The mother of four admits that she is addicted to research (\u201cFor me, it\u2019s a way to procrastinate,\u201d) she teased the audience. Her highly engaging talk covered the three Ps of writing: premise, plot and pacing.<\/p>\n How do you define premise? It\u2019s \u201cyour story described in one line.\u201d<\/p>\n Why is it so important, you may ask?<\/p>\n Ariel noted that it\u2019s the seed from which your story grows, explaining that creating a strong premise line helps you focus on your story and also to quickly explain it to anyone, whether it be a journalist, an agent or a publisher.<\/p>\n \u201cWriting a premise line forces you to think about the most important parts of your story — what is the story about? What does she do? What happens in the end?\u00a0 <\/span>You can\u2019t really move forward unless you know this. You know your story innately so you\u2019re not wandering.\u201d<\/p>\n Set in New York City, her novel reconstructs one of America\u2019s most famous unsolved mysteries \u2013 the disappearance of Justice Joseph Crater in 1930 \u2013 as seen through the eyes of the three women who knew him best. On a sultry summer night, as rumors circulated about the judge\u2019s involvement in wide-scale political corruption, Judge Crater stepped into a cab and vanished without a trace.<\/p>\n Ariel offered a simple formula for creating a strong Premise line:\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Character + Action = Outcome, and then shared three contemporary examples:<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>The Godfather<\/i>: \u201cThe youngest son of a Mafia family (character) takes revenge on men who shot his father (action) and becomes the new Godfather (outcome).\u201d<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Harry Potter<\/i>: \u201cA boy discovers he has magical powers and attends a school for magicians.<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>The Help<\/i>: \u201cThree women write a book about domestic servitude and expose a system of racism.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"ArielLawhon\"](\"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/ArielLawhon.jpeg\")
<\/a>Today, The Writing Well<\/i> concludes its three-part recap of the 2013 Decatur Book Festival Writers Conference with author Ariel Lawhon, co-founder of the online book club, She Reads, whose debut novel, The Wife, The Maid and the Mistress,<\/i> will be published in January.<\/p>\n<\/a>Ariel shared her own premise line for The Wife, The Maid, and the Mistress<\/i>: \u201cMy story is about three women who know the truth about a judge and they choose not to tell,\u201d said Ariel.<\/p>\n