At the beginning of every meeting, we go around the table, introduce ourselves, and give an update of what we're working on. The reason we do this is two-fold: one, we get to know each other, and two, we get to practice how to speak about our work.
You're writing a story, and no one knows it better than you. Seems like it should be easy to talk about that story. But it's actually extremely difficult. Most of us either give too little info, assuming knowledge that the rest of the group doesn't have, or give too much, feeling the need to explain backstory and every minor character and the reason why we're compelled to write in the first place. Neither approach accomplishes the goal. And that goal is to entice the listener just enough that they want to read your story.
This is where the elevator pitch comes in. It's one or two sentences that present your main character, the conflict, and tension of the story in such a way that your listener wants more. (Download our May 6 Meeting Notes for more info.)
So we tackled the elevator pitch at our last meeting. Everyone came with one pre-prepared, and they delivered them while the group critiqued and helped them massage. It was really great. I was so impressed by the respectfulness of the group, the willingness to help, and also the willingness to re-work what needed to be re-worked. It's such a tough thing to put yourself out there and invite criticism, but everyone handled it with grace and aplomb.
Our meeting notes detail ideas for how to handle a fiction pitch. Sharon Goldfinger had some wonderful suggestions for non-fiction pitches. Her main point was that the pitch should highlight the benefit of the work to the reader. For those of us writing non-fiction, the advice is gold.
From now on at our meetings, we're going to open with the elevator pitch. Give us your best two sentences about your work in progress. Deliver it an excited way. If the author can't make an a story sound exciting, there's a problem. :)
You're writing a story, and no one knows it better than you. Seems like it should be easy to talk about that story. But it's actually extremely difficult. Most of us either give too little info, assuming knowledge that the rest of the group doesn't have, or give too much, feeling the need to explain backstory and every minor character and the reason why we're compelled to write in the first place. Neither approach accomplishes the goal. And that goal is to entice the listener just enough that they want to read your story.
This is where the elevator pitch comes in. It's one or two sentences that present your main character, the conflict, and tension of the story in such a way that your listener wants more. (Download our May 6 Meeting Notes for more info.)
So we tackled the elevator pitch at our last meeting. Everyone came with one pre-prepared, and they delivered them while the group critiqued and helped them massage. It was really great. I was so impressed by the respectfulness of the group, the willingness to help, and also the willingness to re-work what needed to be re-worked. It's such a tough thing to put yourself out there and invite criticism, but everyone handled it with grace and aplomb.
Our meeting notes detail ideas for how to handle a fiction pitch. Sharon Goldfinger had some wonderful suggestions for non-fiction pitches. Her main point was that the pitch should highlight the benefit of the work to the reader. For those of us writing non-fiction, the advice is gold.
From now on at our meetings, we're going to open with the elevator pitch. Give us your best two sentences about your work in progress. Deliver it an excited way. If the author can't make an a story sound exciting, there's a problem. :)