Ever get a good chunk of the way into a novel only to realize that your plot is weak? Your antagonist is cardboard? Or that your climax lacks punch? Use Deborah Chester’s SPOOC to test your premise before you get too far into the word count. Save yourself the heartache and struggle of a weak premise by combining the Setting, Protagonist, Objectives, Obstacles, and Climax into a two-sentence power punch to make your story strong before you start. And, if you do this well enough, it can serve as your elevator pitch and query letter booster.