Weird, Wild, and Outrageous Ideas Generate More Interest Than Bland, Safe, and Samey Stories

I have not been in the writing game as long as some people. Just last year I was moderating a panel on being a professional writer, and everyone else at the table had at least twenty years of experience on me. However, with more than a decade under my belt now, I feel like I've done at least one tour of the block, and there's something I've run into often enough that I think it goes beyond a trend at this point.

In short, it's a desire so many writers have to tell small stories. Stories that are familiar. Stories that feel like this trilogy, or that series, or this writer. Stories that don't tread any new ground, who don't make too many waves, and who are different and unique only in the names of the protagonists, or the map on the inside cover.

Imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery in this case.

Too often writers feel the need to tell stories that are an echo of something. Not a deconstruction, or a twist on an existing trope, genre, or style, but just an echo. A call back. Something that takes no risks, that follows the formula other authors have laid down, and which provides exactly the sort of flavor one would expect from the genre recipe.

I'm not saying those stories are inherently bad, either. A good writer, like a good cook, can follow the recipe while still putting their own stamp on its flavor. But what I am saying is that you are far more likely to generate interest and enthusiasm with something that takes risks, and is a little louder, stranger, or more colorful than the same sandwich everyone's been eating for years.

Standing Out Is Always Better

A few years back I'd finally finished writing my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, and I was trying to decide on my next project. I revisited some modern fantasy ideas I'd had, some high fantasy concepts, one or two sci-fi premises, but I finally decided that the most bonkers idea was the one that was going up next.

In short, it was going to be the one about the Maine coon who prowled the mean streets of New York City, and kept getting caught up in other people's problems no matter how hard he tried to keep his whiskers clean.

This one, in case you haven't seen it yet.

While Leo made his debut in the short story collection From a Cat's View, everyone I talked to about a novel lit up as soon as they heard, "Traditional private detective setup, but with a protagonist that's a cat, in a world of street-level animals." Or, if I needed an even faster pitch, "Imagine if Walt Disney did an adult animated movie for a Dashiell Hammett novel."

And thus Marked Territory was born!

Now, I'm not saying that if I'd sat down to write a more traditional modern fantasy story about a psychic private eye with werewolf clients that I wouldn't have found readers for it. However, having pitched that to readers and publishers alike, I can say the response was notably tepid. Why? Well, because there were already three dozen series just like that in the market, and more coming out every year. While you could argue that my protagonist was unique, or the system of magic I had for my setting would set it apart, none of that was stuff that would immediately make the story stand out on the surface.

A cat solving mysteries in a world where humans were completely relegated to background characters? A story where there was blood, and swearing, and brutal fight scenes (because alley cats don't play nice) as the counterpoint to that cutesy premise of street beasts living lives like people? That isn't something that most readers (and even most publishers) have heard before.

That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. Because the pitch is easy enough to understand, and you cold argue it's just a traditional noir mystery wearing a new and unique coat (in that the heavy is a Maine coon, the gang leader is a tunnel rat, the dame in trouble is a church mouse, etc., etc.), but that brightly colored coat immediately differentiates it from the competition. It's weird, it's unusual, and while there are things it's similar to (Watership Down is one of the most common comparisons) it's still very much its own beast.

So if you want to turn a few heads, go big, go bold, go weird... you will thank me for it later!

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That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

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Write Your World Like a Travel Brochure (Not an Encyclopedia)

When you're telling a story, the setting has to be a character in that story. Whether it's the cracked pavement of L.A.'s back alleys, or the frozen peaks of the Cimmerian wastes, your location is a constant member of the cast. While that location might change over the course of the story, you still need to make sure you convey it to your audience in a meaningful way.

This is one of your leads. Embrace it.

The difficulty when it comes to writing a setting is that you have to strike just the right balance. If you give too little information, then it can feel like your story is happening in an empty room. If you give too much, though, then you're likely to overload the reader, turning what should be a fast-paced action story, or a pulse-pounding thriller, into an encyclopedia entry.

Being Organic is The Key

This task is more of a chore for some genres than it is for others. Sci-fi and fantasy in particular have to figure out a way to convey the soul of a setting, without getting bogged down in delivering huge lectures on the history and politics of the worlds they're creating. And, while that sounds like a Herculean task, it's not as hard as it sounds. You simply need to get into the habit of introducing world flavor and information in such a way that it feels organic.

Some things will require more explanation than others.

Remember when you were in elementary school, and you first learned how to pick up context clues to figure out words you didn't know? Now that you're an author, you need to use that strategy to get your audience's juices flowing. Don't tell them every, little detail. That's going to bore them. Instead, learn how to insinuate, and provide context. This will build your world in the background, so it doesn't get in the way of the story as you're telling it.

For example, say that your story takes place in a fantasy metropolis. You want to bring across to your reader that this city is not only huge, but that it is a center of commerce, culture, and a place where people of all races and ethnicities come together. The easiest way to do that, is to incorporate the information into a scene. If your main character is a resident of this city, show that speaking multiple languages is fairly common there. Show that, in addition to humans, there are fantasy races all over the place, and that no one remarks on their presence as odd or unexpected. When your protagonist buys something, show that the coins come from lands both near and far.

You can give smaller hints, as well. For example, if someone swipes their fingerprints to make a purchase in your sci-fi setting, and it's referred to as a credit exchange, then it's safe to assume that physical money isn't that big a thing in this world. It also implies there's a central database with everyone's biometric information in it, making it nearly impossible to drop off the grid without extreme measures being taken. If vehicles all run on electricity, then it implies a level of technology well beyond the internal-combustion engine without having to give specifics. If magic is commonplace, then it will be reflected in everything from how working-class people do their jobs, to how people fight wars. The same is true if magic is rare. Every stone you throw into the pond of your world casts ripples.

Don't Make Accidental Decisions

When it comes to the stories you tell, you're the director. You frame every shot, and you make all the decisions about what appears in the foreground, and what gets ignored. You are the lens through which people will see this story. Which is why you need to examine everything, and make sure it's just right. Phrases and colloquialisms, fashion, weather, religion, and other cultural touchstones are present in every story. In some stories, you could write a whole separate book just detailing those things. But you need to use them as spice, making your story more enticing, without overpowering the taste of your plot.

Sounds easy, right?

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