Building Stories: Concept and Premise
Part 1 of 5
Hello again. I originally wrote this, “Building Stories Series” for my developmental editing geared newsletter. But since I am pulling back on that AND I wanted to make it more widely available, I’ve decided to move it on over here to my main… stack? Sure, let’s go with that, main stack.
These will be even more “crafty” than my usual posts. We won’t dive too too deep, this series is meant to be a quick, easy, and condensed look at story building, but I hope everyone can get a little something out of it. (If you were subscribed to the Brevity Substack, thanks, and these will be familiar to you. Be sure to pass them along to your other writer friends.)
Over the next five weeks, we’ll highlight and examine some of the main steps of building a story. We’ll talk through some elements of structure to help show how each element can build on the last. And while no two authors are completely alike and some stories don't always develop "in order" I think everyone will be able to glean a little something from the series. Here is a quick overview of what's to come.
• Concept & Premise ( Today! This very post. )
• Characters & Goals
• Themes & Tone
• Antagonist & Adversity
• Climax & Reflection
So let's start from the top...
Concept
What is concept?
: something conceived in the mind
: organized around a main idea or theme
: a plan or intention
Those are all definitions pulled from our friend, the dictionary. Many story ideas grow from what starts off as just a vague concept. But what does this mean when specifically related to fiction and stories? Here are a few examples of story concepts.
• What if someone was aging in reverse? Starting out old and de-aging to becoming young. (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
• What if there was an island full of dinosaurs in the modern day? (Jurassic Park)
• What if you got stuck living the same day over and over? (Groundhog Day)
Not every story needs to be "high concept" even contemporary stories have a concept, usually something simple and more relatable.
• What if a loved one was diagnosed with a terminal illness?
• What happens when someone goes through a really terrible breakup?
• What if a high school kid had to move and change schools mid-year?
I use the "What If" format because it's an easy way to pose an ambiguous question that incapsulates a concept. Because the answer to the question can look different to every author. Let's take, what if a loved one was diagnosed with a terminal illness? How many books and movies have been built around this simple but powerful concept? Hundreds, if not thousands, and every single one comes out a bit different.
Your concept is just a jumping off point. A spark of an idea that makes a writer wonder, hmm what if... Many authors have at least a couple of these, "what if's" bouncing around in their imaginations. So, what does it take to grow a concept and give it a premise?
Premise
Here are some examples of this transition:
Concept Example: What if someone was aging in reverse?
Premise Becomes: Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who flickers in and out of his life as she grows up to be a dancer.
You might say the premise is when you give your concept a face. Your main character is created, the person who will go through this trial or event is introduced.
Concept Example: What if you got stuck living the same day over and over?
Premise Becomes: Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February 2 repeatedly.
A solid premise will add a few things to your original concept. A main character, a flaw or detail about that character, a set up for the specific situation, and glimpse at the obstacle they face.
Hammering out your premise can be helpful for many different reasons. It will often act as your log line or pitch. It gives you an answer to the dreaded inevitable question, "What's your book about?" And the thing I've found the most helpful when writing, is that it helps guide me through the "murky middle" or "fun and games" portion of the story, by reminding me the"promise of the premise". (Can you tell I’m a fan of Blake Snyders Save the Cat?)
In a great story, everything is connected. Every block builds on the previous one and is needed to make that final moment, as powerful, emotional, and exciting as possible. Concept and premise are just the first two blocks in this story construction. Often, we need to think about many story elements to get them all to work together to achieve the most impact. But I wanted to break it all down into nice manageable bite size information snacks. If you can't nail down your story premise yet don't worry about it. In the next post we'll talk about Character & Goals, sometimes we need to understand more about these aspects before we can fully grasp our premise.
Everything is connected.
