Story Pitch Contest!

Welcome to CRLiterature!

Welcome back to CRLiterature! This week, we are both learning and practicing writing a story pitch. As a writer, this is an essential skill if you want to sell, share, or even pitch your book to a literary agent or publisher. Keep on reading to learn how to write a pitch and then create a story pitch on the spot to enter our contest for a chance to win a Hype badge & 500 DA Points! 🏅

What is a Story Pitch?

A story pitch is how you can briefly explain what your story is about, the audience it is meant for, and what genre the work is. This is really important because if you are trying to interest someone in your story, you must have an elevator pitch ready to tell them the most important details in a couple of sentences!

In the writing world, this is useful in a few ways. Pitches can introduce your project at the start of a query letter to a literary agent if you want to traditionally publish your work. you can pitch you story to be a movie or television show, pitches can be used at events when talking to other creatives who want to learn about your project, and pitches are even useful when trying to describe your amazing ideas to your friends!

If you have ever been asked, "What is your story about?" and have floundered between a hundred different explanations... this exercise is for you!

How to Write a Story Pitch

A story pitch needs a few key ingredients about your work:

• The title: It is important to know what to call your project!

• The genre: Is it a romance? Paranormal-mystery-drama? Be specific.

• The audience: What age group or demographic is this book written for?

• The word count: Certain projects require a certain word count and agent's use this to know if your work is complete.

• What your story is about: In one sentence, hook us in!

Here are some examples! Follow this format to create your own story pitch in the comments below.

Ravens at Sunset is a paranormal adult romance about two sisters who try to start a new life in an old town but when nightfall comes, the town isn't what the colorful travel brochures made it seem to be. This 90,000 word story is a mix of horror and finding yourself in between the stresses of surviving a haunted town and figuring out if the attractive shadows in the graveyards are just a figment of their imagination or not...

Finding You is a 95,000 word coming of age YA romcom about Winnie Stars who is about to debut in her first Broadway season, but the challenges of acting in an onstage romance with your ex is anything but spectacular. Can she keep up appearances and stay in character, or will this show fall apart before opening night?

The Challenge

Following the above pointers on how to write a story pitch and create your own in the comments below! This can be about a story you are working on or it can be one you create right this moment. Three winners will be selected and featured in next week's challenge to write a piece of flash fiction, inspired by those winning pitches!

1. Write a one to three sentence pitch about your story:

   1. Include the title of your story.

   2. State the genre and audience of the story.

   3. State the (hypothetical) word count of your story.

   4. Create an interesting hook and piece of info about what your story is about.

Note: Again, this can all be made up! You do NOT need a story completed or that you are currently working on to take part in this exercise. We are excited to see what you come up with!

The Rules

Here’s the rules and rewards for this CRLiterature activity:

• ✅ All entries must abide by DeviantArt Terms of Service and Fair Use rules for submissions. 

• 🙏 Please only submit your entries in English. 

• 1️⃣ One (1) entry per person… off topic or inappropriate entries will be removed.

• 😉 Add your entry in a comment below for reward considerations for this activity. 

• 🗓️ Enter by the end of the day on Sunday, January 26th for rewards consideration for this activity.

• 🏆 Winners will be selected at the sole discretion of CRLiterature admin & all decisions are final:

  • Three (3) entrants will be awarded a Hype badge & 500 DA Points each!

  • Winner will also be featured in our next group engagement ... details soon!

What's your story about?

@writeddreams2reality