Originality: Trends and Plots

Let's talk some about originality in our writing.  One of the writers on the SCBWI boards said recently that she didn't think there was any originality left in writing any more.  That everything that could be done had been done, and all that was left was to follow the newest trend.

Think about that for a minute.  Right now the "trend" seems to be about vampires...The Vampire Diaries, The Vampire Academy, and of course, the Twilight series, which seemed to start it all.  But before that, it was fantasy...look at what Harry Potter and the Eragon books by Christopher Paolini did for the world of writing.

Do you want to follow a trend, or start one?  The problem with following trends is that by the time you've written the book, had it accepted and published, whatever trend your book is like may no longer be popular, and indeed, may have been totally forgotten.  Restarting that particular trend is problematical, at best.

So how about starting a new trend?  How do you do that?  How do you know what kids are going to want to read in two or three years, depending upon how long it takes to get your book written and published?  The answer to that is, most definitely, we don't know what kids will want to read.  We're not even sure what they want to read now, are we?  So predicting future interests is merely a waste of time.

Fantasy will always be valued by kids.  Many kids today, especially teens, use fantasy as a way to escape what's happening to them in the real world:  bullying, drugs, self-abuse...the list goes on.  But there are so many different kinds of fantasy: the world of magic, per Harry Potter; dragons like Eragon; the child heroes like Percy Jackson; and the list goes on.

How do you decide on what kind of "trend" you want to start, and then how do you impart originality to that trend?  Paranormal books will probably always be popular, so if you're "in" to that sort of thing, this might be a good trend to look into.  All you need is a different idea. After all, if vampires can go to high school, couldn't ghosts do the same thing?  Or, how about taking an historical era and writing a paranormal story about that?  The Civil War should be a good stomping ground to write about ghosts...or how about the Victorian era?  I've lived in an old Victorian house that held a ghost...I was too young at the time to write about it, but it would make a good backdrop for a story now.

All you really need is a good plot...but that's a topic for tomorrow.  So for now, I guess the idea is...don't follow a trend, start one!

Think about it.  Let me know.

A New Look

I said I was going for a new look, so here it is.  Still not perfect, but I guess it will do for now.  Or...will it?

Is that what you say when you've revised and revised and revised until your face is the color of this page?  And then do you say...It's still not perfect but I guess it will do for now?  That usually means...it will do for sending out to see if I get a bite from an editor, and then revise what she wants me to.  Is that the best way to go?

I'm also a professional artist, and I can't count the number of times I've told my private students...Leave It!  Quit fussing with it, it is fine the way it is, any more futzing around and you are going to muddy the picture.  Do those words apply for writers?  We edit, revise, rewrite and edit some more.  Rewrite some more.  When do we get to say...my manuscript is as perfect and polished as it can be, any more messing around and I'm going to muddy the works.

My last ICL instructor told me when I finished the course that with a very few exceptions, my manuscript was ready to send out.  I "polished" those exceptions the way he suggested.  Then I 'polished' a few more places.  Then I rewrote a little bit of dialogue here and there.  Then I added a scene I'd been thinking about.  Then I changed the ending...not much, just a little.  It reads better now.  I think.

So if all this futzing around has been so good, and the polish is bright enough to blind, WHY haven't I sent the manuscript out?

When is "good enought" really, truly, good enough?  I guess that's a question I, for one, am not going to have an answer to until I actually start sending it out.  Then I figure there are about three options:  behind door # 1 is acceptance with a minimum of revisions;  behind door #2 is acceptance...maybe...with a LOT of revisions; and then there is door # 3...rejection.

But you know what?  I won't ever know which door I have opened until I start sending the manuscript out.

How about you?  Have you opened one of those doors yet?  Let me know.

Venting!

"They" say that you can write anything on your blog that isn't illegal, immoral  or...fattening(?).  So today I'm going to vent.

A friend of mine ( cyber friend) was crushed recently when she tried to join an online critique group.  Both of mine are full, otherwise she'd be with me.  So the women in this group are all SCBWI members, which...supposedly...means they are all good writers, honest, friendly and supportive.  Uh huh.

To join this group, my friend, as well as others who were seeking a group, had to send a short personal bio and a "sample of writing."  I should have warned her.  When a group says it wants a "writing sample", that usually means one of two things: either they are ALL published and don't want anyone who isn't, OR none of them are published and they don't want someone who is because that person would "show them up."

My friend is published in national children's magazines.  She was published before I was.  She is an excellent writer, has no desire to write books, wants to continue writing fiction and non-fiction for magazines.  She was turned down.  The reason?  She "wasn't polished enough" for the group.  The interesting thing is that NO ONE in that group is published.  Yet a published writer was not "polished" enough for them.  No...they just didn't want someone who writes better than they do.

WHY does any critique group ask for a writing sample?  Don't you belong to a group to better what writing skills you already have?  Isn't the whole idea of a critique group based on each person helping every other person to learn more and become more "polished?"

I hear a lot of groups are asking for writing samples.  How insulting to the person who is turned down because they "aren't polished enough" or they aren't published or haven't been writing long enough...or what ever other LAME excuse the group can come up with.

