USING STORYWORLD GENIUS TO WRITE YOUR NOVEL
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USING STORYWORLD GENIUSTO WRITE YOUR NOVEL
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www.jillwilliamson.com/teenage-authors/helps
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I. WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Um . . . I, uh . . . Well, it’s about a, uh . . .
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1. High concept.2. The logline.
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What is high concept?
An intriguing idea that can be stated in a few words and is easily
understood by all.
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High concept examples . . .
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Middle school survival guide—in comic form!
Fight to the death on national television.
Love story between two terminal teens.
A blonde goes to Harvard Law School.
He’s having the day of his life, over and over gain.
Your mind is the scene of the crime.
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In 1850s gold rush, God tells a farmer to marry a prostitute.
1997#1047 paperback
#2467 Kindle ($7.99)2317 book reviews
God invites a man to talk with him in a
shack in the woods.
2006#555 paperback
#1644 Kindle ($4.54)7792 book reviews
The story of those left behind after the rapture happens.
1995#11,858 paperback
#5645 Kindle ($8.26)2847 book reviews
A small town is in the midst of an unseen supernatural battle.
1986#15,920 paperback
#8426 Kindle ($6.83)617 book reviews
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A high concept…
1. is universal (It resonates with everyone).2. is unique (Or it has a fresh twist on a familiar
idea).3. involves an empathetic hero, dealing with a BIG
problem.4. can be summed up in a few specific words that
give a good picture of the entire story.5. has a great title.
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Ways to find a high concept idea
• Ask “what if…?”• Opposites attract
• Meld the familiar with the strange• What is your fascination?• Add a ticking time clock• Look for the supernatural• Look to the zeitgeist
• Play with high concept phrases
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What is a logline?
A one- or two-sentence description of a story that tells us what it is.
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The logline must . . .
1. be ironic.2. paint a picture in your mind.
3. know its audience.4. have a great title that says what it is.
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How to write a logline
1. Type of hero + an adjective2. Type of antagonist + adjective
3. The hero’s primal goal.
(It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.
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A Great Title is Gold
Legally Blonde • Star Wars • Miss CongenialityRunning Lean • She’s the Man • Four Christmases
Jaws • Uglies • Alien • Shakespeare in LoveThe Sixth Sense • To Kill a Mockingbird
Titanic • Saving Private RyanRoswell • Gladiator • The Mummy
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Jaws
High concept: Horror film in the ocean.
Logline: A police chief, with a phobia for open water, battles a gigantic shark with an appetite for
swimmers, in spite of a greedy town council who demands that the beach stay open.
1. Type of hero + an adjective2. Type of antagonist + adjective
3. The hero’s primal goal.
(It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.
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The Fugitive
High concept: An innocent man is convicted of killing his wife.
Logline: A fugitive doctor wrongly convicted of killing his wife struggles to prove his innocence
while pursued by a relentless US Marshall.
1. Type of hero + an adjective2. Type of antagonist + adjective
3. The hero’s primal goal.
(It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.
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The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet
High concept: Revenge through literature.
Logline: An outcast teen finds therapy writing her enemies into her story, but when her novel is
published, she faces the consequences of using her pen as her sword.
1. Type of hero + an adjective2. Type of antagonist + adjective
3. The hero’s primal goal.
(It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
High concept : A cop must enter cartoon land to solve a crime.
Logline: A toon-hating detective is a cartoon rabbit's only hope to prove his innocence when
he is accused of murder.
1. Type of hero + an adjective2. Type of antagonist + adjective
3. The hero’s primal goal.
(It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.
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Jurassic Park
High concept : Dinosaur theme park.
Logline: A family struggles to escape a remote island park whose main attractions—genetically
restored dinosaurs—have been set loose by a power failure.
1. Type of hero + an adjective2. Type of antagonist + adjective
3. The hero’s primal goal.
(It must have irony, easy to picture, know its audience, and have a great title.
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II. HOLLYWOOD GENRES
Give us the same thing . . . only different.
