How to test your story idea (EXERSICISES)
Updated: May 22, 2022
Do you know if the idea you're working on is strong enough to allow a full-length novel to be written? This is a vital step to ensure that your work is on track.
How can you figure out if your story idea is worth turning into a full-length novel? Can is sustain all those 20-something chapters?
Not every idea is worth writing a full-length novel. But, there's a way to test out story ideas before writing the first draft.
Here are some exercises to help you evaluate your story ideas, choosing which one from the lot has novel-worthy potential.
EXERSICE 1: CHOOSE YOUR PREMISE
It all starts with your premise. Which is another way of saying your big idea. When you come up with an idea for a novel, write it down in a dedicated file or document. Collect possible story ideas the way a kid might collect autumn leaves or sea shells. Whatever you think up, toss into a file.
Eventually, you’ll need to decide which premise you’re going to develop and turn into a book.
A Method For Testing Your Story Idea: Can It Sustain A Novel?
Sort through all of your ideas and choose the ones you like best. I put my favorite ideas into another file I call “Front Burner Concepts.” These are the ones I think have the most potential. I go over these frequently, rearranging the order, adding new ones, dropping others.
Then I have to get to the decision point. Which concept am I going to spend the next several months turning into a novel?
Try to push your “front burner” premises through the following filter.
Is your Lead character someone you can see and hear? If not: Cast the character. Really “see” him. Do some dialogue where the Lead introduces himself to you.
Does your Lead character have heroic qualities, either evident or potential? Define them.
Who is the Opposition, and how is this character stronger than the Lead?
How is “death overhanging”? (Is it physical, professional, psychological? All three?)
Can you see a climactic battle, won by the Lead?
Can you envision a possible inner journey? Begin at the end. Because of the climactic action, how will the Lead grow? Or, at the very least, consider this: What will the Lead have learned that is essential to his humanity? Example: At the end of Lethal Weapon, Riggs gives up the bullet he’s saved to shoot himself. He has learned that life is worth living and that love from friends is worth accepting.
Take a break. During this break, do you find yourself thinking about your Lead character? Not your plot, your Lead. Is she starting to become real to you? And, most important, are you beginning to care enough about her to give her a story? Do you feel her story has to be written? When you wake up in the morning, are you still juiced about the Lead and the story?
Do a cold-hearted market analysis of your idea. Who will want to read this story, and why? Will the answer to the first question be enough for a publisher to publish your book? (Be honest.) Can you truly see browsers in a store picking up your book and wanting to buy it? Write a one-paragraph description of your idea. Read this to several trusted friends and ask for their reactions. If they love it, great. If they shake their heads, find out why. Make any changes you deem necessary.
Write a short e-mail to yourself, as if you were a reader writing to a friend about what was so great about this book. How did it make you feel? What gripped you about it? You can do this in general terms, but it must be enough to make you want that book to see the light of day.
Put all this away for one week. During this week, work on steps 1 through 9 with a different idea. Then come back to your original premise and see if you are still excited about it, if it still “calls out to you” to be written. If so, start developing it in earnest.
In this way, you can, in very short order, have several possible novel ideas cooking at any one time. Eventually, you’ll choose the one you are going to push through to the end. That’s always a tough call! But this process is much better than grabbing your first premise and charging ahead. Much time may be wasted this way.
Ever since I started writing, I told myself I have only a finite time on this earth and can only write a finite number of books. I need to choose the best ones for me and for my readers both. This is the method I use to do that.
Exercise #2: Write your storyline.
A storyline is a short summary that gives the gist of your book in 1-2 sentences.
It tells the reader who the main character is, what the conflict is, and what the stakes are. Basically, it’s the WHO, WHERE, WHAT, and WHY of your story, but not the HOW.
Write a 1-2 sentence storyline for your book. When you're done, ask yourself and others – does this story sound interesting to me? Is it something I’d want to read?
If the answer is yes, move onto the next exercise. But if the answer is no, you either need to re-write your logline to focus on the most interesting parts of your story or pick a different idea to work with from the listof ideas you have in your head.
Exercise #3: Write your story’s elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch is a longer summary of your story—usually, around 250 words—that does not give away the ending of the story but does cover the main conflict and stakes. It’s the summary that sometimes appears on the back cover of a book. Or it could be the summary that you’d include in your query letter if you're planning to submit your work to agents in the future.