It really upsets me.  Critique groups are supposed to be made up of supportive people who want to help other writers get to the point where they can reasonably expect to be published.  Instead, I'm hearing more and more about groups that are harshly critical, become personally offensive, and do nothing to support or help each other.  These are the people who have no business being in critique groups at all.

I started an online critique group three years ago.  None of the women who joined knew each other...we are scattered all over the US and one is in So. Africa.  We started with 6, lost one, got a new one, lost her, and the rest of us ( 5) have been together for the whole three years.  I was published, no one else was, now 2 of the others are published.  We're friends, not just critique partners.  That's what a critique group is supposed to be all about.

How many of you have had bad experiences with critique groups?  How many good experiences?

Think about it.  Let me know.

Tuesday's This and That

First of all, I'm getting tired of this page.  I'm going to have to redo my blog to make it more interesting.

It's been difficult to find time to write the last week or so.  Life in general is catching up to me.   Right now I'm behind in assignments, haven't sent out a query in almost 3 months, I'm still polishing my first novel, even though my husband says "Leave it and start querying!", and my historical novel is not going well. Even after 2 years of research.  So what else can go wrong, you ask?  Well, just found out yesterday that I have to have some serious shoulder surgery at the end of April, so that will keep me out of circulation ( to say nothing of writing ) for about 4 weeks.

One of the problems I've had lately is not being able to come up with something interesting to write about.  So last night ( Monday is a lousy TV night) I asked my husband for some help, and we brainstormed some ideas.  Now all I have to do is actually write about them...

1.  Talk about something in the news that you like, dislike, or agree or disagree with.  For instance, what about this season's American Idol?  How do you feel about Ellen DeGeneris as the new judge? are you unhappy or happy about Simon Cowell leaving the show after this year? what do you think about the contestants this year? If you've got an opinion, so do others.

2. Tell a story about yourself...or maybe your spouse.  Five days before Christmas, my husband had an accident at home and was in a wheelchair for 8 weeks, and is now in a walker for another 2. Oh boy!  This has led to all kinds of interesting...and not so interesting...complications.  I could also write about my new dental bridge...I hate dentists with a passion, and the fact that mine was young and handsome did not detract from the fact that I hate dentists with a passion!  Still...it was a different kind of experience !

3. Share something about your writing journey.  Or if you just happen to be an editor or an agent reading this ( I should be so lucky), tell about some of the events along the way that made you into an editor or agent...or "just" a writer.

4. Teach.  Maybe that isn't the right word.  But what have you learned from writing courses, conferences, books, conversations with other writers/editors/agents that you can share?  We never know all there is to know about this profession we're in.

5. Tell a story. Especially if it is humorous.  I have a post about an incident in a Mexican restaurant in Canada, where I had taken my 16 year old daughters on vacation.  Pretty funny.  Do you have pets?  Do they do strange/loving/funny things?  I have a Blue& Gold Macaw who loves to scare people by screaming "Help! Help!" when a stranger first comes to the house...I should write about him, right?

6.  Do an interview with another writer or, better yet, an agent, editor or publisher.  What golden tidbits of information can they give your readers?  ( I should do this myself.)

7.  Have a contest or give links to other contests.  There are many on the Internet and most people don't even know about them, so spend some time doing research, and then post what you find.  OR...make up a contest of your own.  Just be sure you give away a GOOD prize or no one will enter.

8. Stir up a conversation about a book.  Read any good ones lately?  If you have, probably others have, too.  Give your opinion, what you liked or didn't like, ask 3 or 4 specific questions about that book and ask for comments as answers to those questions.  OR...give some examples of what you look for in a book, whether it is a children's book of the genre you write, or an adult book, and then ask for others' comments and what they look for.

9. Be more universal...talk about problems that everyone is facing today.  The bad economy, global warming, the loss of wildlife habitats, the drowning of polar bears.  Everyone is concerned about these things ( or should be ), and it's a good way to generate a lot of comments.

10.  Be FUNNY!  I know, I know, sometimes that is hard to do.  I have a very dry sense of humor, so it's not easy for me to "be funny."  But you can probably do that!  Maybe you've heard a really good joke or just watched a humorous video like on You Tube, or even read something funny in the newspaper.  Share it!  People love to laugh, and personally, I wish I had much more of an ability to make them laugh than I do.

I hope this has given you some ideas about what to blog, and you will use them effectively.

Think about it.  Let me know.

What Makes a Plot Contrived?

A conversation came up on one of my boards about plots, and how to know if a plot is contrived or not, and if it is, what does that mean?  So let's talk about that today.

According to the dictionary, "contrived" means something that is so unexpected, unrealistic and/or unconvincing that it affects the suspension of disbelief.  It is something that is implausible, and doesn't come naturally to your characters or to the basic plot of the story.  It is something that you ordinarily would not even think about putting into your story, until you write yourself ( your characters) into a situation that you don't know how to get them out of.  What to do?  You come up with a solution that temporarily creates drama or tension of some sort that, in turn, resolves that particular situation.  You have contrived a solution that is totally unrealistic in terms of your characters' behaviors and actions.

