SPA Girls Podcast – EP35 – A Great Hook for Your Book

facemaskThis week we’re up to episode number 35, and we discussed brainstorming your next novel, and creating the best hook, conflict and characters. We each talked about how we do it, the methods we use and what we recommend for people wanting to create a solid book idea. At the end we decided to do an impromptu session where we actually brainstorm a brand new novel together. It was a huge laugh, and we hope it’s both entertaining and helpful to you when you start planning your next novel…. 🙂

 

‘Brainstorming combines a relaxed informal approach to problem solving with lateral thinking.’

Brainstorming: How do you think of a new book?

Wendy is not a plotter. She spends a lot of time in her head working on her stories and characters. To pin down her hero and heroine she interviews them in her head. A coffee addict, Wendy likes to percolate everything before she begins to write.

Often during this time, she will get an epiphany as she works through those first couple of weeks, talking about her characters as if they were real people and trying out settings and scenes with them.

Cheryl doesn’t have enough room in her head to keep a plot or her characters alive. Everything goes on paper. Snippets about characters and plot points go in a table and as time goes by she elaborates on each thing, helping to flesh out the chapters she’s already written.

She uses her husband and the Spagirls as sounding boards. You don’t have to agree with everything that is suggested, but simply talking about what you plan to write can make things clearer and give life to your characters.

Trudi is very linear in her plotting. A big proponent of mind mapping and props as she writes, helps immensely in her carnival world. She uses Pinterest, and also collects pictures of people and things to do with her world.

She loves story grid – where you don’t use the first idea for each scene that comes to you, as it may not be the best and, by trying different scenarios, you ensure that nothing is cliché’ d.

Shar is very visual. She starts with an intriguing conflict and then thinks of a catchy by-line. Her best work is done when she is doing something meditative like housework or walking.

Has used Pinterest, but now uses a folder for her settings and characters as she likes the visual approach. Loves to push boundaries.

Some tips:

Think of a great hook. This is crucial for an interesting story.

Make a collage of your story, but don’t use this as a procrastination tool.

Break things down and brainstorm one particular scene or character at a time.

Push the boundaries and don’t settle for a mediocre scene – use ‘what if’ to make it steamier, scarier, sadder etc.

Verbalising is a good way to work out a problem – discuss a problem area or idea with friends, family or other writers.

There will be expectations re worlds or small towns etc. to have consistent characters or settings, so makes notes on them and keep them handy.

Your processes may change and be refined over time, as have ours. This is not a bad thing and may improve your work.

If you have time, you might like to listen to this podcast to hear our amusing (hopefully) brainstorming of a book (we’ll probably never use) about a werewolf who is also a billionaire, and owns a major drug company.

Enjoy, and don’t forget to tell us how you brainstorm.

Author: SPA Girls

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