Summarize the lovechild of your novel and "Twilight" in 50 words or less

[Shweta]

This is a variant of the usual "elevator pitch", aimed at making our novels more marketable. There are really two main approaches you could take with this.

1) Don't actually change your novel, but summarize it in terms of Twilight, so as to better catch the attention of the agent or editor you have cornered in an elevator.

2) Come up with a variant on your novel that merges its best qualities with those of Twilight. You ought, of course, to write this before pitching it to an agent or editor. But for this thread only, it's okay to play make-believe.

Here's my first attempt:

Midsummer Snow is a love story, rather like Twilight, set in a place just as dismal as Forks. The male lead is a lot like Edward -- he's male, and when he's been out all night in the snow and ice crystals are forming in his hair, he is cold and sparkly! The female lead is like Bella, independent before she meets her guy, and the story even involves a dangerous pregnancy with a crossbreed.

[kaolin]

DFN is both a novel, and fantasy, much like Twilight.

Think that's enough?

trying a bit more:

DFN is both a novel, and fantasy, much like Twilight. There's even a number of shape-changing individuals that spend most of the novel passing-for-human, and they're kind of a cross between Twilight's vampires and werewolves. And there's a big secret and several twists, all presented in prose only a moron could read and love!

[dgrintalis]

No More Sunrise for Red Potatoes is a paranormal thriller. No, it's a paranormal romance. No, it's a morality tale wrapped inside a story, like Twilight. My main character is a female, like the main character in Twilight. No More Sunrise for Red Potatoes has vampires and their teeth are very white. I like dialog tags with lots of descriptive actions and use them with every bit of dialog, for that special added something.

[eyeblink]

HE was a werewolf...HE was a hundred-year-old vampire in the hot body of a high-schooler...

Twilight Slash is first of a series. complete at half a million words.

The sequel, Early Morning Slash is in preparation.

[KikiteNeko]

Dear agent:

KA-CHING BLING BLING is the story of a publisher struggling in a downward-spiraling economy to find the one break in literature that is sure to spawn dollar signs in the form of cardboard cutouts of glittery vampires, DVD releases, special DVD releases, limited time only DVD releases, hardcovers, paperbacks, boxsets and Bella Swan lipglosses. She happens upon a manuscript so profound it literally sparkles. The publisher, while reading this manuscript, experiences such odd sensations as pooping rainbows and farting butterflies. She immediately accepts the manuscript for publication by signing her name in blood.

A bit about me. My hobbies include: idealizing high school cliches to compensate for being a loser as a teen, apples, Joseph Smith, chastity, body glitter, bad lipstick, pretending to be hip to teen lingo, and giggling. Please consider my novel for publication. It's what Jesus would do.

All best wishes,
Mephenie Steyer.

[beezle]

Hrmmm...

Set in a time perhaps purposely near the year of Edward of Twilight fame’s birth, my novel Petersburg, like that linchpin of the literary canon, sits at a northerly latitude where it rains a lot, and features supernatural creatures that with only minor rewriting can be made to sparkle.

[smcc360]

Hmm...

My novel, Grab, is set in one of the upper-side-corner states, just like Twilight (Twilight's Washington; Grab's New York). Like Twilight, Grab features a protagonist who is pale and frowns. Like Twilight, Grab will be available for purchase by women, and will even feature female characters, for variety. Also, Grab is easily adaptable to film, with it's modern day Earth setting and human characters. This will save production costs on makeup, period costumes, and sets, freeing these monies for the funding of nude scenes featuring the aforementioned female characters.

Wow! It writes itself. Great idea, Shweta! Thanks.

[IdiotsRUs]

The Sparkle Effect is , liek, so like Twilight cos it has hot men who sparkle and leik are soooo hot! Oh, and their relationships are weird and obsessive and hot! Did I mention they were hot? And sparkly?

[fancie]

Sweta. You stole my dangerous pregnancy with a crossbreed!!!

[courtneyv]

My novel CHECKMATE has woodland scenes, baseball and a dreamy romance just like Twilight, only, my romance has the conflict of a love triangle, and my fight scene in the climax blows Twilight's out of the water, cuz like, well, Miss Meyer cut to black, so I guess we'll never know how that went. BUT, even if she HAD written it all out, mine would still be better.

[jodiodi]

Thoroughly enjoying this thread, considering I've never read any Twilight. From what I've seen of it, I don't think I'll ever be reading it; certainly won't watch it unless there's an MST3K version.

[Matera the Mad]

A Drum Is Empty is a gripping tale of shapeshifting shamans and their bloodthirsty foes, set in a (very) small community. The darkly handsome heroes sweep teenage girls off their feet for a good boink under the full moon. With all the magical sparkle of the Ice Age, this prequel homage to the popular Twilight series will please young and old-but-not-mature readers alike.

[maestrowork]

The Terrapin's Trail is just like Twilight, but for the guys. It's going to sell better than Tom Clancy and John Grisham and Dean Koontz and Clive Cussler and Stephen King combined.

[beezle]

The Terrapin's Trail is just like Twilight, but for the guys. It's going to sell better than Tom Clancy and John Grisham and Dean Koontz and Clive Cussler and Stephen King combined.

I'll take two!

[Clair Dickson]

My novel is just like Twilight! Everyone wants to be with the main character, who's a woman who could think for herself, but would rather define herself by the man she just met. But there's sex in it. Sparkly sex. And sparkly violence, but it's not scary. Because the female will just get saved really easily be anyone who's ever seen her since everyone just focuses on taking care of her.

[scarletpeaches]

I write erotica, so it's like Twilight in that nobody has sex, except for the people who do.

Also, stuff happens.

[Exir]

I'm the original.

Beat that.

[khajidu]

SENTIENT TALL SHIPS ARE TEH NEW COOL
VAMPIRES ARE OUT

[Poetoffire]

Voice of Thy Thunder has a female MC, just like Twilight! And she falls in love with a brooding guy, who doesn't have much to say and obsessively protects her, just like Twilight (okay, she gets really ticked off at him whenever he's overprotective, and a lot of times she's the one saving him, but it's pretty similar)! Not only that, but there's a cushy moral of "trust thyself", which is just as relevant in the world as "love conquers all", a great lesson that is very original and Stephanie Meyer trailblazed.

[katiemac]

I don't understand the question.

Why are you all writing books that are not Twilight sequels??

[Higgins]

I don't understand the question.

Why are you all writing books that are not Twilight sequels??

Mine is more of a sequel with squellae, beautiful squidlike ham

Oh boy. Must stop.

[Hesperides]

Daytime Moon is the love story of Ella and Bedworm, as seen through the eyes of Casper, the friendly vampire. Casper becomes bored and rips into Ella’s flesh, shedding his new life of vegetarianism. Now, find out what happens when Casper gets his revenge on Bedworm by making him feel strange things about his father, Carlisle.

[Cyia]

I give you characters so thin and transparent that any reader can slip into the role themselves... they have to, otherwise my charries have no personality. I offer a contrived plot that a two can understand (or, one could argue, write) with absolutely no distracting twists or turns and I get the characters to the ultimate happy ending without a scratch or sacrifice and tie it all up with a sparkly bow. Also there's not a fang in sight, so yeah, it's like Twilight.