Making a Good Idea Great

by Katie Hines

What elements create great fiction? Oh, the usual come to mind: killer idea, great plot, rich characters, full settings, lots of research, editing, story arc, conceptualization, and so forth.

I’ve been parts of critique groups, both in person and online, and I have to say that without a doubt, it has been one of the most valuable experiences of my writing life. But the thing I have seen, more often than I care to admit, that some writers simply don’t have a good idea for their book, or even worse, write a poor good idea.

There is one lady I am thinking of who is writing a piece of historical fiction that frankly, upon reading it, I find myself yawning, my mind wandering and the words “ho hum” waft through my thinking. I wonder, “And I care about this, why?”

See, it isn’t enough to have a good idea, even a killer idea. You have to make a good idea great by transforming your reader from “ho hum” to “I can’t put this story down.” How does this happen? By transforming your writing by lifting it from the doldrums, by wrenching it from your soul, making your words count in ways that make your readers sit up and take notice.

I read a great book by Noah Lukeman called, “The First Five Pages.” He basically says if you don’t have “it” in the first five pages, this elusive “it” won’t be in the rest of the book.

As a children’s author, you have to capture that kid on the very first paragraph–the first line–if at all possible. Think outrageously! When you pick up a kid’s book, do you want to wait for page three to get fully involved?

No, of course not.

And neither does your reader. With kids especially, you have to draw them in with the very first words. If you don’t make it by the end of your first paragraph, you run the very real risk of having the reader close the book, put it away and never finish reading it.

Your first words must sparkle with character, not descriptions. They must make your reader want to read further. The first words in my middle grade book, Guardian, are, “I have a secret…” Who doesn’t want to read further, to find out what this secret is? Right there, you’ve tapped into something every kid wants to know about – a secret.

Take it from there. Make your reader sit up and take notice. Make them wonder about the secret, throw some action in, perhaps some wild event (that adds to the story). Introduce your characters, but be sure and introduce them within the context of action. See, that’s the real key for writing for children. Action, suspense, and a story that keeps unfolding and keeping them guessing. That’s the key to exciting fiction.

So if you have a good idea, make it great by anticipating what your reader wants. If you don’t know what your reader wants, then you need to go to the library and begin reading everything you can in the genre you are wanting to write in. Once you know, you can know if your story is going to meet the test, and pass it, and woo your reader through to the very last page.

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Katie Hines has been writing snippets here and there as long as she can remember. Then, in high school, she wrote several poems that were published in an anthology. Marriage and raising two children contributed to putting away writing, but she came back to it while in her 40s. Since that time, she has been a contributing feature writer and columnist for a local newspaper, has written several features articles for another area newspaper, and wrote religious and humor articles for an online Catholic ezine. Her first book, “Guardian,” is a middle grade urban fantasy and available through http://4RVpublishingllc.com , Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your local bookseller.

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