Friday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

GET READY: IS YOUR PREMISE READY?

By: Kaye Dacus

It sounds like the stupidest thing to start with, but if you’re going to write a book, you need to know what you’re telling a story about. In other words, you need a premise.

I have a story idea, thanks.

Well . . . story premise is a bit more complex than a story idea. Conversely, premise is not nearly as complex as plot.

Obviously, you’re going to start with an idea. Whether that idea comes from a character or a what if…? scenario running through your head, your mind starts building a story around that idea. Now it’s time to take your story idea to the next level and develop it into a premise.

According to Donald Maass in Writing the Breakout Novel:

The key ingredients that I look for in a fully formed breakout premise are (1) plausibility, (2) inherent conflict, (3) originality and (4) gut emotional appeal. (p. 40)

Let’s explore Maass’s elements a bit so that you can determine if you have an idea or if you have a premise that will sustain your manuscript through to the end.

Plausibility

How many times have you sat watching a movie or TV show or reading a book and all of a sudden snorted in derision and grumbled, “Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen!”

. . .

Read the full article HERE!

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. 21 Fast Hacks to Fuel Your Story With SuspenseWritersDigest.com | WritersDigest.com http://ow.ly/Hl2As
2. Hot Tips for Your Author Website - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/HmNID
3. W R I T E W O R L D http://ow.ly/HmQ14 In writing, be sure to describe the effect the smell is having on the smeller!
4. How To Grow Your Fiction Email List Subscribers. My Own Case Study | The Creative Penn http://ow.ly/HmQE8
5. How Characters Can Become Stories – Erika Wassall | Writing and Illustrating http://ow.ly/HmQKW
6. Painting Characters into Corners - SFWA http://ow.ly/HmQQi
7. Partnering With Authors – Marketing Your Books as a Group | Book Marketing Tools Blog http://ow.ly/HmRK8
8. Book Promotion: Networking for Introverts http://ow.ly/HmSzm
9. 15 Ways You Can Beat The Content Marketing Odds - Heidi Cohen http://ow.ly/HmSKt
10. Authors: Plan Your Marketing with a Content Calendar by Frances Caballo — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/HmTcG
11. Kindle Pricing Strategies: How to Price Your eBook for Maximum Success http://ow.ly/HmTrg
12. Is your writing stalled? Surround yourself with motivation. Here are several ideas. http://bit.ly/1E0DzNL @marygkeeley
13. Look at Me: Getting Your Work the Attention it Deserves http://ow.ly/HmTMK
14. How Dreams and Habits Make You a Wildly Productive Writer http://ow.ly/HmTT8
15. A Free Way to Promote Your Books via Createspace - Sandy Appleyard http://ow.ly/HmWpf
16. See How Easily You Can Track Your Character's Emotional Arc in a Scene - Helping Writers Become Authors http://ow.ly/HmXRi
17. Are You a Lone Ranger Writer? - Books & Such Literary Management: Books & Such Literary Management http://ow.ly/Hn027
18. How to Use Needs and Goals to Appeal to Readers | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/Hn3ha
19. 92 Percent of College Students Prefer Reading Print Books to E-readers | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/Hn6qP
20. Using Your Personality Type to Make You a Better Writer - Marcy Kennedy http://ow.ly/Hn6V6
21. 6 Tips for Author Crowdfunding - Writeonsisters.com http://ow.ly/Hn75L
22. The Devil-May-Care Method to Finding the Perfect Article Opening | The Copybot http://ow.ly/Hn7qI
23. Get Ready: Is Your PREMISE Ready? #ReadySetWrite | KayeDacus.com http://ow.ly/Hn87g

Happy writing and running, Kathy