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Your Core Idea and A Solid Premise
Create a strong starting point and a clear story plan.
Writing a novel overwhelms when you first sit down to plan your story.
Before beginning your first draft, here are two key requirements. Define your core idea and develop a clear premise.
Pin down one strong idea. This word or concept becomes the foundation. Your core idea can be as simple as a question, a single image, a mood you want to capture, or a problem you find interesting.
Ask: What excites me about this story? What keeps me awake at night thinking about it?
In a psychological thriller, your core idea might be a detective who investigates a series of murders. As he digs, he discovers every murder links back to events from his own past.
This simple yet strong idea sets the stage for tension, personal stakes, and a gripping narrative.
From the realm of mystery and suspense: a journalist receives anonymous letters. These letters hint at hidden secrets about the city’s elite. As the journalist looks into these clues, the situation becomes dangerous when it turns out someone doesn’t want the truth to come out.
