Bitches, BTL (Not BLTs) & Thievery
x-posted from ManuscriptMavens.com
G'mornin! Today we're going for a ride on a long, convoluted train of thought from thievery to bitches. (No comments from the peanut gallery about how all my thoughts are on long, convoluted trains.)
First up, thievery. Last week, I mentioned BookEnds was running a 100 words intro contest. (I saw a few MaveFaves posting excerpts, so yay, power to the MaveFaves!) I also saw an anonymous comment which read in part:
I don't see any reason not to enter the contest with future, "first draft level" material that does not give away the full premise.
From a contest perspective, why bother entering with first draft material?? But I'm not here to nitcrit the logic of expecting to win a contest with (knowingly!) subpar material. No, friends, I'm here to nitcrit the logic behind this sentiment, which is: if I post it, thieves will come.
Not just any thieves--thieves who will steal my title/premise/opening lines, spew out another 99,900 words, and make 6 figs at auction on My Totally Amazing And 100% Original Idea.
First, I firmly believe all Mavens and MaveFaves could be given the same title, premise, and 100 starting words, and all of us would churn out completely different stories b/c we all bring our own personalities, prejudices, knowledge, skills, talent, life experiences, and blind spots to the table. (My pal Diana ran a voice experiment on her blog a couple years back that illustrates this idea.) I'm not saying that there aren't people out there willing to rip off other people's ideas (and particularly if you write super-slow or super-badly, can't hurt to exercise caution when tossing around your million dollar idea) but in general, I stand by my belief that no two people would write the same story, even if they tried.
Second, let me rebut Quote A with Quote B:
Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats.
- Howard Aiken
Funny, snarky, and horribly true, n'est pas? And not just in writing. (But we're here to talk about writing. Stay on track, folks. *g)
As someone who's always coming up with crazy ideas, let me say first hand that the wilder and more original the idea is, doesn't necessarily = agents/editors/booksellers carving golden idols in your honor.
"We want different," they say, then promptly turn down Different.
Why is that?
On Thursday, Maven Lacey put forth a hypothesis about pushing yourself out of your safety zone in order to write bigger stories.
My old WIPs used to have this issue where secondary characters were quirkier & more intriguing than primary characters. I have since made an effort to overcome that (and probably did OK, considering a recent heroine is an apprentice tooth fairy) but even then, I was in safe mode, with quirky-in-a-good-way protags.
My current heroine starts the story as someone I wouldn't particularly want to be friends with. Oh, she's smart and fun and funny, but I wouldn't leave in her in my house unsupervised unless I wanted my diary scanned and posted to YouTube. (Well, if Regency England had YouTube.)
I couldn't write this story for the longest time, though, b/c I talked myself into believing I couldn't make a "bitch" character empathizable (thus making the story unsalable).
Then I caught the first episode of Dexter on CBS and fell instantly in love with the eponymous hero, never mind that he's a sociopathic serial killer. I would totally date him. (I wouldn't date Tim Dorsey's Serge, another fave sociopathic serial killer hero of mine, but I'd sure love that crazycakes Floridaphile as a neighbor.)
This was a huge wake-up call to me, as you might imagine. If my heart beats with lurve for BTL sociopathic serial killers after mere minutes of screen/page time, surely I can endear my reader to an inveterate gossip!
My biggest takeaway: Ain't nothin' you can't do in your story, as long as you do it well.
Off to be BTL...
YOUR TURN: Do you believe in truly original ideas? In what ways are your heroes and heroines BTL... or are they? Do you write "safe" characters, or those who push the envelope? Either way, how do you engender reader empathy in those precious opening pages?
Let's be friends!
12 comments--Add your own!!:
No BLTs? What the hell?
I'm vegetarian!
So I'm still confused about the BTL...what is that?
Looking back, my first book was safe. But I wanted it to be that way, because I wanted a fun read that my mom could enjoy (she has trouble finding books she likes). My WIP, however, is a lot more ambitious. It covers heavier topics and my main character is an odd mixture of subtle sass, pervasive doubt, and sad resignation. With an imaginary friend who looks like her dead father. I have to make sure my beginning shows her in a good light, otherwise people might find her a little dark.
My goal is to make my character as sympathetic as possible, as quickly as possible, so she doesn't seem frigid the way the characters in the book consider her. I do this by hinting at her insensitive family, her philandering fiance, her money problems, etc. I don't know if it's working entirely; it is still a draft, but my beta readers tell me they like what they've seen so far.
Oh! Sorry. BTL = Bigger Than Life.
Your heroine sounds really intriguing. And the fam, fiance, and money issues sound like you've got great stuff in the works for conflict!
...Oh. Duh. For some reason I thought BTL was a different type of sandwich that I'd never heard of lol. My bad.
LOL. It could be!
Bagel-tofu-lentil?
Haha Biscuit-Tempura-Leek?
Protaganists with quirks and considerable defects tend to be more fun than those who are good and proper and don't take risks. A heroine who is sure to peek at someone's mail and expose it to public view is going to make for a far more interesting read, no doubt about it.
And you are right: you can't copy an entire style, so it is silly to jealousy guard a premise and be paranoid that someone will come along and nip your own personal jewel of an idea. I'm always a little suspicious of people who obsess about this, but oddly, I don't join such competitions myself. Maybe deep down inside I too am worried that Thieves Will Come.
What a scary thought.
so how do you buy a erica ridley book
I agree with your premise about original ideas. Even if a writer enters a first chapter contest, it's extremely doubtful anyone else will write a similar story in completing the manuscript.
well i have tried to email you i dont know if you would wanna talk with me but i would like to read your books i have always liked books as you know and knowing a author is awesome it will not let me email you i probably did it wrong erica@ericaridley.com is what i tried so if you could at least give me info on how to get your books it would be appreciated i can be emailed at ded1u@comcast.net p.s. i tried sending you mail on myspace but your never on
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