When composing your elevator pitch, you want to answer these questions: WHO is this story about? WHAT is the situation? WHERE does the story take place? WHY does it matter?
The protagonist: WHO is your main character? What makes this character unique? What does this character want at the beginning of the story?
The conflict: WHAT is the situation? Who or what is standing in the way of your protagonist achieving his or her goal?
The stakes: WHY does it matter? What’s at risk if your protagonist doesn’t achieve their goals? What is the worst thing that will happen? What will their success or failure mean to your protagonist?
The setting: WHERE does the story take place?
Write a 250-word summary for your story. When you're done, ask yourself and others – does this story sound interesting to me? Is it something I’d want to read?
If the answer is yes, then you're probably ready to start writing the first draft!
But if the answer is no, you'll need to re-write your elevator pitch focusing on the most important parts of your story. Make sure you're focusing on the storyline of your global genre. For example, in a romance, the focal storyline would be the romantic relationship between the two characters.
Exercise 4: Find you WHY.
If you’re like most people, you want to write a book because you want to be heard.
You have something to say about life or human nature, and you want others to see
the world the same way you do.
So, the first question I ask all my clients is – why do you want to write this book?
Your answers to this question can help you get a better sense of the kind of story
you want to write. For example, your answers can help you:
➜ determine your story’s genre.
➜ uncover the theme of your book.
➜ start to see the shape of your story.
➜ figure out your character’s arc, and more...
Here’s an example from a writer friend named Eva. I asked Eva why she
wanted to write this particular story at this particular time in her life, and she said –
"I want to write this story because I want to show that getting close to someone
doesn't always equal pain. Ever since my best friend passed away, I've been afraid
to get close to people because I don't want to feel the pain of losing someone
again. But by distancing myself from others, I've missed out on some (potentially)
really great relationships. I guess I don’t want other people to make the same
mistake I did when it comes to friendships and relationships. I also think writing
this story will finally help me work through the loss of my friend.”
First of all, that’s a GREAT answer – and thank you so much, Eva, for letting me
share your words in this post! 💕
From Eva’s answer, I could imagine her protagonist transforming from
someone who’s afraid of getting close to people to someone who lets love into his
or her life. Or, perhaps Eva’s protagonist has to work with, and learn to trust,
someone in order to accomplish his or her external story goal. The theme or
message of Eva’s story might be something like – “Good things happen when
people put aside their fears and work together.” You can also start to get a sense of
how Eva’s story could play out in the romance genre vs. the mystery genre vs.
any other genre. Pretty neat, right?
So, the first thing you need to do is understand why this story is so important to
you. Why do you want to tell this particular story at this particular time in your life?
The more specific you are, the more effective your writing efforts will be. If you get
stuck in the middle of a draft, you can look back on your answers for inspiration
and motivation. You can also look at your answers when it comes time to edit. It’s
not always easy to delete things from your draft, but if you use your WHY as a
guiding light, decisions become much easier.
📝 Your turn to do the work:
Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and answer the following questions:
➜ Why do you want to write this particular story at this time in your life?
➜ What beliefs or values fuel this story?
➜ What’s the point you’re trying to make?
➜ What are you trying to say about life, the world, or human nature?
➜ What are you trying to prove or disprove with your story?
If you're having a hard time answering this question, or if you feel unsure about
what’s coming up, don't worry and be patient. You know the answer even if it’s not
immediately obvious.
Final Thoughts
Writers who don't take the time to flesh out their ideas are the ones who get stuck in the middle of a draft or who never finish the stories they start.
Hopefully, these exercises have helped you test out your story idea so that you can write forward with confidence. But if these exercises were difficult for you, don't give up!
Check out the descriptions of movies on imdb.com (the internet movie database). There are hundreds of examples that will show you how a 2-hour movie in your genre can be summarized in one or two sentences.
You can also browse the descriptions of your favorite books on amazon.com. Once you've read through a dozen or so examples, you'll start to see patterns and understand how to apply those patterns to your own story.
Doing this kind of work upfront is the first step toward writing a story that works. If you need help, don't be afraid to reach out to your fellow writers or to get yourself a book coach. You don't have to write alone!
