Something author Randy Powell talked about at our 2006 RMC-SCBWI summer retreat sticks with me as I write, revise or explore new topics. He said that it's important to clearly identify the heart of your story. If you don't really know what your story is about, how can your reader know? And it's amazing how you can get immersed in a manuscript, creatively describing breathtaking scenery and invent gripping dialogue, but stumble when asked, "What is your story about?"
I've found that signing up to pitch to an agent or editor is a good way to test whether you're in touch with your own story. I believe the heart of your story should come through in your log line, or at least within the first couple of sentences as you begin to talk about your manuscript. In fact, I find it helpful to write a few log lines as I move forward in my writing just to be sure my original theme hasn't gotten lost somewhere in the dense, frost-covered forest. It's possible that my original theme has changed as my story develops, but it's something I need to be aware of and be okay with. I'm in the process of preparing for my pitch at the PPW conference next week. I'm going through several versions of log lines and first sentences to be sure I can clearly verbalize what I see as the heart of my new middle grade novel.
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