# Turn my novel idea into a strong premise and one-line pitch

A sharpened premise with protagonist, goal, stakes, and conflict, plus several one-line pitches and a check on what makes the idea fresh.

- Topic: Creative Writing
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Writing, Sales, Brainstorm, Fill-in Template, Interactive, Step-by-step
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/turn-my-novel-idea-into-a-strong-premise-and-one-line-pitch

## Prompt

```text
Help me turn my novel idea into a strong premise. This is step 1 of writing my novel.

**The idea:** [DESCRIBE IT however it exists now - a character, a situation, a scene, a "what if"]
**Genre and audience:** [e.g. "adult literary thriller", "YA fantasy", "not sure"]
**What draws me to it:** [the feeling, theme, or question I want to explore]
**Books it might sit beside:** [titles I think it's similar to, if any]

Do this:
1. Ask me up to 5 questions if key pieces are missing (who the main character is, what they want, what stands in the way).
2. Shape the idea into a premise: protagonist and their flaw, what they want, why now (the inciting event), what stands in the way, what they could lose, and the central question the book answers.
3. Write 5 one-line pitches in different angles (character-led, high-concept, emotional, mystery, theme-led).
4. Test the premise: Is the conflict strong enough to carry a whole book? Does the protagonist make choices, or do things just happen to them? What makes this different from similar books in the genre? Be honest about weaknesses.
5. Suggest 2 alternative directions that could make the idea bigger or more personal.
6. Give a typical word-count range for the genre, marked as a general guide.

Return the premise in one paragraph, the pitches, and the test results. Keep it - in the next step I'll outline the novel from this premise.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "adult literary thriller", "YA fantasy", "not sure"
- the feeling, theme, or question I want to explore
- titles I think it's similar to, if any

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