Anatomy of a Premise Line : How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success

If a story is going to fail, it will do so first at the premise level. __Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success__ is the only book of its kind to identify a seven-step development process that can be repeated and applied to any story idea. This process will save you time, money, and potentially months of wasted writing. So whether you are trying to write a feature screenplay, develop a television pilot, or just trying to figure out your next story move as a writer, this book gives you the tools you need to know which ideas are worth pursuing. In addition to the 7-step premise development tool, __Anatomy of a Premise Line__ also presents a premise and idea testing methodology that can be used to test any developed premise line. Customized exercises and worksheets are included to facilitate knowledge transfer, so that by the end of the book, you will have a fully developed premise line, log line, tagline, and a completed premise-testing checklist. Here is some of what you will learn inside: * Ways to determine whether or not your story is a good fit for print or screen * Case studies and hands-on worksheets to help you learn by participating in the process * Tips on how to effectively work through writer’s block * A companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/lyons) with additional worksheets, videos, and interactive tools to help you learn the basics of perfecting a killer premise line If a story is going to fail, it will do so first at the premise level. Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success is the only book of its kind to identify a seven-step development process that can be repeated and applied to any story idea. This porcess will save you time, money, and potentially months of wasted writing. So whether you are trying to write a feature screenplay, develop a television pilot, or just trying to figure out your next story move as a writer, this book gives you the tools you need to know which ideas are worth pursuing. In addition to the 7-step premise development tool, Anatomy of a Premise Line also presents a premise and idea testing methodology that can be used to test any developed premise line. Customized exercises and worksheets are included to facilitate knowledge transfer, so that by the end of the book, you will have a fully developed premise line, log line, tagline, and a completed premise-testing checklist. Here is some of what you will learn inside: --Ways to determine whether or not your story is a good fit for print or screen --Case studies and hands-on worksheets to help you learn by participating in the process --Tips on how to effectively work through writers block --A companion website (insert cw URL) with additional worksheets, videos, and interactive tools to help you learn the basics of perfecting a killer premise line --A synopsis development process that sets you up for success Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Foreword 12 Acknowledgments 14 Introduction 16 Part 1: Premise and Story—Building the Foundation 22 1 Your First Book in Story Development 24 2 What is a Story Premise and Why Should You Care? 29 3 The Invisible Structure 34 4 The Visible Structure 42 5 The Power of the Premise Line 53 6 A Story vs. a Situation 64 7 The Moral Premise 75 Part 2: The 7-Step Premise Development Process 84 Part 3: Development: A Few Remaining Nuts and Bolts 114 8 I Nailed the Premise and Log Lines—Now What? 116 9 The Three Stages of Development 128 10 Character Development—What They Don’t Teach You 133 11 Final Thoughts 142 About the Author 150 Notes 152 Appendix A: Worksheets and Forms 154 Appendix B: Examples 166 Appendix C: E-resources/Companion Website 192 Appendix D: Writer Resources 194 Index 198 This book provides a seven-step development process for screenplay or television writing. The book presents a premise and idea testing methodology that can be used to test any developed premise line. The book provides guides on structure, character constriction, choosing a character, synopsis, various writing stages (business, script development and story development stage), character development and solutions to writer's block