Agent Sarah Davies tweeted this yesterday. “Unique concept + Voice + Craft.”

Isn’t this what we’re all searching for? Not only in our writing but in books we read? I know I am.

Unique concept:

From what I’ve read and from my own experience of scribbling down ideas, the most unique concept is not the first idea we get. We’ve all read to list ten, twenty ideas and keep going until our idea is unique.

 But then we hear that there is no new story.

• Practice at coming up with unique ideas – even if you never write it.
• Take a somewhat good idea and add a spin, twist it, mash it up until it is unique.
• Take your idea and keep asking What if – over and over and over and over.
• Don’t play it safe. Take risks. Be bold.
• Read and know what’s out there.

Voice:

• Practice, practice, practice.
• Know your strengths and weaknesses.
• Don’t settle for blah verbs and descriptions.
• Know your characters inside and out. Be true to them.
• Get rid of those clunky sentences.
• Lose your self-consciousness.
• Use sensory details.

Craft:

• Read, read, read.
• Write, write, write.
• I love studying books with writing that I love.
• Work hard and be purposeful in your efforts to learn craft.

If you haven’t read the Baker’s Dozen auction to see what agents bidded on – take a look. It didn’t surprise me at all that certain titles were in demand. It all came back to unique concept + voice + craft.

And I’ve happened to have  read a couple books this past week that fit the bill. More on Friday!

I challenge you to come up with three unique story concepts. Today. Even if you don’t write them. Go ahead. Do it.