Let's take an example:  Your main characters are a boy and girl, 12-13 years old.  They want to have horses but their parents say no, they are too irresponsible to have a horse.  The story revolves around their adventures in trying to prove to the parents that they can be responsible and learn how to take care of a horse.  They end up accidentally getting into a corral with a wild horse who doesn't trust people and is called a "rogue horse."  No one is around to hear their calls for help, so they decide to "tame" the horse and ride him out of the corral. The scene calls for them to teach him to trust them, and ends with them getting on his back and riding him away.  Totally unbelievable, totally unrealistic.  A contrived ending...which your readers are going to see through immediately. Sure, the kids themselves have solved their problem, but it is a completely implausible solution.

A contrived plot usually takes place because you the writer do not know your characters well enough to know what they are going to do when, where, why and how.  You are writing a plot driven story, rather than a character driven story.

Now, don't misunderstand me.  Many stories and novels are plot driven.  There is nothing wrong with that.  But that's where a lot of new writers get into trouble.  When the plot suddenly takes a turn you weren't expecting, and you don't know what to do next, you come up with some kind of plot twist.  It may be dramatic, tension-building, humorous, or whatever, but if it is implausible for your characters to  engage in that particular activity, event, dialogue or what have you, then  the twist becomes, in and of itself, unrealistic.  It becomes contrived.

Anything that you build into your story that doesn't keep the natural flow of the rest of the story going, becomes a contrivance of some kind. Now, sometimes, you can come up with a plausible reason for it, or for your characters to do whatever they have to do at that point.  But most of the time you can't, so why allow some kind of plot twist to happen in the first place?

One of the best ways to keep this from happening is to KNOW your characters. Know who they are, what they want, how they will go about getting what they want, how they will deal with conflict and rejection, and how they will resolve the problems they encounter.  If you plan your story around your characters, instead of around the plot, "contrivance" probably won't be a problem.  Make the plot fit the characters, instead of the characters fitting the plot.  That way, they will be unique, interesting and original, and they will carry the story, not the other way around.

Think about it.  Let me know.

Tuesday's Thoughts

Another grey day.  Rain, rain and more rain.  I shouldn't complain about it because our part of the country really needs it.  But after weeks and weeks of rain every few days, it becomes boring and predictable.

At first, I welcomed it because it was easy to sit and write.  I like listening to the sound of rain on the roof and even against the windows.  It was almost like the rain was providing a symphony for me to write against.  A good feeling.

Now, I'm finding it not so harmonious !  I don't think I have that 'seasonal affective disorder' that some people have during this time of the year.  I really do like the wintery weather, and wearing sweaters and sweat shirts.  Still, it would be nice to have a cold day with the sun shining.

What is your favorite time of the year?  Does it affect your writing, in that you writer better during some seasons than others?  I've never really thought about it until today, when 'rain on the roof' awakened me once again.

Maybe it's because I'm writing about a funeral scene.  Although...wouldn't a cold, rainy day be a better setting for funerals, with their grieving mourners, than a bright, sunny day that sparks energy and a desire to be somewhere else, anywhere else, than in a cemetary?

I'm wondering if there really is any kind of symbiotic relationship between the weather and what we write, how we write, and when we write.

Think about it.  Let me know.

Self-worth

On my blog, there is a "gadget" that gives a new quote every day. A recent one concerned self-worth.  I don't remember the exact words but it said something like "Just for today, don't let your self-worth be tied to what you do; you are worth so much more than that."

Now, doesn't that give you pause?  How many of us do exactly that...tie our self-image, and therefore our self-worth, to what we do and how well we do it?  On one of the literary boards I'm on, there are several young people who have such things as "I write because I must;"  "Writing is my life;"  and so on in their signatures.  There is also a young man who has never been published, and considers himself a failure because of that.  Come on, now...is writing really "your life?"  Is it the only thing you can do because " you must?"

I'm a grandmother, so I don't have as many years stretching ahead of me as many of you do, to succeed in the publishing world.  Of course I want to be published...actually, I am already, so I should rephrase that to mean, I want my book ( or books) to be published.  But if that doesn't happen, does that mean I am a failure as a person?  Hmm...no, I don't think so.

So stop and think about this for a moment:  is your self-worth really tied to your writing? If for some reason you would have to stop writing forever, does that mean your life is over?  That you have no value as a person?  If you don't get published in the amount of time you've set as a goal, does that mean you are worth nothing?  At least, that you think you're worth nothing?

That would be so sad.  I think of all the authors I read, and the stories that some of them have told about how long it took for them to be published, and I marvel at their capacity for longevity.  Longevity in terms of not only continuing to try for publication,  but also in the mere idea of continuing to write in the face of so many rejections.  Yet these same authors did persevere and today are fabulously successful.  Obviously, their self-worth was not tied to their writing.

So...who are you?  You are a person in your own right: a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a mother or father.  You are valuable to the people in your life...your family, your friends, your peers, associates and co-workers. Your self-worth should be tied to the value these people place in you and the kind of person you are, not to what you do.

Just for today, realize this:  Writing is what we do.  It is not who we are.

Think about it.