Look Beneath A Story's Surface When Taking Lessons From Other Writers

Every writer out there has studied the works of those who came before, especially when it comes to the books that personally inspired their work. A lot of us could probably hold lectures on the things that really stood out and affected us, whether it was the tragic elements of Frankenstein, the unique interpersonal dynamics of Avatar: The Last Airbender, or the tone and gothic atmosphere of the 1980s/1990s Batman comics.

With that said, a lot of us can enjoy and be affected by stories without really popping open the hood and getting at what makes them work (or what made them work in their time). This can often lead to writers learning the wrong lessons when analyzing these works, which is why it's a good idea to dig a little deeper to be sure that you're putting the right tools in your toolbox going forward.

Oh... oh there's a LOT going on in here...

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Now then, let's get to it!

Knock-Offs and Genuine Articles

A long time ago I wrote an entry titled Your Fantasy Novel Probably Sucks, and Professor Awesome's University Explains Why. The short version of that post is that a lot of people who want to write fantasy novels grew up influenced by Tolkien. While not a bad thing in and of itself, they often wanted to follow the blueprint he'd laid down with an epic trilogy of books, big world building ideas, etc. The issues was that these stories often lacked characters to act as audience focus; characters who have the same heart as Samwise, the same mystery as Aragorn, or the determination of Frodo.

Put another way, a lot of folks end up copying the style, the sound, and the aesthetics of arguably the most famous trilogy in fantasy at this point, but their vehicle lacks an engine. And without that drive, the story just sort of sits there, doing nothing, and going nowhere.

Hmmm... why isn't it moving?

We can see this in all sorts of creative endeavors, and from all kinds of creators. Another good example is Zack Synder's adaptation of Watchman, as it could be argued that his personal politics and opinions caused him to utterly miss the point of what the original creator Alan Moore was laying down. Snyder got the aesthetics of the story, and he understood the basic reversal (treating superheroes as part of the real world, and the implications thereof), but he utterly missed the commentary Moore was making on that power fantasy of superheroes that made it such an effective deconstruction of the genre. So we see characters like Rorschach portrayed as heroes, rather than as the monsters they were intended to be. We also see the glorification of the superhero, instead of how it is (arguably) something that wears one down, and rarely solves any problems. And so on, and so forth.

From romance novels to zombie stories, killer clowns to Viking-esque fantasy epics, the classics become classics for a reason. And if we want to tap into these tales and understand what makes them tick then we need to look beneath the surface to get to the heart of the matter.

Look Beyond Aesthetics

A lot of the time when authors miss a message it's because they were focused on the outward structure of the story, missing what was going on deeper inside of it. As a result, when they apply their own creative touch it feels like they perfectly recreated the wrapper around a Reese's peanut butter cup, but they completely neglected the delicious treat inside of it.

It looks right, it smells right... taste? Why bother with that?

Stories that stick with us affected us for a reason, even if we aren't always sure what it was at the time. And it's true that sometimes a story will hit us harder because of factors that aren't of the author's doing (it reminded you of someone you cared about who gave you the book as a gift, it was the first "grown up" story you read, etc.). The stories that we keep coming back to, though, and the ones that really stand the test of time, tend to have messages inside them. They have characters who are interesting and compelling, and they deal with themes that spark our imaginations.

Magic systems, sci-fi gadgetry, fantasy species, mood and storytelling flair are all nice things to have, but these things are often the icing on the cake. And while you can construct a cake-like replica made out of just icing, it isn't going to satisfy the audience the way a genuine cake would. So keep that in mind when you start drawing inspiration from authors who came before you, and asking what elements of their stories you're trying to add to your own repertoire going forward.

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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, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

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Readers Love Comfort Zones ("I Want Something New That's Just Like Something Old")

I didn't realize until I was an adult that there's a significant portion of the reading public out there who will read the same books over and over again. This is not a habit I have, and while I will listen to a book more than once (if I like the voice actor), the reason for that was always because I needed something to fill the silence while I was cleaning, drawing, driving, or performing some other task. Devoting myself entirely to a text that stopped me from doing anything else while I was consuming it felt very strange to me if I already knew the story and where it was going, and what the ending was. Even today if I pick up a book I've forgotten about, I'll stop reading it as soon as I remember what the ending is, and how our protagonists get to it.

While re-reading favorite books is a fairly complex behavior, psychologically, as Men's Health points out, it's at least partially connected to comfort. It takes far more energy to consume new media rather than to simply put an old favorite movie or song on and follow the familiar beats, for example. It's also the sort of desire that leads to the consumption of fan fiction when someone runs out of the initial content from the original source.

So, with all that in mind, I think it's important for all of us writers to admit something. We're far more likely to succeed if we can give our readers a new story that feels like a story they already enjoy.

It tastes the same, but has a unique kick to it!

Before we get started, remember to sign up for my weekly newsletter if you want to stay on top of all my latest releases. If you want to help me keep the wheels turning and the lights on, consider becoming a Patreon patron. And lastly, to follow all my followables check out my Linktree!

Now then, let's get to it!

More of The Same, But Different!

If I had to pick a concern that a lot of writers and authors alike seem to have, it's worrying that their work is going to be too much like something that's already on the market. Someone writing a high fantasy trilogy may find that being compared to Tolkien puts a huge amount of pressure on their shoulders. Others may worry that their novel about a team of teenage superhumans is going to just be X-Men with a different color scheme. And I've seen some writers tie themselves in knots trying to find some way to avoid their stories about vampires being compared to everything from Dracula to The Strain.

So today I wanted to remind everyone out there of something very important; most readers aren't looking for some totally fresh, unique take. They're looking for something they already know, and already like, but presented in a way that might feel new to their palate.

