One of the things I struggled with for many years was perfecting the pitch.
Here's a simple outline:
- Who is the protagonist and why do we care?
- Where are they starting from?
- What changes (and gets the story moving)?
- What's their goal now (outer goal)?
- What's getting in the way of the goal?
Wizard of Oz:
Who is the protagonist and why do we care? A young girl with a dog (pets engage our attention).
Where are they starting from? A rural background. A neighbor threatens her dog.
What changes (and gets the story moving)? A tornado hits, sending the girl to a strange, colorful place.
What's their goal now (outer goal)? Get home
What's getting in the way of the goal? Only one person can send her home and he's at the end of a journey.
Running away from a horrid neighbor who's threatening her dog, young Dorothy Gale
is swept away by a tornado from her Kansas farm to the
magical Land of Oz. Now to return home, she must go on a quest to find the Wizard, the only person who can help, aided by three weird and wonderful fellow travelers she meets along the way.
Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.
