Writing: The Secret to It All
Recently, a friendly acquaintance contacted me via Facebook to ask me, as the most knowledgeable person he knows with regard to publishing, if he could talk to me about his novel. Sure, said I, though quietly I admitted to myself that he needed to expand his network if I was his key resource. Nevertheless, we got on the phone last night and talked about writing fantasy and what makes a book salable.
I realized in short order that, partly, he was looking for reassurance, which we all need from time to time. But then he asked about me the right age for a protagonist. He asked me about whether or not high fantasy still sells. He asked me if a book in the vein of Dennis McKeirnan or Mike Stackpole was still viable (which is funny given that I'm Mike's current editor at Night Shade; I may be biased). He started to edge toward the discussion about what trends were hot. He was worried about whether or not anyone would want to read a story in the setting he'd chosen, if it was passe, if everyone had done it already. At that point, I stopped him cold.
The long and the short of it, I told him, was to write a good story with strong characters in a unique and interesting world. Age might matter if you're writing YA, but in the end, it's about the people. He repeated the sentence back to me word for word: "Write a good story with strong characters in a unique and interesting world." This was the point at which he confirmed my suspicion: he was looking for a formula. Then he asked, "Does there have to be something really new? Some twist no one's ever seen before?" I told him that it could be Lord of the Rings pastiche if he wanted it to be--as long as people play Dungeons & Dragons, it'll have an audience--but why, when the whole world was available to him for inspiration? (Besides, George R.R. Martin is about to open up the medieval-style fantasy again once the HBO series based on A Song of Ice and Fire premieres.) It could be rural or urban Asian landscape (wait, wait, I liked that, and that, too) or a second-world setting where wine-making is magic (hmmm...I liked that one, also...).
My point was for him to write the book he wanted to write just like the people who wrote the aforementioned books did, the book he wanted to read, to let himself just be himself as a writer. The idea seemed (pardon the pun) novel to him.
I'm no longer surprised by people who are looking for The Secret to It All. Lots of people think that there must be some key they just haven't found yet. The truth is, it's different for everyone. If my advice to this writer sounded basic--write a good story with strong characters in a unique and interesting world--it was both the most and least prescriptive advice I could give. On the one hand, what works for Mike Stackpole almost assuredly won't work for, say, Greg Bear or Kate Elliott or China Mieville because they're different writers with different interests, areas of expertise, writing styles, levels of skill. But on the other hand, they all have this one thing in common: they've learned the tent poles of strong writing and good novel construction. This comes from working the craft: writing, writing, writing--character and plot and setting and language. And if you look at their books, all of them offer good stories with strong characters in unique and interesting worlds--but they couldn't be more different. And while I'm sure that, like all of us, each of them wondered if their books would sell, they all wrote first and foremost the books they wanted to write, and have been very successful doing it: powerful stories, unforgettable characters and places (I still get creeped out by Perdido Street Station, but I also know I'll read it again at some point).
The weird thing to me was how new this sounded to someone who's been going to conventions and writing panels for years. At the same time, I will often go to workshops and writing panels to be reminded of the lessons I already know, as both an editor and a writer. First principles matter. Maybe that's the Secret to It All: get back to basics, write the stories that matter to you, setting and character and plot. And then, as jaylake says, the story belongs to the reader.
I realized in short order that, partly, he was looking for reassurance, which we all need from time to time. But then he asked about me the right age for a protagonist. He asked me about whether or not high fantasy still sells. He asked me if a book in the vein of Dennis McKeirnan or Mike Stackpole was still viable (which is funny given that I'm Mike's current editor at Night Shade; I may be biased). He started to edge toward the discussion about what trends were hot. He was worried about whether or not anyone would want to read a story in the setting he'd chosen, if it was passe, if everyone had done it already. At that point, I stopped him cold.
The long and the short of it, I told him, was to write a good story with strong characters in a unique and interesting world. Age might matter if you're writing YA, but in the end, it's about the people. He repeated the sentence back to me word for word: "Write a good story with strong characters in a unique and interesting world." This was the point at which he confirmed my suspicion: he was looking for a formula. Then he asked, "Does there have to be something really new? Some twist no one's ever seen before?" I told him that it could be Lord of the Rings pastiche if he wanted it to be--as long as people play Dungeons & Dragons, it'll have an audience--but why, when the whole world was available to him for inspiration? (Besides, George R.R. Martin is about to open up the medieval-style fantasy again once the HBO series based on A Song of Ice and Fire premieres.) It could be rural or urban Asian landscape (wait, wait, I liked that, and that, too) or a second-world setting where wine-making is magic (hmmm...I liked that one, also...).
My point was for him to write the book he wanted to write just like the people who wrote the aforementioned books did, the book he wanted to read, to let himself just be himself as a writer. The idea seemed (pardon the pun) novel to him.
I'm no longer surprised by people who are looking for The Secret to It All. Lots of people think that there must be some key they just haven't found yet. The truth is, it's different for everyone. If my advice to this writer sounded basic--write a good story with strong characters in a unique and interesting world--it was both the most and least prescriptive advice I could give. On the one hand, what works for Mike Stackpole almost assuredly won't work for, say, Greg Bear or Kate Elliott or China Mieville because they're different writers with different interests, areas of expertise, writing styles, levels of skill. But on the other hand, they all have this one thing in common: they've learned the tent poles of strong writing and good novel construction. This comes from working the craft: writing, writing, writing--character and plot and setting and language. And if you look at their books, all of them offer good stories with strong characters in unique and interesting worlds--but they couldn't be more different. And while I'm sure that, like all of us, each of them wondered if their books would sell, they all wrote first and foremost the books they wanted to write, and have been very successful doing it: powerful stories, unforgettable characters and places (I still get creeped out by Perdido Street Station, but I also know I'll read it again at some point).
The weird thing to me was how new this sounded to someone who's been going to conventions and writing panels for years. At the same time, I will often go to workshops and writing panels to be reminded of the lessons I already know, as both an editor and a writer. First principles matter. Maybe that's the Secret to It All: get back to basics, write the stories that matter to you, setting and character and plot. And then, as jaylake says, the story belongs to the reader.