Concept, Concept and more Concept...

Gracious good day my fellow Turbo Monkeys, 

Last time I wrote about how important it is to start with a great concept before you begin writing word one, 
but what is a great concept?

Because of my film background you might think I’m talking about “high concept”...but a high concept is not necessarily a blue print for a great story.

“What happens when a bored married couple's "Date Night" goes wrong?” Wacky fun!  

“Snakes on a Plane"  More wacky fun?  No...(although it might have been better as a comedy)

Both high concepts and yet considered flops.

So, high concept is not a guarantee of commercial success, but it does aid in the sell-ability of your story, and really this is why publishers and agents are in business.  

Buffy the Vampire Slayer  = “What if a cheerleader hunted vampires?”
Jaws                               =  “What if a shark stalked humans?”
Toy Story                      = “What if your kid’s toys had secret lives?”

Perfect examples of high concept stories with universal appeal, short concise pitches and a promise of potential.

A high concept is a great formula to streamline your premise, it helps, but it’s not always the indicator of success. For example...

Star Trek
Star Wars
When Harry Met Sally

Are all great concepts but not exactly “High Concept.”

A great concept, does not necessarily have to be a high concept but it should have what I call the UP UP elements.  

1. Universal appeal - Is your theme understood by many?
1. A primal theme of survival?
2. A romantic theme of finding love?
3. A nobel theme of saving a loved one?
2. Poses a question - “What if...” “Who is...”  “Why did...”
1. "What if your reality was just a computer game?" = Matrix
2. "Who is Forrest Gump?" = Forrest Gump
3. "Why did Schindler save the Jewish workers?" = Schindler's List
3. Unique - Original or a spin on something familiar.  
1. Human girl falls in love with glowing vampire = Twilight
2. Ex lovers chase tornados = Twister
3. Man is castaway on a boat with a tiger = Life of Pi
4. Promises Potential - Potential of laughter, drama, fear, romance or $$$

The promise of potential is a bit subjective but it should be as obvious as one eastbound train and one westbound train on the same track.  

A great concept is generally pitch driven.  Three sentences or less that paint a picture in the reader’s head, states your theme, poses a question, promises potential and most of all causes “Cha Ching” to ring in their ears.

I hope this helps you form a great concept and gets your writing to a new level.

Concept, Concept, Concept or My Dinner with Bill

by Craig

It’s been a decade now, since I had a fateful dinner with Bill.  I had completed a four-year run with Dreamworks SKG and successfully sold my first feature film, world-wide.  

Bill had recently lost his job of more than 7 years.  I could tell he was uneasy. We had never met and he didn’t know anything about me.  

I had been writing artsy indie scripts, having tired of the studio formulaic blockbusters.  Bill had a similar outlook.  LIke me he was opening his own "indie" film production company.  We started with a quick intro from a mutual friend (MSU Alumni) and eventually got on the subject of story and Bill said something that would change my life.

“Concept, Concept, Concept.  If you have a strong concept and a weak screenplay I can still do something with it.  But if you have a weak concept...even with strong writing it is almost impossible to sell.”

Now, you might be thinking this is not eye opening, especially coming from someone who had recently lost his job and was just starting an “indie” film production company.  But Bill knows something about story.  You probably don’t know his name or recognize his face, but Bill Mechanic KNOWS story.

Bill Mechanic took a doormat studio all the way to number 1...in THE WORLD!  Along his journey he was responsible for films such as X men, Ice Age, Braveheart and a little film called Titanic.  He hired James Cameron, fired James Cameron then hired him back again.  Bill also was responsible for a film starring some guy named Brad Pitt titled Fight Club.  This same film just happened to be largely responsible for Rupert Murdoc firing Bill Mechanic as the CEO and Chariman of Fox Studios.  (even though it garnered $37 million) Since leaving Fox, Bill has produced The Oscars and the animated film Coraline.  

Some of you might be wondering what this has to do with writing a children’s novel or picture book.  I believe everything.

At the time I was dining on chicken cordon bleu with Bill, the film industry was going through a similar constriction as the publishing industry is right now.  The bigger “houses” were reducing their slates, making fewer films.  Agencies were reducing their client lists, keeping only those A listers with proven box office history.

Is this sounding at all familiar?  

The indie film production segment was forced open by the emergence of technological advances like the DVD, Non linear film editing software and Digital Video Cameras which allowed smaller companies to create quality products at a much lower cost.  

Again, a similar change is occurring in our publishing world with Ebooks, Augmented Reality and Smartphone Apps.
  

But back to Bill and his wise words.  Three short months after our dinner, I penned a Horror screenplay with a focus on concept.  Not only did Script magazine give it an award but it gave me a shot at a three picture deal with Brillstein Entertainment.  

It has been a decade since all of that water passed under this bridge but one thing remains true.  All these events and advances will never take away that story counts.  So, no matter how your story finds its way to the reader, to make your life a bit easier, start with a great concept.