Saturday, July 19, 2008

What I learned at NJRWA today

I sat in for a speed pitch session today at our NJRWA meeting. The amazing Lois Winston led this group and I think she made it clearer then anything I've read on the subject so far. Check out her "Talk Gerty to Me"- its one of my favorite books!
Here's your pitch: Goal, Motivation Conflict.
So, if you're pitching a romance (I write suspense, mystery, thriller and romance-I'm eclectic! But I'm pushing a romantic suspense out the door right now.)
Heroine: What's her goal? What's her motivation? Where does the conflict come into play?
Now your Hero: What is his goal in the story? What motivates him to keep moving? Conflict?
And what's bringing them together?
Simple? Yes and No.
I think when we work on something long enough everything starts to blur. So maybe we need a fill in the blanks:
She wants-xxx
Because-xxx
But look out for-xxx
He wants-xxx
And he has to do this because -xxx
But then-xxx-happens
And together they-xxxx

What do you think?
<"http://www.loiswinston.com/">

1 comment:

Spy Scribbler said...

Wow. Sweet, simple, clear. Sounds like it works to me!

Last Day of NANOWRIMO --- Oh No!

 Where did the month go?  Certainly not on the page. I have an outline, some character sketches but mostly I have a lot of research notes.  ...