In the Book Writing World, Elizabeth has discussed time and again the “big” ingredients it takes to write a complete narrative/story/book/memoir. Sometimes it can help to put the main ingredients into a single sentence, a sort of pithy recipe.

This is different from a PITCH that is used to, well, invite/entice/beg agents and outsiders to come peek at our books. The PITCH is a “hook,” a delicious but brief taste of the book and what’s inside of the covers.

What I’m speaking of is a SENTENCE that the writer creates for himself or herself, something that is made to be taped to your computer and something the eyes go to whenever there is a question whether a particular scene or area “fits” with the book you are cooking.

Elizabeth has distilled the recipe to: character + motivation + obstacles = story.

My example, in the novel in progress Shadow Gardens I’m tackling now: “Haunted by her past, Mrs. Lahiri struggles to keep her prized garden alive and her family secrets dormant and buried.”

Who is your protagonist? What are his or her motivations? What are his or her obstacles? How will these ingredients mix together and “rise” to the occasion of the story you are writing?