In the last entry in this series (Part 17), you were introduced to the Eight Essential Criteria for Premise.

Premise may begin with a Big Idea, or sometimes premise is what leads the writer to a Big Idea… but in all cases — no exceptions here — this principle explains stories that work, and explains why they don’t.

As a goal and an application, Premise is a qualitative proposition. The goal isn’t to simply check off those eight boxes… rather, you are trying to hit home runs as you fulfill each individual criteria.

You can fulfill all eight criteria and still end up with a story that is prefectly mediocre, in the same way you can design a house that passes local building codes but is perceived as a cookie-cutter tract home.

These eight criteria aren’t what makes a story great. Rather, they are what renders a story viable. They are entry level criteria… yet a huge percentage of rejected stories are explained by shortcomings from this list.

There are actually two forms of premise, each with its own unique form and function.

The quick take: there is a short form of premise, known as an elevator pitch, often as minimal as one sentence fragment. Like: “The wild west, only in outer space.”

And then there is a longer form, the full story version, which is composed of eight criteria that embrace the entire story. Notice how that little example elevator pitch doesn’t touch on any of the essential elements of story, it’s just an appetizer, a way to hook someone with a bright shiny object.

And yet, despite the thinness, it may still be perceived to be a compelling pitch. Which means, your “idea,” or the bright shiny facet of your idea (like, a killer story world or an amazing character), actually works. But then comes the hard part… rendering that story within a dramatic arc that checks off those eight criteria boxes.

Idea, plus execution. You need both.

That example was the pitch for Star Wars, by the way, so there you go.B

Professionials know that a pitch for an undeveloped idea — or a vanilla one — sounds very different than a pitch for a story that the author has fully developed, even in its shorter form. Because even though those eight essential criteria aren’t clearly called out in the pitch, they will be contextually implied.

Agents and editors can tell the difference. Not hearing a dramatic arc in the pitch, even if the idea is compelling, is the primary reason reason they don’t ask to see or hear more. And vice versa.

Want to hear what a killer pitch sounds like?

Watch the video below. It’s Robert Dugoni pitching (in essence) his mega-bestselling mystery, My Sister’s Grave… in less than 15 seconds.There isn’t a hole in it anywhere, because all eight facets of premise are defined or are clearly implied. Listen between the lines… there you’ll find a hero’s problem and quest, stakes and antagonistic opposition to what the hero is seeking to achieve, even though none of that is spoken to directly.

Rest assured, as Dugoni wrote his first drafts, he was doing so armed with an instinctual awareness of all eight of those criteria for premise, and he knew he wasn’t at the finish line until all eight of them were in place.

Not just taking up space, but qualitatively adding to the story experience..

(If you aren’t seeing the video here, which probably means you are receiving this post via email, click HERE to view it on Youtube.)

This is the degree to which an author must know their story before they can write it in its highest form of execution.

As a footnote… Robert Dugoni wrote the foreword to my new writing book, as mentioned below.

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These excerpts are taken from my new craft book, “Great Stories Don’t Write Themselves,” with the addition of some framing new content here. Feel free to share with your writer friends, directly or via social media.

The post Pearls, Nuggets and Excerpts… the Series, Part 18 appeared first on Storyfix.com.