HOW TO ANALYZE YOUR BOOK IDEA
By BRUCE HALE
Source: http://www.brucehalewritingtips.com/
Say you’ve got a great idea for a book (and judging from my barber, the guy at the YMCA, and my cousin’s neighbor, nearly everyone does). How do you judge whether it’s worth spending the time and effort to take your notion from idea to finished story?
Well, yes, I suppose you could pass it by your agent. But if you happen to be one of the many writers who don’t have an agent on speed-dial (and even if you do), you might also try running your idea through this quick test before you launch into writing…
CONFLICT-O-METER
First, does your cool idea contain plenty of potential for conflict, the engine that drives all story? Does your character face loads of opposition, whether internal, external, or both? Some ideas have conflict naturally built into them — a tale about fighting to the death on live TV in the Hunger Games, for example, is bound to have a wee bit of struggle involved. Does yours?
CHARACTER COUNTS
Next, how much of a grip do you have on your hero? If your idea is all concept and no character, spend some time mulling over your main character before you take things further. Do you know what makes her tick, what drives him? Is this hero someone that you’d want to spend a lot of time with? Guaranteed, if YOU aren’t keen on spending months with your character, readers won’t want to spend hours with her.
UNIQUE OR NOT?
If your idea involves another brooding vampire lover, or another kickass dystopian heroine, you might want to think it through again. Not that you can’t execute those themes in a fresh way, just that the market is so glutted with supernatural and dystopian tales, it’s harder to put your own stamp on the topic.
I’m not saying don’t be true to your story instincts or don’t fall in love with your idea. But before you invest time writing, it’s worth surveying the market. If there’s already been a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles book, pursuing your Teenage Mutant Ninja Squirrels idea might not be the best use of your time. Remember that you have to SELL the story after writing it. And if you’re going to accomplish this task, it helps to have at least a general idea of whether your type of story has been done before, and how well.
JUICINESS FACTOR
When you get right down to it, does your idea feel like fun? Is there plenty of juice in it, enough to sustain your enthusiasm through the inevitable challenging bits? Are you excited to tell the story or is it just one of those “this might make a cute book” ideas that you’re not emotionally drawn to? If it’s the latter, shelve it and spend your energy on an idea that’s really got some juice to it.
The more excited you are to write your story, the more readers will enjoy it. Or, to adapt a phrase from computer science: juiciness in, juiciness out.
Want to know more? This subject was covered in much greater depth in the teleseminar “Turning Your Idea Into a Story That Sells,” and you’ll find the recording here:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=O8uEK&m=JvxVObrEjFLsQz&b=WF_CK_xaXIG.p4elEtaXjg
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