The Five Ps of Premise Prep are:
- Person
- Pain
- Prize
- Pitfalls
- Promise
The third P stands for Prize.
Your Person’s Prize is whatever they are consciously trying to obtain or achieve. A Prize is something they know that they want and that they are actively seeking. This is often something superficial, common, or obvious to the reader, like a new job or not being bullied any more.
Prizes can be physical objects like trophies, houses, or cash. Prizes can also be intangible things like respect, power, or love. It doesn’t really matter what your MC’s prize is, so long as it reflects a significant benefit to them and you’re able to make your reader understand why your MC thinks that it is so important.
MC’s often have a single, central Prize throughout the story. Dorothy’s Prize is to get back home to Kansas. Joel’s Prize is to erase Clementine from his mind. Red’s Prize is to get to her grandmother’s house safely. Walter White’s Prize is to provide for his family financially.
For instructional pieces, the Prize to focus on is that of your reader. What were they looking for when they were searching for a book like yours? People may search for dieting and cookbooks because they want to lose weight. People may search for parenting books because their Prize is to be able to handle a toddler’s tantrums better.
For memoirs, the Prize may be some dream you’ve always wanted to achieve, such as acting on Broadway, becoming a pilot, or running for President. It could also be the attainment or procurement of something you’ve always felt was missing from your life, such as acceptance, romance, or parenthood.
This part of The Five Ps is straightforward, much like Person was. Take about five minutes to jot down what your MC is after in this story, what you’re main goal has been for your life (not forgetting that sometimes the goal is simply to figure out what your goal in life is!), or what your audience wants from your book.
This aspect of the premise is easily changed, so don’t agonize over it. Just get something down so you can move to the next step.