I have observed on writing forums that many authors struggle with the description
of their book. The descriptions usually contain too much information or not
enough of the necessary information. Just as plotting requires you to know what
kind of story skeleton you wish to utilize, the description requires you to
know the story promise you wish to make.
A
basic description is made up of several key elements: genre, setting,
protagonist, antagonist, conflict, goal, and stakes.
In (setting) protagonist is confronted by (inciting event) which
leads to a (problem) and must (goal) to achieve/prevent (stakes).
You
can add the antagonist if needed.
Standing in his/her way is (antagonist) who wants X (usually the opposite of
the protagonist's goal).
You
can add the love interest in a Romance.
Love interest is X who wants Y and does Z.
1. Genre and Tone
Genre
is the promise you make to your reader about the kind of story you are going to
tell. Readers don't like to be misled. The most egregious sin, in my opinion, is to bait and switch, i.e. changing tone or genre midway through a book. It is promising one kind of story and providing a substantially different one. That is not the same as having twists and turns and a killer surprise ending. It is promising a horror story or a lighthearted comedy family story and turning it into a graphic story about child abuse. I have read both and the books go on the fire kindling pile, not my Kindle Fire. I will never read that author again because I don't trust them.
Is
it a murder mystery, romance, science fiction space opera, literary drama, or
suspense thriller? Mystery lovers are looking for a crime solver. Thriller
lovers are looking for danger. Romance lovers are looking for passionate
courting. Horror lovers look for scares. Fantasy lovers want to know if the
book is gritty urban fantasy, modern vampires, or medieval fare with dragons.
Historical novel readers want to know the era and location.
A writer establishes and maintains tone throughout the entire novel based on how they treat the topics and themes presented. It is expressed through the point of view
character(s) thoughts and feelings, the descriptions, actions, reactions, and dialogue.Tone can be uplifting,
serious, hilarious, haunting, moving, or thought provoking.
You convey genre and tone with keywords like: romantic, thrilling,
epic, suspenseful, haunting, heart-wrenching, uplifting, inspiring, hilarious, terrifying, lyrical,
comical, futuristic, historical, etc.
2. Clarity
Vagueness
won't sell your book nor will information dumps. The reader doesn't
need the entire plot up front. Many descriptions have too much unnecessary information.
"But
I want them to know all of the cool plot ideas so they will read it!"
Nope.
They will never read your book if your description doesn't give them an
intriguing question they want answered (reference the central question). You shouldn't bog down your description with backstory the same
way you shouldn't start your book with a too much backstory or the history of
the entire story world. Stick with the overall throughline. Do not
include the subplots and secondary characters, no matter how interesting you
think they are.
If
your description is confusing, most readers won't bother opening the book.
3. Setting
Time
period ties into genre. Readers have very distinct preferences about time and
place.
A
reader may favor ancient civilizations, prairie westerns, futuristic or
intergalactic worlds, or romances set in the past. They may prefer contemporary
or historical. Some love World War I and II stories. Others find war triggering
or just too depressing.
You
can successfully orient the reader to the setting with a few simple words:
In 1960s Los Angeles
In the ancient realm of
In the year 2050, on Venus colony X
In the court of King Henry VIII
Is
there a past and present story woven together?
In 2021 New York, Character 1 (inciting event, goal,
stakes).
In 1821 Scotland, Character 2 (inciting event, goal, stakes).
Does
your story jump around in time? Some readers will go there with you. Others
absolutely hate it. Warn them.
"In this time-hopping thriller ..."
Is
your story told in reverse? Is it a time slip novel? Mention that too.
Make
sure your description clearly conveys where and when your story takes place.
4. Protagonist
The
age of your protagonist can dictate your targeted audience. A large number of
YA fans are middle-aged adults. Children and teens read up. Middle and junior school fans dream about high school. High school teens dream about college and starting out in the world. College kids read adult novels. I read adult novels as a child because we didn't have YA or children targeted fiction, but now there are specific marketing categories. Anything you can do to increase the marketability of your book is key if you self-publish. A traditional publisher may even change your story to match a market. It has happened.
