Top Highlights

• four pillars will be doomed to fail—every time:      Concept with a Kicker    Conflict with High Stakes    Protagonist with a Goal    Theme with a Heart   The eight secondary pillars provide additional support to your story, and they are developed after the four corner pillars are built:      Plot and Subplots in a String of Scenes    Secondary Cha...
• an idea for the story might be: “What if an ‘ordinary guy’ has the task of destroying a ring of power?” What turns the idea into a premise is the supposition that something prompts the need for the task to be accomplished: “An evil power searches for a ring that’s been lost for ages, and in order to prevent him from taking over the world, that ring...
• Inspection Checklist #1: Concept with a Kicker     Question #1:   What is your great idea for a novel? What is the kicker that twists an ordinary idea into something unique, original, and compelling? Try to explain in one clear sentence.   Question #2:   In what ways is your kicker tied in with your protagonist’s core need? Greatest fear? Deepest d...
• concept to evoke? Explain. Think of ways to tweak your concept so the reaction will be stronger.   Question #6:   What possibilities does the kicker add to your concept in the way of higher stakes and deeper conflict?   Question #7:   What themes, issues, or volatile topics does your kicker involve? Think of at least three and write ways you can ad...
• show why your concept and kicker are unique and compelling?   Question #11:   What key way will your protagonist change by the end of the novel that ties in specifically with your concept and kicker?   Question #12:   Write down your novel’s premise or basic plot idea. Ignoring the kicker you came up with, what three other, different kickers can yo...