Monday, March 7, 2011

It's all about the framework

When I was younger, Mom bought a Tiger T-shirt. She loved the imagery on it so much, she framed it. 

That sounds kind of silly, doesn't it? Framing a shirt. 

But, people comment on how gorgeous the Tiger picture is. They choose it over the other pictures and paintings in our living room. I always laugh because I know it's a shirt. When I tell them, they never believe me. 

If Mom had just worn the shirt, people would've probably thought it was nice, but they wouldn't be stunned by it. And, from this scenario, I've learned a valuable lesson. 

Presentation matters.

What you show and don't show counts. Where you draw the readers attention counts. 

Framing your story incorrectly can make an excellent idea boring just as framing a mediocre idea well can make it a huge success. 

Do you struggle with framing your story?

29 comments:

  1. I want to see a picture of the shirt. LOL- great analogy!

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  2. Wow, great analogy!!! I agree with you 100%, how you frame your story - how you open it, can make all the difference. Happy Monday:)

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  3. I agree, I'd like to see this epic shirt turned framed awesome on the wall.
    Erm...presentation. It's a work in progress. I have a tendency to struggle with this, or maybe I don't. I've been told I don't but the doubt monster in me says I do. Whose right? Depends on the day. The only thing I know for sure is that I am way better than I used to be at most things in writing, so I assume this holds true on presentation. But, it's just a guess at this point. Rough drafts are hard to gauge.
    Awesome analogy and WOOHOO for getting all those papers done in such a timely manner. I hope you were able to enjoy your night off and sneak in some episodes of SPN, cause it's awesome. AWESOME! <3 U!!!!

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  4. I absolutely struggle with framing my stories, but then, I struggle with pretty everything.

    Struggling makes us stronger, right?

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  5. I love how you tie everyday things into writing! Let's just say that sometimes it's hard to find the right frame...so I shop around a little more and dig for the right one :)

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  6. Good analogy. I agree, it's all in the presentation.

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  7. Great thought. I will have to think about whether or not I am doing this well in my WIP...
    :)

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  8. Ha! And even framing something that is a little odd, if the content is right, can be fabulous! I love it!

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  9. What a great analogy! I definitely struggle with framing and structuring my story--that's what I'm focusing on in this round of revisions!

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  10. Framing has been more of a challenge for my second book than the first, but I think I finally nailed it.

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  11. Good point! I have to think about this too for my WIP, I guess with the synopsis, I can really play around this with concept. (yet to write it, of course).

    PS: Tigers rock!!

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  12. I agree with wanting to see what the T-shirt looks like now. :D And great analogy. And great point. I think framing is something often overlooked in lieu of adverbs and showing, even though it's one of the most important aspects of the story.

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  13. To be quite hones, I've never really thought about it! Shoot. One more thing to worry about now! :)

    Happy Monday!

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  14. Yeah, now I want to see this shirt! Great analogy!

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  15. This is insanely true. With books and Art. Sometimes how you crop the picture makes all the difference, or maybe not colouring the whole thing. One wrong move can ruin it.

    So sad, but also exciting cause these things can help out so much.

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  16. Well written today, my friend--helps with queries too! So so true --and where's the picture, darn-it??

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  17. Fantastic analogy! Presentation and framing are everything.

    Thanks for popping by my blog today.

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  18. I wish you had a picture of the shirt.

    That's why querying is vital. We must properly frame our stories.

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  19. Wow, what a great thought. On the shirt/picture thing ~ my dad taught me that trick! He had this really expensive, fancy home and half the beautiful artwork in his home were textiles or calendar pictures or whatever! Kinda funny. (And I'd like to see the tiger pic, now too!)

    As for framing your story ~ that's a really neat concept and one that I haven't really put any conscious thought into, but makes perfect sense now that you say it!

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  20. You always have awesome analogies and deep meanings for things. Hoping mine is framed well, I guess I'll find out from my crit partners ;p I want to see a pic of it too!!

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  21. I completely get the idea of framing a T-shirt, from the visual arts side of my mind.

    You'd think it would be a short hop to the writing side (it is a very small mind, after all), but I can't quite make the leap to framing a story.

    So the short answer is, no, I don't struggle with it. But I probably should!

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  22. Great analogy. My daughter had cushions made out of Paris t-shirts I gave her rather than wear them. They look so cute.

    Denise<3

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  23. Great analogy! I had an agent tell me my story concept was great, my marketing idea was super, my series idea was great, but my pb idea was just a lovely poem at that point....Lesson learned!

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  24. hahaha. LOVE this.

    My husband framed one of his phantom t-shirts when he was a teenager. It's a classic your mum did it though :) very very cool.

    Love the analogy too

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  25. Yes. Want to see this shirt. I just love how you bring everything back to writing! Too true!

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  26. Wow - that may beat my Sephora metaphor. ;-) Amazing, Lady M. Right on the dot. I always struggle with framing my story. I'm so lucky to have you ladies helping me with my frame shopping! So I don't pick out a HUGE gaudy frame.

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  27. Oh man, and first impressions...
    There's all sorts of lessons to be learned from this :)

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  28. Well, sort of crazy!!!

    I wanna have a look at the picture!! why don't you post it here ???

    with warm regards
    http://becomingprince.blogspot.com

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  29. Well, sort of crazy!!!

    I wanna have a look at the picture!! why don't you post it here ???

    with warm regards
    http://becomingprince.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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