You’ve never purchased something without knowing what it is first, right? Of course not. As consumers, we want to know what we’re buying and we want to know relatively quickly. That’s why it is vitally important to know your story. To be able to answer the question: What is it?
- What is the something and the someone? Every story is about a someone trying to do something. Do you know what yours are?
- Can you sharply define your someone using two or three words? The who is important, because the who tells the buyer who they’re going to experience the story through. The way you describe him or her will form the buyer’s first impression. And you know what they say about first impressions.
- Does your something create a clear and compelling mental picture? The something is the story goal. It’s the what your who is trying to accomplish. Hopefully, when you say yours out loud, whoever’s listening will be able to picture it in their head.
- What is the conflict? Without this, you have nothing to sustain your story. So what is the driving force that gets in the way of your hero accomplishing his/her goal? Is it BIG? Are there stakes involved? If you can answer yes to both of those, then you’ll have a story that will keep readers turning pages.
- What’s the irony? Snyder devoted several pages in Save the Cat to the idea of irony and the importance of finding it in your story. The ladies from My Book Therapy talk about this too. What is unexpected or contradictory about your story? Something that will hook the buyer’s interest – an itch they must scratch. One of the best examples of irony that pops into my head is from You’ve Got Mail. Meg Ryan falls in love with a man she hates, but she doesn’t know they’re the same guy. Ironic, no?