#54: How to Test Your Story Idea Before Writing

In this episode, I'm sharing two of my favorite ways to test out a story idea before you start writing a single word. Here's a preview of what you'll hear in the episode:

[01:50] The goal of these two exercises is to find out which foundational pieces of your story still need to be fleshed out. Better to find out now than halfway through a draft!
[01:10] Exercise #1: Write a 1-2 sentence summary of your story. Try to capture the WHO, the WHAT, and the WHY of your global story.
[04:45] If you don't know all the answers, look to your genre for clues! Your story's global genre will give you the framework for these summaries (and so much more).
[06:00] If an idea does fall flat in this 1-2 sentence summary, this does NOT mean the story idea isn't good. It just means there's more work to do to flesh out the foundational elements required to write a full-length story.
[06:30} Exercise #2: Write a 250-word (or less) summary of your story. Take your short summary and expand the WHO, the WHAT, and the WHY. Add details about your setting, too.
[08:00] An example of a summary from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
[11:20] Final thoughts and episode recap

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Links mentioned in this episode:

• Ep. 2 - Understanding Genre: How to Write Better
• IMDB.com the Internet Movie Data Base
• FREE Masterclass: 5 Little-Known Mistakes Most Fiction Writers Make (+ What To Do Instead). Click here to save your seat!

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