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"Unprovided with original learning,
unformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the
arts of composition, I resolved to write a book."
~
Edward Gibbon
When my kids were little, we visited
a gem mine. They were able to pick up moonstones and
amethysts right off the ground. Of course, they also
picked up rocks that even weeks in a rock tumbler
wouldn't turn into anything of value. Only the
experienced gemologists could tell the precious from the
ordinary with any degree of confidence.
So how do we as writers decide which
ideas are worth developing and which will only wear out
the tumbler?
First, make sure it's something that
ignites a fire in you. There's no point in writing about
time-traveling shape-shifting vampire fighters because
you think the market is clamoring for them if YOU aren't
excited by them. Lack of passion will shout from your
prose so loudly, no one will be able to stay awake when
they read it.
Don't re-tell stories that have been
done to death UNLESS you put an exceedingly fresh spin
on it. If you want to do the virgin and the rake, make
the guy the virgin. Create characters who are not the
usual suspects.
A story thrives on conflict. Make
sure the place where your story lives has conflict built
into it intrinsically. One of the biggest complaints
about romance novels is that the conflicts are contrived
or so shallow a simple five minute conversation between
the hero and heroine would solve the issue. Make your
conflicts matter.
Your story needs
two kinds of conflict--internal (problems stemming from
personal tension between characters) and external
(outside influences-villains, unfortunate events, forces
of nature). Remember the conflict must be strong enough
to propel you 400 pages.
Make sure your story's idea kernel
does not violate the conventions of the genre. Romance
readers will not accept a rapist as a hero. They dislike
heroes and heroines who act in less than admirable ways
unless there is a hidden heroic reason for it. Likewise,
we mistrust protagonists who are too poisonously good.
Give your hero and heroine a few flaws. They need a
chance for growth.
Don't forget to ask yourself the
eternal writer's question: "What if . . . " When you're
in the planning stages, you can run as wild as you like.
Don't be afraid to ask yourself outrageous questions.
Think about your characters before you go to sleep and
let your subconscious bubble the story all night. You
might be surprised what your dreams tell you.
When you're brainstorming your
plots, take a fresh sheet of paper and write at least 20
possible twists your story can take. Chances are the
real gem will be toward the end of the list. It will be
something out of the box, something no one else has
thought of, something untried and fresh.
Then all you need do is toss that
idea in the tumbler of your imagination and let the
precious stone emerge. We'll talk about polishing on my
self-editing page.
Happy Writing!
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