Put a different way, there's always going to be those people who are looking to explore food in all its forms. A lot of people are going to want to try something new every now and again. But you're never going to go wrong with promising your audience a classic taste that they already know they like, even if your version of the burrito, cheeseburger, or pizza promises to have a zest that will make it their new favorite iteration of this staple.

Speaking of the same menu item prepared a hundred different ways...

As Alice Liddell points out, the entire romance genre (one of the most lucrative genres out there) is based on providing the same experience to readers in different ways. The ending is already something of a foregone conclusion, it's just the journey to get there. Anyone that's a fan of Warhammer 40,000 has seen how Games Workshop cannibalizes sci-fi and fantasy properties alike, ensuring that whether you want big stompy robots, heroic soldiers fighting alien wars, space wizards, or tech knights, they have covered every, possible base to appeal to an audience who loves everything from Alien and Terminator to Judge Dredd and Mechwarrior. There are dozens of Conan lookalikes slaying monsters and laying maidens in their pages, and probably hundreds of books that present new mysteries and adventures around Lovecraft's terrifying mythos.

It is a lot harder to sell a reader on something outside their experience or comfort zone than it is to get them to try a story that looks like something they already know and like. I say this both as someone who has sold books at cons and shows, as someone who's surveyed a lot of fellow authors, and as someone who's checked the buying habits of readers out there according to marketing data.

So, for all my fellow creators who are wringing their hands because they're worried people aren't going to like their book because it's too similar to this-or-that property in aesthetic, style, story beats, etc., just stop. As long as you've told a good story that's interesting to read, people are going to want it. Period.

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

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, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

The Ship of Theseus, Homage, and Inspiration in Writing

Thanks to the success of Wandavision, most of us are pretty familiar with the idea of the Ship of Theseus by now. Perhaps the simplest version of it is to suggest you have an ax. You kill someone with this ax, remove the head, melt it down, and throw it away. You replace that head with a fresh head. Then, years later, the haft snaps, so you replace it with a new haft.

This begs the question... is this the same ax you killed that man with? Even if it's made of entirely new components now than it was when you committed the murder? And if it's not the same ax, then at what point did it become something new? When the head was replaced? When the haft was? What was the essential change that gave it a new identity?

Now, there's no actual answer to this question. It's a philosophical exploration of identity, after all. However, I started thinking about the Ship of Theseus again because of a story I heard from a friend of mine about a writing group they're in. It also reminded me of another (mostly) facetious quote.

"Stealing from one source is plagiarism. Stealing from many sources is research."

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So How Do I Write a Story Like "Avatar: The Last Airbender"?

If you've been in any writing group of notable size for any length of time, you've likely heard a question like this before. The property may change, going from Lord of The Rings, to Dragonball Z, to The Avengers, but the heart of the query is always the same: How do I make something like this property, but which isn't just this property with the serial numbers filed off?

Something I feel I can speak about reliably at this point.

If you've ever had that moment where you felt really inspired by a particular property, and you wanted to try something similar in your own work, you should totally do that. However, if you want to still publish the story as your own creation rather than as a piece of fan work (or a derivative work, if you prefer that title), then you need to ask yourself about the Ship of Theseus, and when the source material for your inspiration becomes a whole new story.

What I find helps in this scenario is to break a story down to its disparate elements, and to look at which ones are wholly unique to this setting, and which ones are things you can safely use without worrying about lawyers banging on your door.

For example, let's look at Avatar and break down that desire this person had to recreate it. What are the elements of that story that make it what it is? Is it a child of prophecy come back to save the world in a time of darkness? Probably not, there are hundreds of stories that have that in them. Is it different nations that are based around the 4 elements of earth, air, fire, and water? Well, this series isn't the only one to do that, but it would likely be a good idea to give them different names in your story, even if the theme was kept intact. And probably to change up the cultures so it doesn't look like you just traced them over. Is it the elemental arts of bending? Well even that unique form of elemental control is something we've seen in a wide variety of fantasy stories... but the name for the art would likely need to be changed in the tale you're telling.

One thing that you need to consider as a writer, though, is not just the exterior components of a story (the boards of the ship, if we're following the thought experiment). Because you can swap the palate, change the names, and generally create something that's aesthetically unique with relatively little issue. But you also need to come up with a unique take on the tale it tells, and to tell it in such a way that it feels new and unique rather than a made-for-TV version of a beloved film.

A story about going to different locations to acquire the necessary skills/upgrades so you can fight a dangerous enemy at the conclusion of the story/series is not unique by any stretch of the imagination. In many ways that's as much The Legend of Zelda as it is Avatar. The question you have to answer is what makes the path your characters are taking, and the world they're exploring, similar to that other property, but unique enough that fans of it are going to want to step sideways into this new domain with you?

You Can't Be Unique, But You Must Be Different

I've said several times on this blog that there are no new stories under the sun, just different ways of telling the same old tales. Because at their core, every property we love, every game we enjoy, and every movie that we adore, has a relatively simple core story that we can recognize. A Man Tries To Get Home is as much a story about Quantum Leap as it is The Odyssey. A Hero Proves His Worth could be A Knight's Tale, Aladdin, or any of a hundred other stories of protagonists who come from humble beginnings to step up when they're needed.

The list goes on.

That central column that the story's conflict is hung on, though, is not the whole of the story. The story, and what brings your readers in, is made up of the details. The unique traits of your characters, the curious quirks of the world they exist in, or how you present the fantastical elements of their setting. No story is truly unique in and of itself, but the difference that makes them stand out is in the details.

Lastly, if you haven't gotten your copy of Old Soldiers yet, pick it up and give it a read!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

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, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!