Setting Up a Great Novel Premise

Maybe you have a great premise in mind for a novel, but you're intimidated by the idea of writing it, unsure where to begin. Or maybe you've started writing and you keep stalling out, stuck in "the muddle in the middle." Or you're wondering if you really have enough for a whole novel and not just a long short story.

Jessica Strawser is a USA Today bestselling author of six popular book club novels hailed for their irresistible premises. She’s also a Writer’s Digest Editor-at-Large with more than 20 years of experience consulting with writers on their queries, synopses, and opening pages. She can spot a marketable premise at a glance—and knows firsthand what it takes to turn a good premise into a great manuscript.

In this session, you’ll learn how to use your basic story idea to set up a compelling premise and build upon it until you have all the elements of a winning novel. Through examples from the bestseller shelves, you’ll learn tips and techniques that can easily be adapted to your experience level, personal writing style, and the needs of your story.

Difficulty level: all_levels

Speaker(s)

• Jessica Strawser

Copyright © 2023 Writer's Digest, a division of Active Interest Media