High Concept & How to Write It

What is high concept fiction? I'm breaking it donw, and offering my tips on how to write better high concept fiction.

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Camera: Canon t6i
Mic: Rode VideoMic Go Light
Lighting: Limo Studio Soft Kit
Editing Software: Pinnacle Studio 22

[elled.]

"a soviet footloose" is my high-concept pitch for my project. you're right about that one word causing the twist.

[rabenwrites]

One additional tip for X meets Y pitches, try to ensure X and Y fill different roles in conveying your story’s premise. Alexa’s ‘Jane Eyre in space’ works because it gives hints on plot and character (Jane Eyre) and setting and genre (in space).

“Harry Potter meets Twilight” doesn’t give any clarity. “Hermione Granger defeats Edward Cullen” would though.

As always, great content and advice, keep up the good work and enjoy the journey!

[Graid]

This video showed me I misunderstood the term 'high concept' this whole time. I always thought that was a term for the kind of story premise that is just so strikingly interesting that it makes most people who hear it go 'wow, that's interesting!' This makes it sound more like the kind of 'x meets y' pitch thing, combining perhaps, two familiar things in a strange way, or one familiar, one strange in a new way. It seems the key criteria for 'high concept' is actually how succinctly and how well you can describe your idea in a way that sounds interesting, rather than the pure wow factor of an idea, which I didn't realise. Thanks for that!

[vivianwakoff]

Another great, informative video! (and to the point, too! Thank u for that!)
My current WIP is "YA Addams Family meets Gilmore Girls". That was literally one of the first things that came to mind when I was plotting the story. I have no idea if that can be considered "high concept" but keeping that in mind has helped me keep the eye on the ball in every stage of the writing process so far!

[zeryyyyy]

I got an Amazon Alexa advert before this and I just laughed so much

Loved the video as usual you offer such good advice and knowledge

[ViolaVines]

I’d love a video on how to better pitch your story if it isn’t high concept of it is very character driven. This was super helpful !

[Kelly-ibhf]

I keep seeing elements of other stories in my WIP but maybe that's not as bad as I thought at first. I would describe it as How to Train Your Dragon meets Grishaverse. It's my NaNo project!

[jggg]

Totally thought "high concept" would deal with philosophical quandaries lol

[SiiKei]

Yes yes yes! I was waiting for this video!

My novel is a locked-room murder mystery involving immortals. It's a pain to query. Most mystery/thriller agents don't accept any speculative element. A lot of fantasy/sci-fi agents don't specialise in mysteries. There's a sweet spot in between and I'm still working on finding it. But it took me a lot of time to realize my book was high-concept - a lot of the people I talked to told me it's a paranormal mystery, but sadly it has nothing in common with books of the subgenre. I wish I knew what I was getting into while drafting it! Not to mention it's also an ensemble cast, which makes the query 10x more tricky to write... I've searched and searched and couldn't find any comp titles!

[cabbitattack]

"Titanic in space!" Pretty sure I've seen that book on your shelves. :D

[romancewiththepast]

Thank you for taking the time to share

[FatimaZahra-lubf]

I am SO excited for The Ivies!!!! As a fan and writer of YA thrillers, I have such a good feeling about it

[Gerod]

This kind of video is very helpful. Thank you muchly.

[mpkfan]

Yay thanks Alexa! Could you make a video describing low vs. high fantasy, beyond the literal definitions? E.g. differences in typical storylines, examples of each, examples of a mix of both (is that possible?), tips when writing either, types of stories that resonate with YA audiences, etc.

[queendsheena]

Thanks for sharing this. Concepts can be hard to grasp sometimes and you make it so accessible.

[dehn]

Thank you for the great explanation! I'm not sure if my current WIP is just not high concept or whether I just struggle with brevity. Closest I've come up with so far is: A childhood vow starts a portal fantasy with military sci-fi elements.

[evildoesnotsleep-xb]

your videos are helpful and interesting even to both writers and readers. i learn a lot. can you also clarify what is an 'elevator pitch'?

[dylantd]

I'm usually a high concept writer, but I decided to challenge myself to just writing an 'exaggerated biography' of my life, and it is working out quite well for me.

[mu]

::ponders:: I suppose you could say mine is "The Hunger Games" meets "House of Cards." Alternatively a dystopian season of survivor where the winner gets to rule the nation and everyone else dies. :x
Though ngl the story and the characters themselves are very low concept. I don't think I could pitch it for mass market appeal.

[ThanhTriet]

There are pros and cons to writing high concept just like everything else.

Readers will see your concept as a promise and criticize your work harshly if you fail to deliver to their expectations. This includes writing a character-driven novel with the high concept only there as the backdrop