Episode 15: Week 1’s Blueprint for a Book Lessons
IN THIS EPISODE
Jennie introduces us to Week 1 of the Blueprint for a Book class.
Set the foundation of your book strong so you can move forward with confidence.
Think BEFORE you write.
WHY are you writing?
Define the POINT of your story with a killer sentence and jacket copy, as well as a working title.
The majority of writers make the mistake of not thinking about the big picture. Instead they just focus on what happens plot-level.
We don’t read to find out WHAT happens, but we write as if that’s the case. In reality, we read to find out WHY.
Example, in John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany, he gives everything away on the first page. Despite already knowing WHAT happens, readers keep turning pages.
The problem in a poorly written story is rarely with the plot, but rather with the internal why things happen. You have to tie your plot to the internal why in a strategic and intentional way.
Jennie references John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany, where Irving gives it all away on the first page. Here's the opening line of his book:
“I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice – not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.”
