sentence-story-concept/
https://thewritepractice.com/great-logline/

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