Reverse engineering plot from pitch
The internet is riddled on how to write perfect elevator pitches for your novels, short stories and other works of art (so we’re definitely NOT going to go over that), but they all seem to agree that pitches come last in the process of writing.
I’m here to say that is wrong.
With On the Shoulders of Giants, I began writing in a very simplistic manner. I sat down in front of the computer, put my hands on the keyboard and started. No plan, no plot, nothing. I just thought of cool things to put in and write about them as they came to me. I dubbed myself as a Discovery writer, taking its usual pitfals in stride.
But, my inexperience caught up to me midway my first draft, when I had to stop for over a month to dig myself out of a massive plot hole. Trust me, that wasn’t fun. I spent my lunch breaks thinking about what to do, how to make my world more engaging, how to tie the end with the beginning. I went on bicycle rides with firm goals on what I wanted to accomplish and failing as I wheeled my bike into the shed. Eventually I dug myself out and I was pretty pleased with myself, as I wrote THE END on the last page one faithful January night.
That was, until I started my second draft.
As a discovery writer, you meander, you go deep into character and world, but you forget about the plot. It feels loose and redundant (sometimes even plain ol’ boring). And I wasn’t an exception. My second draft was almost a complete rewrite of my book. Again – that wasn’t fun. Even now, that it’s finished, I can see where the plot could be better, tighter, more engaging. So for Imaginarium (working title), I decided to begin on the opposite end of the spectrum.
That’s right, I’m ditching the discovery approach and am plotting my way thorough the book first! And I’m starting with the pitch.
I learned about pitches when I listened to the Writing Excuses podcast, where Janci Patterson (link to podcast) joined them to talk about pitches.
Her message was clear and concise – always start a book with a pitch. That way you can sell it.
As I sat down in front of my computer to start my book, I knew pretty much about what I’m going to write about (I had about 7 main and sub plots at the time) – that was, until I tried to make a pitch. It came out boring and uneventful, which gave me pause to think about what was engaging about my story.
Good pitches provoke questions about plot and characters.
By the end of my process, I went through 15 different pitches, which at the end, changed my entire story line. The pitches were 100 word behemoths at first, then shrunk to 50, until finally shrinking to 30. Sure, Rowling described Harry Potter in 7 words, but that’s a sales pitch. We’re doing a plot pitch and that needs to be longer.
My formula for pitch-plot success
- Think about your story and define your main and side plots
- Make that into a pitch
- Shorten the pitch as much as possible. Remember, you're only hinting about what's going to happen at the start, you're not writing a synopsis
- Put yourself in the mind of your readers and then go through your pitch, word for word and write down any questions that arise
- If you have more than ten questions, great! Try to up it to fifteen or more, while keeping your pitch short and mysterious
- If you have less than ten questions, look at the plot and improve it
- Rinse and repeat while you plot your book. Your pitch is done, when the plot is.
Try it if you’re starting or even if you’re halfway through. Don’t wait until the end and realize that your work of art can’t be sold. I’ve thrown my pitch at a few friends and readers and they all agree. The difference between my original story and this one is staggering. You can even repeat this process for the beginning of every act.
My next post will either cover plotting with Excel (template included) or it’s going to be another scifi short.
Peter