I recently posted a
message on Twitter asking for suggestions for blog topics that would be helpful
to writers. I decided to try and address as many of the topics/ questions as I
can, so here is the first batch:
"When
it comes to your own ideas for books, how do you ensure that it is an authentic
idea and that you haven't unintentionally piggy-backed on an idea that may have
been done?" This
question covers a couple of different topics, as I interpret it as both
"how do you write something that isn't derivative" and "how do you
find a novel-worthy idea" – and these are both legitimate issues. To some
degree we are all inspired and influenced by things we read and see, and I
think it's great to be affected by the art we encounter, in addition to real
life. And they say that there are only "X" number of plots and we are
all writing variations of those. The thing that adds depth and originality to
those tried and true plots is YOU—you, the writer.
It is incumbent upon
each of us to dig deeply into our imaginations (or experiences) for character
nuances, or plot twists, or details about some aspect of the world that we
don't see every day. This could be related to your descriptions, or setting, or
philosophy, or culture, or…? The possibilities are endless, which is how every
book, even when related in theme or plot, is ultimately a unique story. The
other part of YOU that comes into play is your "voice"—the style in
which you write. Some beginning writers fret over this and want to adopt the
writing style of someone they admire; this is another way that work can become
derivative. With time, we each develop our own voice and sensibilities, and
that helps to make every story unique, even if it isn't 100% "original."
And to briefly address
this "novel-worthy idea" issue: I had never considered this until I
read Les Edgerton's craft book, HOOKED. He very clearly explains a
"surface problem" versus a "story-worthy problem." A novel
needs to have a big enough "problem"—challenging enough to
resolve—that it can span hundreds of pages, and is worth the investment (yours
and the reader's). Novels require several levels of conflict, from the internal
needs of characters, to the more "external" elements of certain kinds
of plots. Another pair of craft books that I highly recommend are Donald Maass's
WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL and WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL WORKBOOK. When a
writer becomes more aware of all the elements a good story needs—all of the
nuances that YOU will be creating—I think it becomes less likely that their
work will seem to "piggy-back" on something that already exists.
"Dealing
with rejection during the query process." There are not a lot of ways to make
constant rejection easier so, to the degree that you can, accept it as a rite
of passage. Lest you think "What does she know?": In 2003 I made a 25-minute
documentary about the first ONE THOUSAND rejections I received in my combined
pursuits of screenwriting and playwriting (plus poetry and short story
submissions). And I've received many, many more rejections since then. And you
know what? It DID become less traumatic. And when I finally got an agent and
sold my first book, I felt a certain confidence in having "paid my
dues."
Let's break this down a
bit for novelists, since querying agents often involves hitting certain
milestones:
I would recommend paying
attention to the effectiveness of your query letter and sample pages. If you
send out 15 queries and don't get a single response—and I mean not a single
"no thank you" form email—your query letter is broken and you need to
rewrite it. If you send out a new batch of 15 queries and you get a few form
responses, and maybe a couple of personal "no thank yous," and one
full or partial request, you're definitely doing much better, but I'd never
rule out the possibility of improving your query. Send batches; gauge the
response; consider reworking your query before sending another batch.
Now let's imagine a
scenario where you master that query and start getting a large percentage of
requests. YAY you!! You've found the right way to excite agents with your
story! But then, to your great disappointment, the rejections start coming in.
And everyone knows it hurts more to get rejections based on a full or partial
manuscript than on a 3-paragraph query. Not only is the manuscript a better
marker of your overall storytelling ability, but the emotional excitement of imagining
your career going to the next level is unavoidable. So what do you do?
In this scenario, you
need to take a hard look at your book's first few pages. Is your story starting
in the wrong place? Is there too much backstory or an unnecessary prologue? Is
your grammar sloppy? Is there enough tension? Do you give readers enough
reasons to keep reading? Do they know who the protagonist is? If you start
getting a lot of requests based on your query, but no subsequent interest, I
think the best next step is to look for likely culprits in your first 10 or 20 or 30 pages.
For all of these
reasons, it pays to query in small batches, so that you can fix things before
you run through your whole list of agents! I know this doesn't solve the
emotional heartache of rejection, but maybe
it will help you identify some of the reasons why those rejections are
happening. Friends, it's a long process for most of us: don't give up!
"Any suggestions for own-voice writers, especially in light of Dan
Mallory's recent deception about what his true medical issues are?" I
hate that there are pathological liars in the world, and they don't deserve a
reward for their dishonesty. With that said, all you can do is be your
authentic self; we have no control over what other people do. Dan Mallory/A.J.
Finn manipulated people with tales of personal and family health tragedies; it
seems to have worked for him, but that is no reason to either inflate your own
background, or hide it. If your background is relevant to the story you're
telling and you want people to know it's #ownvoices, don't fear that it will be
held against you now because of Mallory/Finn (as the asker of this question was
concerned). Most people in publishing are both smart and honest, and most
writers are smart and honest. Mallory/Finn's story registers with many of us as
being "unfair," but that is primarily because he was awarded a
certain kind of privilege as a charismatic white man (who, frankly, sounds a
bit sociopathic). Whatever the publishing business ultimately takes away from
this (if anything), I don't think it will negatively impact people who have
genuine experiences with physical or mental health issues.
Happy Writing!!
- Zoje
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