The Next Big Idea with Rob Hart

This week, I started an online writing class by LitReactor called “The Big Idea” and it’s being led by Rob Hart—aka the guy who wrote the apocalyptic thriller The Warehouse. Over the course of the next four weeks I’ll develop a concept for a novel. I’m going to use the class as a chance to flesh out an idea that I’ve had in the back of my mind for some time: It’s a story about a kid who winds up working at a zoo/sanctuary for monsters. 

The first assignment is to write the jacket copy or elevator pitch for my big idea and to introduce the major characters. Since the characters are subject to change, I’ll spare you the cast breakdown. But for those who are curious, here is the concept for my next writing project:

Gabe Summerton has never given much thought to why his parents disappeared. They just didn't want him—end of story. Or is it? When Gabe's aunt abruptly uproots them from their home in Brooklyn and buys a decrepit house down in the marshlands of Louisiana, he’s led to believe there’s more to the story. In the midst of trying to uncover the truth, Gabe befriends a girl named Maya the locals call the Marsh Maven—who may or may not be a witch—gets recruited for a seasonal job at the Professor M.'s secret sanctuary for mythical ceatures, and is propelled into a series of monstrously complicated problems.

Next week, we’ll be focusing on identifying direct and indirect sources to help perform research for my big idea.