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1. Monster in the House2. Golden Fleece
3. Out of the Bottle4. Dude with a Problem
5. Rites of Passage6. Buddy Love7. Whydunit?
8. The Fool Triumphant9. Instiuitionalized
10. Superhero
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Monster in the HouseMonster + House + Sin
JawsJurassic Park
Independence DayMen in Black
AlienFatal Attraction
ScreamThe Exorcist
Psycho
Golden FleeceRoad + Team = Prize
Wizard of OzStar WarsHoosiers
A League of Their OwnBack to the Future
Saving Private RyanGlory
Ocean’s ElevenRain Man
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Out of the BottleWish + Spell = Lesson
Freaky FridayBig
Mary PoppinsAladdin
The Nutty ProfessorThe Mask
What Women WantIt’s a Wonderful Life
Scrooged
Dude with a ProblemInnocent Hero + Sudden Problem =
Life or Death Battle
Die HardThe Fugitive
The Bourne IdentityMisery
Deep ImpactCape FearOutbreakApollo 13
The Terminator
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Rites of PassageLife Problem + Wrong Way = Acceptance
City SlickersNapoleon Dynamite
LucasSixteen CandlesOrdinary People
28 DaysAll That Jazz
The War of the RosesThe First Wives Club
Buddy LoveIncomplete Hero + Buddy = Complication
LassieBeethoven
Lethal WeaponWayne’s WorldPretty Woman
Notting HillTitanic
True LiesDirty Dancing
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Whydunit?Detective + Secret = Revelation
All the President's MenBlade Runner
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?Fargo
Rear WindowLA ConfidentialThe Sixth SenseMinority Report
Ghost
The Fool TriumphantFool + Establishment = Transmutation
King RalphThe Princess Diaries
TootsieTrading Places
Miss CongenialityForrest GumpLegally Blonde
RadioShe’s the Man
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InstitutionalizedGroup + Choice = Sacrifice
A Few Good MenM*A*S*HTop Gun
The GodfatherThe Joy Luck Club
Office SpaceThe Devil Wears Prada
Do the Right ThingDead Poet’s Society
SuperheroSpecial Power + Nemesis + Curse
BraveheartThe Passion of Christ
Peter PanThe MatrixGladiator
Robin HoodThe Mask of Zorro
The IncrediblesSpiderman
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III. THE CHARACTERS
Tell me a story about a guy who . . .
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1. I can identify with.2. I can learn from.
3. I have a compelling reason to follow.4. I believe deserves to win.
5. has stakes that are primal and ring true for me. (Stakes are: survival, hunger, love, protecting loved
ones, fear of death.)6. is flawed (Six things that need fixing.)
Tell me a story about a guy who . . .
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IV. THE STRUCTURE
Beat it out.
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1. OPENING IMAGE. Beginning snapshot of your hero before his journey (page 1):
2. SET UP. Introduce your main characters (on pages 1-30):
3. THEME STATED. Introduce your theme (around page 15):
4. CATALYST. Inciting incident (around page 36):
5. DEBATE. Second thoughts (36-75):
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6. BREAK INTO TWO. Climax of act one (75)7. B STORY. Subplot 1 (90):
8. THE PROMISE OF THE PREMISE. Obstacles and adventure (90-150):
9. MIDPOINT. A big twist (150):10. BAD GUYS CLOSE IN. Obstacles and
danger (150-200):
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11. ALL IS LOST. Disaster happens. A false sense of security (200):
12. DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL. Crisis (200-225):13. BREAK INTO THREE. Climax of act two (225):
14. FINALE. Climax of act three (225-290):15. FINAL IMAGE. Dénouement/ending snapshot
of how your hero has changed (290-300):
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V. SCREENWRITING TRICKS
Snappy rules to help.
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1. Save the cat!2. The Pope in the Pool
3. Booster Rocket4. Double Mumbo Jumbo
5. Laying Pipe6. Too Much Marzipan
7. Watch Out for that Glacier!8. The Covenant of the Arc
9. Keep the Press Out
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VI. SCREENWRITING FIXES
What’s wrong with this picture?
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1. The Hero Leads2. Talking the Plot
3. Make the Bad Guy Badder4. Turn, Turn, Turn
5. The Emotional Color Wheel6. “Hi, how are you?” “I’m fine.”
7. Take a Step Back8. A Limp and an Eye Patch
9. Is It Primal?