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USING STORYWORLD GENIUS TO WRITE YOUR NOVEL

USING STORYWORLD GENIUS TO WRITE YOUR NOVEL. www.jillwilliamson.com/teenage-authors/helps. I. WHAT’S IT ABOUT?. Um . . . I, uh . . . Well, it’s about a, uh. High concept. 2. The logline. What is high concept?.

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USING STORYWORLD GENIUS TO WRITE YOUR NOVEL

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  1. USING STORYWORLD GENIUS TO WRITE YOUR NOVEL

  2. www.jillwilliamson.com/teenage-authors/helps

  3. I. WHAT’S IT ABOUT? Um . . . I, uh . . . Well, it’s about a, uh . . .

  4. High concept. • 2. The logline.

  5. What is high concept? An intriguing idea that can be stated in a few words and is easily understood by all.

  6. High concept examples . . .

  7. Your mind is the scene of the crime. A blonde goes to Harvard Law School. He’s having the day of his life, over and over gain. Middle school survival guide—in comic form! Fight to the death on national television. Love story between two terminal teens.

  8. A small town is in the midst of an unseen supernatural battle. 1986 #15,920 paperback #8426 Kindle ($6.83) 617 book reviews The story of those left behind after the rapture happens. 1995 #11,858 paperback #5645 Kindle ($8.26) 2847 book reviews God invites a man to talk with him in a shack in the woods. 2006 #555 paperback #1644 Kindle ($4.54) 7792 book reviews In 1850s gold rush, God tells a farmer to marry a prostitute. 1997 #1047 paperback #2467 Kindle ($7.99) 2317 book reviews

  9. A high concept… 1. is universal (It resonates with everyone). 2. is unique (Or it has a fresh twist on a familiar idea). 3. involves an empathetic hero, dealing with a BIG problem. 4. can be summed up in a few specific words that give a good picture of the entire story. 5. has a great title.

  10. Ways to find a high concept idea • Ask “what if…?” • Opposites attract • Meld the familiar with the strange • What is your fascination? • Add a ticking time clock • Look for the supernatural • Look to the zeitgeist • Play with high concept phrases

  11. What is a logline? A one- or two-sentence description of a story that tells us what it is.

  12. The logline must . . . • be ironic. • 2. paint a picture in your mind. • 3. know its audience. • 4. have a great title that says what it is.

  13. How to write a logline • Type of hero + an adjective • 2. Type of antagonist + adjective • 3. The hero’s primal goal. • (It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.

  14. A Great Title is Gold Legally Blonde • Star Wars • Miss Congeniality Running Lean • She’s the Man • Four Christmases Jaws • Uglies • Alien • Shakespeare in Love The Sixth Sense • To Kill a Mockingbird Titanic • Saving Private Ryan Roswell • Gladiator • The Mummy

  15. Jaws High concept: Horror film in the ocean. Logline: A police chief, with a phobia for open water, battles a gigantic shark with an appetite for swimmers, in spite of a greedy town council who demands that the beach stay open. • 1. Type of hero + an adjective • 2. Type of antagonist + adjective • 3. The hero’s primal goal. • (It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.

  16. The Fugitive High concept: An innocent man is convicted of killing his wife. Logline: A fugitive doctor wrongly convicted of killing his wife struggles to prove his innocence while pursued by a relentless US Marshall. • 1. Type of hero + an adjective • 2. Type of antagonist + adjective • 3. The hero’s primal goal. • (It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.

  17. The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet High concept: Revenge through literature. Logline: An outcast teen finds therapy writing her enemies into her story, but when her novel is published, she faces the consequences of using her pen as her sword. • 1. Type of hero + an adjective • 2. Type of antagonist + adjective • 3. The hero’s primal goal. • (It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.

  18. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? High concept : A cop must enter cartoon land to solve a crime. Logline: A toon-hating detective is a cartoon rabbit's only hope to prove his innocence when he is accused of murder. • 1. Type of hero + an adjective • 2. Type of antagonist + adjective • 3. The hero’s primal goal. • (It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.

  19. Jurassic Park High concept : Dinosaur theme park. Logline: A family struggles to escape a remote island park whose main attractions—genetically restored dinosaurs—have been set loose by a power failure. • 1. Type of hero + an adjective • 2. Type of antagonist + adjective • 3. The hero’s primal goal. • (It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.

