“…your premise is your inspiration. It’s the ‘lightbulb’ moment when you say, ‘Now that would make a terrific story’….” —John Truby6
My first goal is to hammer all this down into a premise: a single sentence that conveys the plot and the theme.
I know this sounds basic, but be able to create a mission statement along the lines of “I’m writing a relatively fast-paced action-adventure story with a subplot involving espionage and a tragic love relationship.” You may vary from that description, but being able to on the macro level tell yourself what it is you’re trying to do is very useful.
Your goal is to create a sentence that conveys the characters, setting, and central conflict, first generally, as in the example in the paragraph above, and then in the most specific way possible.
Every writer is familiar with the power of the “what if” question. Even when the question isn’t articulated, every novel, every story, and every article is ultimately inspired by those words.
Make the “what if” question a part of your routine for every story. Write the question out to provide yourself a solid visual, and let your imagination take off. Once you’ve selected the few ideas that might work, start looking for tangents: “If such and such happened, then what if this also happened? Or what if this happened instead?”
“What if” questions are hugely powerful. But if we don’t refine them into full-blown premise sentences, we’re not taking full advantage of them. Crafting a good premise sentence is valuable for a number of reasons.
Identifies Viable Ideas Condensing and solidifying an idea into a premise sentence gives you an immediate assessment of whether this idea will stand up for the length of an entire story.
Solidifies Characters, Conflict, and Plot A premise sentence forces you to identify a main character (as explicitly as possible: you’ll note my premise sentence indicates his name, his occupation, and a personality trait), a central conflict, and, as a result, a general plot. Your “what if” question gives you an idea; your premise sentence gives you a story.
Distills the Book’s Essence A story has so many potential directions that the task of selecting the best one can prove difficult. Sometimes you’ll be chapters into the story before realizing you should have taken another path. A premise sentence is like a mini-outline, one that’s useful even to those who dislike outlining. Writing down your idea (and it is important to actually write it down) gives you a guiding star by which to direct the frigate of your story.
Guides You to the Next Question Once the premise sentence has given you the central crux of your story, the next step usually becomes obvious.
Provides an Easy Answer to Questions About Your Story When well-meaning friends, family, and fans ask, “So what’s your new story about?”, you hem and haw, flustered by the difficulties of explaining a 300-page novel in a few words. The easy solution is to offer them your premise sentence. It’s an answer that satisfies their curiosity and allows you to appear confident and prepared.
Prepares You for Selling Your Work Finally, creating a premise sentence early in your writing process prepares you for pitching your work to agents, who inevitably require a concise, gripping description of your story. If you start now, you can polish it to perfection by the time you’re ready to start shopping your book.
Your premise is the foundation for every other facet of your story—character, setting, theme, plot. Without a solid premise, your story will turn into the Leaning Tower of Pisa, no matter how strong the other elements may be.
Take a long, hard look at your premise: Are you milking it for everything it’s worth? Don’t settle for the obvious or easy answers. If you have a brilliant premise, don’t let a drop of that potential go to waste.
In addition to questions specific to your premise, ask some general questions:
What are four or five big moments that will occur in the plot?
Can you think of at least two complications for each of these moments?
Will these complications push your characters in ways that make them uncomfortable?
What additional settings will these complications demand?
Which character will be the protagonist?
Which character will be affected most by the inciting event?
Does this character have at least two major problems or anxieties in his life?
Which offers the most potential for conflict and drama?
How does this problem affect other characters?
Take note, though: this isn’t the end of your creating. This is just the beginning. A “well thought out [novel] ….does not include knowing in advance every line of dialogue, every scene, every exciting turning point.”8
How to Brainstorm Some methods of brainstorming are more likely than others to put us in the way of viable ideas. Mind maps and “what if” questions, as well as writing prompts and free writing, are all valuable methods because they all have one thing in common: they allow us to move past the critical, analytical side of our brains and get in touch with the “dream zone” in the back. This kind of brainstorming is what Robert Olen Butler refers to as “dreamstorming.”9
Chapter Three Checklist
⬜Write down your story’s primary “what if” question.
⬜Craft your premise sentence to a) identify your story’s central idea, b) solidify your character(s), conflict, and plot, and c) distill the book’s focus (romance, mystery, historical, etc.)
⬜Answer the appropriate pre-outline questions to make sure you’re considering all the options your premise offers.
