Mastering the Art of the 1-Sentence Pitch
Capturing the essence of your story in a concise and captivating way is an art in itself.
Crafting a one-sentence pitch that not only hooks potential readers but also showcases your story's unique flavor is a valuable skill for any writer.
In the next post, we’ll dive into even more of the why behind that statement. But for now, let's dive into the 5 components of a compelling story pitch.
Familiar and Unexpected
The easiest way to discover how to write a pitch is by studying one. To that end, below, you’ll find the one sentence I wrote for my favorite book, Howl’s Moving Castle. This pitch houses the 5 important components of a one-sentence pitch.
But first, what is the essence we’re trying to capture with these 5 components? This is important to note because it helps us understand what makes a reader pick up one story vs. another. In other words, it helps us better understand which pieces of your story need to be highlighted and why.
This “essence” comes down to 2 things:
Familiar tropes your story utilizes that will immediately communicate whether or not it is one the reader will enjoy.
How you are combining those tropes in a way that ultimately sets your story apart.
These elements work together to create something that feels comforting and surprising. It lets a reader know whether they’ll like the story by emphasizing beloved tropes, while twisting the familiar enough to catch someone’s attention and make them want to pick up your book.
Let’s see how it’s done.
The Components
I like to look at 5 components I can pull from my story in order to craft a 1 sentence pitch. These components are:
The Character Arc - communicate in a few words where your protagonist is starting on their emotional journey
Main Conflict - communicate the primary obstacle they are trying to overcome (often set up in the Inciting Incident)
Setting - communicate where the story takes place (this is often one of the biggest selling features for readers - think New England towns, boarding schools, haunted houses, etc.)
Objective - communicate what the protagonist is trying to achieve (probably tied to the main conflict)
Antagonist - communicate who or what the protagonist is up against in order to accomplish this objective
Let’s see it in action!
The Pitch
"A shy young woman (1) is cursed with old age (2) and must venture into the strange moving castle (3) of a heartless wizard (5) to break her spell (4)."
Pretty straightforward, right? And yet, I’d say it captures the essence of my favorite story. But how, exactly, does it do it? Let’s look at the five components I highlighted and decipher the heavy work they’re doing.
Click on each component below to learn more.
Breaking it Down
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By telling us the protagonist is a shy young woman, we automatically assume she’ll be on a journey of self-discovery and transformation that will lead to more boldness.
Readers will know whether or not they are interested in this type of emotional journey either because relate to the protagonist (i.e. - shyness is something with which they resonate), or because they are simply interested in the journey she’ll take in order to expand.
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The core conflict lies in the protagonist being cursed with old age, forcing her to confront a magical challenge that transforms her life.
If a reader is a fan of the trope in fantasy stories that revolves around curses (like me!), their interest will be piqued.
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The story unfolds within the confines of a mysterious moving castle, creating an atmospheric and fantastical backdrop.
If a reader tends to like stories that take place in enchanted castles, or lands with magic, they are practically drooling by now.
The setting is, in my opinion, the trope that most quickly and effectively communicates a story’s tone and atmosphere. Enchanted castles are often found in fairytale-esque stories, and likely have elements of whimsy associated with them.
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The added layer of a heartless wizard and a potential romantic subplot elevates the story's emotional depth.
As you may know, Howl (the aforementioned heartless wizard) is not the protagonist’s only antagonist, but he is the one with whom she shares the most emotionality. In other words, he is the antagonist that will push her along her character arc and into the growth that ultimately makes the story satisfying.
If the reader reading this pitch is a fan of romance, especially in the fantasy series, there’s no going back now. They WILL be reading this book.
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The protagonist's objective is clear: to break the spell and free herself from the curse that binds her. This is important because, as the final nail in the coffin, we now know exactly what we’re in for: a journey to break a curse. This journey might take many different forms, but its objective remains clear.
This cannot be understated: objectives are what ground us into a story. They tie us to the protagonist and pull us through all the events between the beginning (when the protagonist is cursed) and the end (when she hopefully breaks her spell). Because we are clear on this objective, we’re much more invested, willing, and likely to stick around to see how it turns out.
Why Does it Work?
By distilling these components into a succinct and punchy sentence, the pitch effectively communicates the story's genre (romantic, whimsical fantasy) and the unique elements that set it apart.
By highlighting the tropes found in each of the 5 components, we can quickly and efficiently weave together a unique story that will capture a reader’s attention in seconds.
In this way, your pitch becomes a powerful tool to draw readers into your world and make them eager to explore the pages that lie ahead.
Back and Forth
Here, I think it’s time to note an important caveat:
A great pitch requires a great story.
Don’t worry! Your story is already great. However, I often like to craft my pitch early in my story-writing process because it is an easy way to make sure I have the most crucial elements to a successful story.
I’m often surprised to discover late in the process that I’ve overlooked a fundamental story element, despite meticulously drawing out plots, plans, and arcs. But by distilling the entire story down to 5 distinct, necessary, and interwoven elements, I can be sure I’ve included the most important things when it comes to crafting a captivating story.
With that said, as you go to write your pitch, you may discover it’s difficult to narrow down any of these 5 components. That’s okay! You can simply view any weak areas as some of the most significant and reliable feedback you could possibly get for your story. From there, you can understand why the area may be weak and how you can fix it in revisions.
Remember, revisions don’t have to include months of work. Sometimes a tweaked or added sentence, plot point, conversation, etc. can alter things in a big way.
Don’t forget to grab your Story Map!
Learn how to quickly map out a bird’s eye view of your story (and discover its unique Emotional Throughline) using a 5-step formula modeled after successful films and books.