  20. II. HOLLYWOOD GENRES Give us the same thing . . . only different.

  21. 1. Monster in the House • 2. Golden Fleece • 3. Out of the Bottle • 4. Dude with a Problem • 5. Rites of Passage • 6. Buddy Love • 7. Whydunit? • 8. The Fool Triumphant • 9. Instiuitionalized • 10. Superhero

  22. Golden Fleece Road + Team = Prize Monster in the House Monster + House + Sin • Wizard of Oz • Star Wars • Hoosiers • A League of Their Own • Back to the Future • Saving Private Ryan • Glory • Ocean’s Eleven • Rain Man • Jaws • Jurassic Park • Independence Day • Men in Black • Alien • Fatal Attraction • Scream • The Exorcist • Psycho

  23. Out of the Bottle Wish + Spell = Lesson Dude with a Problem Innocent Hero + Sudden Problem = Life or Death Battle • Die Hard • The Fugitive • The Bourne Identity • Misery • Deep Impact • Cape Fear • Outbreak • Apollo 13 • The Terminator • Freaky Friday • Big • Mary Poppins • Aladdin • The Nutty Professor • The Mask • What Women Want • It’s a Wonderful Life • Scrooged

  24. Buddy Love Incomplete Hero + Buddy = Complication Rites of Passage Life Problem + Wrong Way = Acceptance • Lassie • Beethoven • Lethal Weapon • Wayne’s World • Pretty Woman • Notting Hill • Titanic • True Lies • Dirty Dancing • City Slickers • Napoleon Dynamite • Lucas • Sixteen Candles • Ordinary People • 28 Days • All That Jazz • The War of the Roses • The First Wives Club

  25. Whydunit? Detective + Secret = Revelation The Fool Triumphant Fool + Establishment = Transmutation • King Ralph • The Princess Diaries • Tootsie • Trading Places • Miss Congeniality • Forrest Gump • Legally Blonde • Radio • She’s the Man • All the President's Men • Blade Runner • Who Framed Roger Rabbit? • Fargo • Rear Window • LA Confidential • The Sixth Sense • Minority Report • Ghost

  26. Superhero Special Power + Nemesis + Curse Institutionalized Group + Choice = Sacrifice • Braveheart • The Passion of Christ • Peter Pan • The Matrix • Gladiator • Robin Hood • The Mask of Zorro • The Incredibles • Spiderman • A Few Good Men • M*A*S*H • Top Gun • The Godfather • The Joy Luck Club • Office Space • The Devil Wears Prada • Do the Right Thing • Dead Poet’s Society

  27. III. THE CHARACTERS Tell me a story about a guy who . . .

  28. Tell me a story about a guy who . . . • I can identify with. • I can learn from. • I have a compelling reason to follow. • I believe deserves to win. • has stakes that are primal and ring true for me. (Stakes are: survival, hunger, love, protecting loved ones, fear of death.) • is flawed (Six things that need fixing.)

  29. IV. THE STRUCTURE Beat it out.

  30. 1. OPENING IMAGE. Beginning snapshot of your hero before his journey (page 1): • 2. SET UP. Introduce your main characters (on pages 1-30): • 3. THEME STATED. Introduce your theme (around page 15): • 4. CATALYST. Inciting incident (around page 36): • 5. DEBATE. Second thoughts (36-75):

  31. 6. BREAK INTO TWO. Climax of act one (75) 7. B STORY. Subplot 1 (90): 8. THE PROMISE OF THE PREMISE. Obstacles and adventure (90-150): 9. MIDPOINT. A big twist (150): 10. BAD GUYS CLOSE IN. Obstacles and danger (150-200):

  32. 11. ALL IS LOST. Disaster happens. A false sense of security (200): 12. DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL. Crisis (200-225): 13. BREAK INTO THREE. Climax of act two (225): 14. FINALE. Climax of act three (225-290): 15. FINAL IMAGE. Dénouement/ending snapshot of how your hero has changed (290-300):

  33. V. SCREENWRITING TRICKS Snappy rules to help.

  34. 1. Save the cat! • 2. The Pope in the Pool • 3. Booster Rocket • 4. Double Mumbo Jumbo • 5. Laying Pipe • 6. Too Much Marzipan • 7. Watch Out for that Glacier! • 8. The Covenant of the Arc • 9. Keep the Press Out

  35. VI. SCREENWRITING FIXES What’s wrong with this picture?

  36. 1. The Hero Leads • 2. Talking the Plot • 3. Make the Bad Guy Badder • 4. Turn, Turn, Turn • 5. The Emotional Color Wheel • 6. “Hi, how are you?” “I’m fine.” • 7. Take a Step Back • 8. A Limp and an Eye Patch • 9. Is It Primal?

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