Is
your main character male or female, straight, or LGBTQ? Does your story explore
other cultures? I would like to say sexuality, race, and ethnicity don't
matter. They shouldn't, but they do. I hope one day that will change, but it
isn't today. Some readers prefer female protagonists, others male. Book
omnivores will consume them all, but you need to know how these decisions
affect your targeted market. For YA, the age is often mentioned.
Sixteen year-old Mara
Octogenarian sleuth
Middle-aged mother of four
Use
a few key words to offer the briefest sketch of your protagonist.
Are
there books with more than one protagonist? Sometimes.
George R. R. Martin
wrote a Gordian knot titled Game of Thrones. The description of the
first book in the series is surprisingly condensed. If your book is complex, I suggesting reading the description of the TheSong of Fire and Ice.
For the record, many readers were turned off by George R. R.
Martin's immense cast.
Most
books have one protagonist, even in an ensemble cast, and an antagonist. The
other characters fall into friends and foes, support cast, and walk-ons. In
Romances, the love interest can be a sort of co-protagonist. They may have friends that fall for one another too, but they aren't the stars of the show.
In epic Fantasy tales or in past story/present story weaves, you
could have two "main characters." Even then, one of the characters is
usually the protagonist, most often the character in the present time
frame. You can have serial protagonists in a multi-generational family saga,
but you don't need to mention them all. Do not present a genealogy chart for
the blurb. Presenting a list of people can be an immediate turn
off.
Spanning half a century, this sweeping tale takes you
In this multi-generational saga,
Character A ...
Character B ...
Character C ...
5. Inciting Event, Goal, and Stakes
Something
happens to start the story ball rolling. This creates the need for the
characters to face a situation. This isn't the time to be coy. The plot may be
full of twists, turns, reversals, and stunning revelations. However, at the
onset of the tale, the character faces a choice, an action, a plan, or a
journey. Something makes the plot wheels turn.
This
inciting event leads to an initial goal or strategy. The tactics might change
along the way. They might find the challenge is different at a turning point. Secrets
may be revealed and battle sites shifted, but the reader doesn't need that
information yet. They need to know what happens to start the ball rolling,
which leads to stakes.
A
story without stakes is like a car ride with no destination. You can get away
with that in Literary drama stories. However, most genres require a consequence if
the protagonist doesn't take care of that goal. Something hangs in the balance.
It can be their daily life, job, relationship, fate of the planet, safety of
one person or many. The perceived consequences need to offer sufficient
motivation. The consequences can be personal stakes or intergalactic stakes (better if there is both).
The stakes can shift or expand as the story evolves.
Without something to make the character turn and face the situation, they could
just stay home and endlessly stream Netflix. Make sure you tell the reader that
if the character doesn't do something about the problem, bad stuff will happen
or if they don't achieve the goal, they will be denied their heart's desire.
6. Heat level and trigger warnings
It
is crucial to let your audience know if this is a sweet, innocent tale or
gritty erotic one. It is best to mention if it contains explicit sex, graphic violence, torture, war, murder, rape, incest, child abuse, sexual abuse, gruesome horror, or focuses on the twisted mind of serial killers. Every reader has content they don't enjoy and images they don't
want in their head. For some, content can be seriously triggering. For others,
it is merely a huge turn off.
In this violent thriller
hunting a sadistic serial killer (rapist)
In this harrowing tale of a child abuse survivor
Tell your reader your story is a terrifying ghost story then switch tone and tangent midway to be about remembering child abuse and you will deserve the scathing reviews. This comes back to your promise.
Make it. Keep it.
You
can't please every reader and shouldn't try. Your description attracts your
tribe. Clarity helps you avoid bad reviews.
For further reading:
Trigger Warnings and Content Rating
Keeping
your Promise
The
Central Question for Each Genre
What
is Tone
Examples
of Tone
Mastering
Setting
Protagonist
and Antagonist
No
Stakes, No Tension
Story
and Scene Goals
