Welcome to Week #1 to the 30-Day Writing Challenge to Preparing Your Novel for NaNoWriMo.

This week we focus on Elevator Pitch and Story Synopsis.

Both are short exercises that can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, or more.

I recommend you set aside at least two blocks of time to get each of these 2 exercises done.

When you’re ready, share your results, Ahas and questions on Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #30DAYWC.

For the Premium, ALL IN group, share your results, Ahas and questions in our private Facebook group.

Let’s get started!

Even if you only have the barest inkling of an idea, writing your Elevator Pitch can help your creative juices flowing.

Remember: It doesn’t need to be right. It just needs to be written!

Once you’ve written your Elevator Pitch using the guidelines and template below, try your hand at the Story Synopsis using an online plug & play tool.

ELEVATOR PITCH
An elevator pitch is another name for book blurb. You see it on the back of books and on the online book record, usually under “Book Description” or “Overview.”

Consisting of 2-5 sentences, generally, this is one of the shortest representations to think about your story.

Like an accordion, this class will help you open up your story little by little.

I recommend you start with your elevator pitch because it’s an activity you can do in 5-20 minutes and it’s a good way to get your brain in gear for writing your novel. Don’t worry about your elevator pitch being perfect. You can revise it once you’re done with all your novel planning or when you’re done writing your novel after NaNoWriMo.

Start here: Take note of your genre. This will give you a general idea of your story ending. If you’re not sure what your genre is, take a guess and start there. Preparing your novel is just about testing ideas and seeing how they fit together.

5 Parts of an Elevator Pitch (or Story Summary)

Situation: (Also called the Initial Action or Premise, this is the beginning of the plot.)
Main Character(s): (Self-explanatory)
Primary Objective: (At first, what does your main character want?)
Antagonist Or Opponent: (or Central Conflict. Who or what is keeping your main characters from getting what they want?)
Disaster That Could Happen: (What’s the worst that could happen, and/or what does your character want next? Often phrased as a question.)

Example:
1. Abandoned on his relatives’ doorstep as an infant,
2. Harry Potter
3. longs to understand where he came from and why he feels different.
4. He discovers that he is a wizard and that his parents were killed by Voldemort, a powerful and evil wizard,
5. who has been hunting for Harry, to kill him.

Recognize this? It’s the story summary of the first Harry Potter book.

Here’s another, polished, example:

“A reclusive computer programmer, Nathan Yirmorshy, pounds out ones and zeros in the quiet of his home while his landlord secretly watches from behind a two-way mirror. When an intercepted note connects the landlord to a secret society, and a detective ends up dead, Nathan must abandon his home and everything familiar to him, open his heart to a tarot reader he has never met, and trust her with his life – just as the ancient scriptures have foretold.” (The Torah Codes by Ezra Barany)

One more example:

“French MBA grad Lili Grenault needs to succeed at her last pitch meeting to fund her international green tech business. But her grandmother tells her to drop everything, find her one true love, and embrace her magical legacy by Beltane, in one week, or chaos and failure in her life will ensue.

San Francisco investor Brett Barnaby wants to find his great-grandfather's gravesite in Amiens, France, one of the primary battle sites of World War I. Family legend says that purpose, greater mission, and perhaps even untold riches, will be unlocked when he finds that grave. But his search in Amiens brings up fear, anger, and dire warnings about some wild Green Man. He turns to local Lily Grenault for help.

Can these two independent freethinkers work together to prevent chaos from triumphing and find love in time in the labyrinth of roses?” (A Labyrinth of Love and Roses by Beth Barany)


Now your turn!

Situation: ____________________________________________

Main Character(s): _____________________________________

Primary Objective: _____________________________________

Antagonist Or Opponent: ________________________________

Disaster That Could Happen: _____________________________

Downloadable template here. Password: #30DAYWC (Case sensitive)

Now that you’ve drafted yours, if you’re ready for feedback, share with your writing buddies or with the #30DAYWC group on Twitter, Facebook or in the private Facebook group.

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Now let’s open the story accordion a little bit more.

STORY SYNOPSIS
A synopsis is a short summary of your book.

In the planning stages, a synopsis can help you think through the beginning, middle, and end of your story. I like to draft the story synopsis as a way to think about the inner and outer changes for my two main characters.

Tip: If you do plan to pitch your story to a literary agent, you’ll most likely need a synopsis. Once your novel is polished, you can come back to your draft synopsis to edit or use for inspiration.

I have a cool tool to share with you, called a Plot Spinner, designed by the award-winning romance author, Patricia Simpson. She built this tool, based on an exercise by writing teacher, Alicia Rasley.

Keep in mind: Take note of your genre. This will give you a general ideal of your story ending. Also take a moment to think about the theme of your story. Notice what is top of mind for you. Is it a story about redemption or revenge or perhaps how love conquers all. Just notice where your imagination goes.

Note: This tool is built for romance stories, but you can adapt it to any genre.

Ready to dive into the only Plot spinner tool? Go here:
http://www.patriciasimpson.com/PlotSpinner/snapsynopsis.aspx

Or you use this outline to draft your synopsis.

Patricia Simpson drafted the structure of the synopsis and used a story she was writing as her example.

1. One sentence summary paragraph (like a movie listing on TV).

2. What issue/theme you are exploring? Hers was: Trust.

3. Premise. The idea you want to prove or disprove by the end of the story.
Examples:
"You can never go home again."
"There IS a such a thing as love at first sight."
"To find a sense of home, sometimes you have to leave it.”

4. Next simplify your basic story (from Alicia Rasley's class) by writing ONE sentence for each of these, keeping your issue in mind.

Heroine's external struggle because of issue:
a. At the beginning. (Divorce, caused by lack of intimacy, has caused loss of house.)
b. In the middle (Tatiana is kidnapped when she trusts villain.)
c. At the end (Tatiana must trust Ren to find treasure to get house back.)

Heroine's internal struggle with issue:
d. At the beginning (Tatiana doesn't trust men.)
e. In the middle (Tatiana finds out Ren is using her to break spell.)
f. At the end (Tatiana learns she has to trust herself FIRST before she can trust men.)

Hero's external struggle with issue:
g. At the beginning. (Ren has to woo a woman to break the spell.)
h. In the middle (Ren realizes he will probably die before he seduces Tatiana.)
i. At the end (Ren chooses death to help Tatiana save her home.)

Hero's internal struggle:
j. At the beginning (Women are to be revered or bedded, not befriended.)
k. In the middle (Ren is confused about his growing admiration & lust for Tatiana.)
L. At the end (Ren gets to know and trust a woman for the first time in his life)

H&H (hero and heroine) interaction:
m. At the beginning (Against his better judgment, Ren offers his services to Tatiana.)
n. In the middle (Just when she is softening toward him, she finds out why he is wooing her.)
o. At the end (Tatiana must trust Ren implicitly to save the house.)

5. Take the above sentences and arrange them into three paragraphs like this:
a, d, g, j, m
b, e, h, k, n
c, f, I, L, o

PRESTO! CHANGO! You should have the basic path of your story in 15 sentences. String them together with modifying phrases to make sense. But until you have your sentences in all the above sections, don’t write the synopsis.

*Typed up by award-winning romance novelist, Patricia Simpson, adapted from a workshop by Alicia Rasley.

Downloadable handout here. Password: #30DAYWC (Case sensitive)

Now that you’ve drafted yours, if you’re ready for feedback, share with your writing buddies or with the #30DAYWC group on Twitter, Facebook or in the private Facebook group.

♥