I don't know about you (and by you I guess I mean Margo, hi Margo!), but I'm already learning a lot about the way I get ideas and why the surprising ease with which I can come up with a pitch doesn't equate with a great book idea.
I don't want to spill all my epiphanies in the first week, so for now I'll focus on the fact that, despite being a character-driven writer, I can't start a pitch by thinking about a character I've already worked on. I have this one character whose look and personality I love, but when I tried to fashion a story for him I found myself fixating on how I could show the traits I love, trying to shoehorn in possible settings when I didn't even have an idea of the world he lived in. To use a cliche, I was putting the cart before the horse. It wasn't until I had an unusual career idea the day after that a story he could be a part of came to me, and the story itself wouldn't be his. That kind of killed me, the idea that this awesome character would just be a minor character in someone else's story, but he actually fits there.
So despite having a file full of character ideas and quirks, I find myself unable to use them at this stage. A what-if premise, a setting with inhererent questions, a character career, these can all kickstart the process for me. Weirdly enough, words I came upon by chance while going through my blog reader ended up leading to two pitches this week, and I also found myself consciously and un- using first- and second-hand experiences from my past to shape pitches in two cases.
My pitch for the week: After a failed suicide attempt, a social outcast sees the oncoming death of the boy who pushed her over the edge, and who she loves, and must choose whether to risk the nuthouse to warn and possibly save him.
Check out partner-in-pitching-crime Margo to see how she's getting on, and don't miss the chance to win signed copies of 2 Jay Asher books from Carolina.
The Manuscript that Haunts Me was so easy to pitch, relatively easy to outline--and an utter disaster to try to write. It's so frustrating when you have a great character or situation, and it refuses to work on the page!
ReplyDeleteI really, REALLY like your pitch! And thank you for also providing resources to help brainstorm some new pitch ideas. I'm making very slow progress, but more progress than I would have if you hadn't motivated me to try this!
ReplyDeleteHere's my attempt (I didn't post it because this one is still too near and dear to me. But I promise I will have some others to post soon).
Blinded in a freak accident, the only way Lena can see is through her dreams, but when she meets a man with the power to give her sight back, she discovers that her dreams have been someone else's all along.
Okay, so I know that I should use descriptive words instead of a name. And this is too long!! Sheesh this hard! I'll keep playing with it and see what I get.
I need to join in. I will try starting tomorrow (making it more like 24 pitches).
ReplyDeleteI love yours, though. it's fantastic. Downright gripping!
@Rebecca Tell me about it. To avoid that frustration I'm really trying to figure this out in the brainstorming stage so I don't have to try to revise something that didn't work in the first draft. You'd think I would have learned that from the first MS!
ReplyDelete@Margo Glad to hear you liked the pitch, although I think it needs some working on: I might use it as an example next week for epiphany #2.
Any progress is still progress so yay for you! I'm definitely intrigued by your pitch; I want to know more about the person whose dreams she's been seeing and how she'll get her sight back-- and what she'll have to risk.
Luckily we're more focused on quantity than quality this month (kind of like NaNo) so don't worry too much about the length; you're making pretty good use of the words you've got there.
@KO Yay for joining in, I hope you learn as much about your process as I am and get some great ideas for future projects! I can't wait to see how you get on.
Great pitch! And so interesting how your ideas come to you. I'm a very character driven writer, too, but more often than not, an idea/premise comes to me from an object or an odd grouping of words (always visual) other than a character. They come later, after the premise is in my head.
ReplyDeleteWriter's minds are strange and wonderful things, yes? ;)
@Anita Strange how words are more helpful for us character driven writers than actual characters. I guess because depending on the setting (era, geography, fantasy vs. contemporary) a few character traits could go so many different ways.
ReplyDelete