Premise

[bcomet]

I have been reading today about premise.
I would enjoy hearing from other writers about premise, how and where you use it: before writing? after writing?
Is it something you discover as you go or something that occurs before you begin?
How do you define your premise?
How do you use it as a tool?
Or any other thoughts.

Thanks for your sharing.

[Colonel Travis]

Premise is a loose concept. You'll find various definitions as it applies to writing. Some say it's the spark of a story (What happens when a guy and an orangutan blah, blah, blah.) Some say it's close to theme, which is yet another vague term, and which sorta kinda follows the definition of premise as it applies to logic (The world is made up of two kinds of people - those who love orangutans and those who don't.) Sorry, now I've got Any Which Way But Loose in my head after typing that first sentence.

To me, premise as a combination of spark and theme, but with the caveat that the story can change from the initial design. Writing is discovery, and I find that sometimes (not all times) if I lock myself in an idea way too much, I'll tend to hit a brick wall. That's not the same as saying story needs zero structure.

I think the best thing a writer can do is not worry about what the proper definition is of premise or theme or controlling idea or inciting incident or whatever, but to read a lot of different perspectives about these story particles, as I call them. And by "a lot" I mean "a ton" and by "a ton" I mean "a $#!t-load." Then after you're saturated, throw out all the crap and order all this stuff in your head in a way you can best understand, so that you can produce a great story in your own way.

[Serzen]

Premise... I like to think of it as a jumping-off point. For me, it's a phrase or idea that inspires what I'm about to do; it's not a lodestone to guide me to the end, just something that will get me to the store where I can buy the right map.

BROKEN MIRROR was inspired by the random thought "What if Chaucer and Kafka collaborated to write a story?" I then wrote the opening paragraphs of the book and went off in search of other material that could inform me. THE ARABIAN NIGHTS was a big help, so was NAKED LUNCH. After some more time, I knew what the rest of the story was. But it all started with a random thought.

For my short story "The Professional" (being posted, bit by bit on my blog), the inspiration was a misheard lyric in a song. I thought I heard one thing, rewound it, listened again and discovered my folly. But I liked my version better, so I thought about who would say "smells like coffee and rebellion". Twenty miles further down the road, I got my answer.

So, for me, premise is the spark that sets the fire. It's not the same as the work, but they're related.

~Serzen

[knight_tour]

My premise developed as I wrote my book. My characters came first; in fact they evolved in my head for more than twenty years before I ever typed the first word. I had the characters down pat and knew a few scenes/plot points that I wanted to write. Bringing it all together seemed to happen on its own once I turned my characters loose.

[FK7]

The definition of a premise was lost alongside the definition of high concept while they both traveled through the Bermuda Triangle some time ago.

At least, that's what I tell myself to sleep at night.

[Joel Q]

I heard James N Frey (How to Write a Damn Good Novel) talk about Premise at the Pikes Peak Writers last year.

From my notes:
A drama must have a premise.
A dramatic story is about/shows a dramatic transformation (positive or negative) of a dramatic character through a dramatic struggle.
Premise is a tyrant because it tells you what needs to be in or out of the story.
He said if it doesn't impact the premise, leave it out.

Novels can have two:
Story Premise -overall story line
Character premise - individuals in the story and is more important for the novel

He suggested reading Lajus Egri's The Art of Dramatic Writing.