by Kaz Windness

If you’re like me you have LOTS of book ideas. Too many at times. My ideas almost always start with a doodle in my sketchbook. But how do I decide which ideas are worth writing stories for? Which characters have the best chance of becoming a published book?

That’s where “high concept” comes in. I define high concept as “a striking and easily communicable idea.”

What if a child is afraid of the water? That could be a good story, but it’s expected. It doesn’t hook you in the way a crocodile who’s afraid of the water might.

This is the doodle that later became “Swim, Jim!” I got the idea from a news article about a real crocodile using a pool noodle to cross a canal in Florida.

Being a neurodivergent child in a classroom has become a more commonplace story, but what if that experience is explained by a bat in a classroom for mice? That was how “Bitsy Bat, School Star” began.

Dealing with bullies? Expected. Turning into a tree monster and eating your bully? That’s the hook in “Ollie, the Acorn, and the Mighty Idea,” written by Andrew Hacket, illustrated by me.

An easy way to come up with a “high concept” idea is to mash two popular or funny topics together in an unexpected way. I got series deals for both of these mashups:

  • Cat + Spy = TUX GUY, CAT SPY
  • Chickens + Time Travel = TIME TRAVELING CHICKENS: BAWK TO THE FUTURE

This hook hunt is easily turned into a writing game. Let’s play!

First, write down ten characters. Then, write down ten professions. There will be crossover, but the idea is to get some ideas flowing.

Here’s what I came up with:

Characters

  • A Smelly Sock
  • A Sentient Rutabaga
  • Lost Stick of ChapStick
  • An Extremely Small Alien
  • A Gigantic Cat
  • A Cowboy
  • A Sleepy Jack-O-Lantern
  • A Lost Aardvark
  • A Barnyard Peacock

Professions

  • Professional Wrestler
  • A Garbage Truck Driver
  • Super Hero
  • Dog-Catcher
  • A Farmer
  • Milkman
  • Weightlifter
  • Astronaut
  • Underpants Connoisseur
  • Chef

Now, mash some of these together. Some examples:

  • A ChapStick Wrestler: Battling a big pair of chapped lips maybe?
  • A Cowboy Astronaut: Wrangling the stars atop a space ship named Horse?
  • A Gigantic Cat Milkman: What happens when they drink the world out of milk?

Next, pick a mashup that’s piquing your curiosity and identify the problem. What will the character lose if they don’t solve their problem? A character without a problem or a desire isn’t very fun to read.

Example based on Cowboy Astronaut:

Why would a cowboy astronaut need to wrangle the stars? Have the stars lost their [milky] way?

Here’s a premise (logline) formula I use to figure out what the story and stakes might be:

Formula:
In a (SETTING)
a (PROTAGONIST)
has a (PROBLEM)
(caused by an ANTAGONIST)
and (faces CONFLICT)
as they try to (achieve a GOAL).

In deep space (SETTING), a cowboy astronaut (PROTAGONIST) must return a posse of stars (PROBLEM) scattered by a space storm (ANTAGONIST) back to their constellations so he can find his home planet before supper (GOAL).

This is obviously not the best story idea ever, but if you do enough of these, you’ll eventually hit gold.

What did you come up with? Happy writing!

Kaz Windness is the award-winning, genre-crossing illustrator and author of funny and heart-warming books for young readers. Proudly neurodivergent (ASD/ADHD), Kaz specializes in character-driven books celebrating inclusivity, grit, and kindness. Her many books include the Geisel Honor recipient, “Worm and Caterpillar are Friends,” the Dolly Parton Imagination Library selection, “When You Love a Book,” and the acclaimed autism acceptance Bitsy Bat series. Kaz taught illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design for 12+ years and is the founder of The Cuddlefish Academy, where she inspires students to tell stories with pictures. Kaz lives in Colorado with her English-teacher husband, two teenage children, and a bunny-obsessed Boston Terrier named Remy. Kaz loves making deep-dish pizza from scratch and sketching animals at the zoo.