A high concept idea, in my opinion, can be one of two things:
1) An idea with universal appeal (tried and true), but with a contemporary twist
2) An idea global in scope and consequences (cinematic)
For example:
Universal appeal (tried and true): a parent who has lost a child
Contemporary twist: told from the murdered child's point of view
Book: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Global in scope and consequences (cinematic): A professor stumbles onto the secret that Jesus Christ may have produced a child.
Book: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Using some of my own books for further examples (all of which fall in the first category):
Universal appeal (tried and true): A working girl struggles with life issues
Contemporary twist: She works for Neiman Marcus by day and moves bodies from crime scenes by night.
Book: Body Movers
Universal appeal (tried and true): A woman is recovering from a messy divorce
Contemporary twist: She stabs a voodoo doll of her ex as a joke, and he’s found murdered.
Book: In Deep Voodoo
Movie people in particular are fond of the “high concept” expressed in a pithy logline that would look good on a movie poster. Remember, a high concept idea can be expressed with a minimum of words, i.e., everyone "gets it" without a lot of explanation.
Q: Is YOUR story idea high concept? Share with other writers on Facebook.