Idea and Intent

Original idea. Premise. Theme. Intent.

Whatever you want to call it, it all boils down to describing your story in as few words as possible.

And then describing it in even fewer words.

Try three.

Now one.

Impossible, you say?

Difficult, yes. But not impossible. It can be done. It should be done. Jotting down a single sentence describing the thrust of your story can help keep you on track as you move through the pages and drafts of your literary work of art.

I don't know if any of you are following the free online workshop by Jenny Crusie and Bob Mayor, but their first two lessons were titled "The One Sentence Idea".

I found their advice insightful and interesting. It made me take a good hard look at my own work in progress, and pushed me to write that single sentence.

Those three words.

That one word.

Here's how my one-sentence idea turned out:

A non-superstitious young widow, determined to raise her baby without assistance, must turn to an old flame and a fortune teller to save the infant from a pack of evil dogs.

My three words: Love conquers fear.

My single word: Recovery.

If you're having trouble, you're not alone. To troubleshoot, Mayor suggests thinking back to the original idea that sparked you into writing your novel in the first place. It can be anything: Character; a situation; a setting; a premise; a theme; a 'what if'.

If the idea was exciting enough to stir you into toiling on the same project for weeks, months, possibly years, it's exciting enough to boil down into one sentence.

Mayor likes to write his single sentence idea before he begins writing draft number one. Cruisie, on the other hand, prefers to push through her first draft before she nails down her short summary.

Cruisie says, "The One Sentence Idea sums up your story, it tells you the thing that made you go 'Oh, goody' when you thought of it and made you want to write it."

"Intent/theme," Cruisie says, "is what the story means."

I'm thinking intent or theme is where that one word, and those three words come into action.

So, here we go, ready or not. Take a deep breath, close your eyes and take a quiet mind voyage back to whence the idea spores blew into your gray matter and took root -- otherwise known as brain fungi. Ha! -- Sorry for the quiet journey interruption. Where were we? Ah, yes. Breathe in. Now breathe out, because if you hold your breath too long you'll pass out. Say "Om" -- ryhmes with home -- with me...."Om....Om"...and go peacefully, breathfully to your happy place, where you were contemplating the meaning of life, and the meaning of your book, before the rude attack of the brain fungus.
Are you there yet? Okay, quick! Scribble down whatever flies into your head. Idea spores are fragile -- they blow about on every breeze. You gotta catch 'em when you can.

If you're still having trouble, here's a couple questions Mayor poses that may help: Why did you write this book? (Or if it isn't written yet, why are you going to write it?) And what is the climactic scene? The answers to these questions may very well be your single-sentence idea.

Because I'm an overachiever (as Alice recently called me, and several of my teachers labeled me in grammar school and which I translate to mean: She ain't all that bright, but golly, she sure do work hard -- no worries, Alice. No offense taken. And none meant. Really. I’m serious. I mean it. Truly) I also wrote a pitch, which I'll share, because...well...because I wrote it. Because it was harder than it seems...and because I only want to be appreciated by my peers… .
So, here goes:

"The Vanishing" is a book about grief and recovery.
Widowed photographer Dianne Harris doesn't believe in the supernatural. Dianne's old flame, Detective Kevin McCoffey believes in her. Together, with the help of an insightful fortune teller, and the voice of Dianne's dead grandmother, the two must save Dianne’s infant -- and themselves -- from a pack of evil dogs and the grief that threatens to swallow an entire town.



Do you have a single sentence written for your book yet? Three words? One word? A short pitch? Share with us. Believe me, we know how flippin' hard it is. We appreciate you. And we'd love to read what you've got.