The Promise of Premise

Writing thriller fiction – the Promise of a Premise

So what exactly is a premise?

Ta Da! I have a dictionary definition to hand…“Logic proposition from which inference is drawn” Mmmm… Are we much the wiser?

The point of the premise in fiction is that it truly is a kind of road map of where the story should go -and where it definitely should not! When I first started writing I did not understand this concept properly and, I must admit, I do still sometimes struggle with defining it for some of my story ideas. But when I get it right it really is as if a cloud clears and my ideas begin to coalesce properly in my mind.

Sticking to my premise makes me keep to the point of the story all the way through instead of veering off at tangents and getting lost. When I wrote my first stories I did not plan - just went with the flow of a good story idea. But before I had gotten very far my story idea started changing as I stumbled upon new and fascinating stuff for my character to get into… I ended up in a hopeless mess with no idea of how to straighten it all out. Then I suddenly remembered the original story idea and realised I had unintentionally abandoned it.  (If you are a ‘seat of your pants’ kind of writer a premise of some kind is, I think, essential.  But maybe you can stay nicely on course without one.)

Anyway then I read a few books and realised that premise was what I was missing. It is not the plot of a story but the main point and leads directly from the main story question to the resolution at the end. James Frey describes it as “A statement of what happens to the characters as a result of the core conflict in the story.” For example: In Dickens’ Christmas Carol the premise would be – ‘looking and learning from past mistakes leads to redemption and forgiveness’ because in the end, of course, Scrooge is a changed character. In my latest book ‘The Afterlife of Darkmares’,  the premise I used was ‘mother love can overcome everything, even ‘other worldly’ threats. ‘

Adding subplots and other characters does not change this central theme of the story because the thread running through and holding it all together is premise which once promised must be delivered on at the end.

This is how I try and stay on track. But maybe you know a better way to keep to the central story line?

Plots, Plague and Psychoanalysis

P- Plot

Working up plot ideas.

 

There is lots of advice available about developing plot and themes for stories but one of the best tips I have come across was to write down thoughts as they occur, in the form of a kind of conversation. 

At the very beginning of my novel “The Witcheye Gene” I had a string of rather vague concepts but no coherent plan. So, after germinal ideas about the plague, mother love and sudden death in childhood, I decided to try out the technique that I first learnt about in David Morrell’s Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing. He recommends writing as you think through plot ideas, rather than thinking first then writing an outline. He maintains this allows a writer to have a conversation about the story without the risk of the best notions ending in the air because the ideas materialise as the writer writes and thoughts occur. The person the writer talks to is, of course, the alter ego. David Morrell says this technique, “encourages you (the writer) to delve below the surfaces of a conventional outline so that a richer book has the potential to be written.”

The question ‘why?’ seems to be the most helpful (although all the ‘W’ questions are used e.g. where, who, what, when) as it makes you think about why you want to write this particular story and why you think the plot/theme is important.  It also clearly helps with making the characters fully rounded and properly motivated.

This kind of writing is also a form of psychoanalysis and helps when the ideas just won’t move forward. I tried it and found it to be a wonderfully liberating exercise and make no apologies for the introspective nature of the discourse. My ‘Conversations’  document shows my thought processes developing the story ideas, and together with a premise, helps keep me on course when moving towards some kind of outline.   It is also extremely useful if, like me, you sometimes go off course and need to get your thoughts back into the main thrust of the story. It provides a kind of road map. Subplots can be woven in and kept in check a bit easier too.

Do you have ways of keeping on course when plotting a new story? Do you plan? Or do you just write?

Cook Book Look At Genre

Recipe for a good tale?

I was recently asked, by a well-meaning friend, what kind of stories I wrote.

“Thrillers,” I answered.

“Oh, not romance then,” the friend said, plainly dissapointed.

“Oh no, there is romance in my stories as well,” I responded.

It got me thinking about the question of genres and the categories we all use.

So, exactly what kind of writer am I, I ask myself? I call myself a thriller writer – mainly of the supernatural genre. But when I think hard about categories, I realise my novels may well feel like everything but the kitchen sink added in!

You see, I think of a plot as a cooking recipe. For a good story I mix together certain ideas and form them into the basic story-line for what I need. I then add in extra ingredients to, hopefully, make my story stand out.  Not to overdo it, of course, otherwise the main story line can become obscured.

To that end, when I examine my plots, I find they are usually Manichean (good against evil) and often the main character is unwilling at first but then is in a desperate race to get something. My recipe usually includes the raising of stakes for the main character and rising tension throughout the story. Rather like baking a cake, methinks? Well there you go, more cooking analogies!

I find I nearly always add a love interest, (the genre of romance?) a ‘what if’ element (maybe it could be horror?), a ‘whodunit’ bit (mystery story) and usually some kind of race against time (a thriller caper). And then again, I also try to add subplots that intertwine with the main story. My recent book also had a time-slip element to it so I could call it historical too.

Maybe other writers don’t have to fight with themselves when they realise they want to add further spice to their stories but I always do. I would happily mix genres even more if I let my muse loose for long enough…  Like a good cake recipe, you need to know when the mixture is just right. Sometimes less is more…

So I reign myself in and try to stick to the main category I enjoy – supernatural thriller writing. But it doesn’t stop me adding a bit of spice here and there…

Do you tend to mix things up or are you totally faithful to your own genre?