"So... what's your book about?"

It's such a simple question. And yet it's the one that makes so many authors freeze. You've spent years writing 100,000 words, and suddenly you're expected to sum it all up in thirty seconds.

Do you talk about the plot? The characters? The theme? The world? The ending? The more you think about it, the more you ramble.

I recently came across a framework that made a lightbulb go off for me: Genre. Main Character. Goal. Problem.

I've seen similar frameworks before that use want instead of goal, but for some reason goal resonates with me. It feels more active and gives me something concrete to build around.

So I thought I'd try it with a couple of my own books.

Making Friends with Monsters
Genre: YA Coming-of-Age
Main Character: An introverted twelve-year-old boy with a vivid imagination.
Goal: Make sense of the monsters invading his family.
Problem: After experiencing a tragic accident, he realizes just how addictive monsters are—and why they're so hard to get rid of.

Elevator pitch:
Making Friends with Monsters is a YA coming-of-age novel about an introverted twelve-year-old boy with a vivid imagination trying to make sense of the monsters invading his family. After experiencing a tragic accident, he discovers just how addictive monsters are—and why they're so hard to get rid of.

Cecilia: The Last Croilar Tier
Genre: Dystopian Fantasy
Main Character: a naïve young woman from a peaceful forest village.
Goal: rescue her enslaved brothers from the corrupt city of Vitus.
Problem: She's the only one who can save the dying Goddess of Light by overthrowing Vitus before humanity is destroyed.

Cecilia: The Last Croilar Tier is a dystopian fantasy about a naïve young woman from a peaceful forest village who sets out to rescue her enslaved brothers from the corrupt city of Vitus. Along the way, she discovers she's the only one capable of saving the dying Goddess of Light. If she fails to overthrow Vitus's corrupt rulers, the goddess—and all of humanity—will perish.

It's such a simple framework, but I found it incredibly helpful.

posted by Sandra L. Rostirolla on August, 04