McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Originality--How important is it?
arianne:
Another writing question. Well, more of a insecure writer question. ;D
How important is an original plot/premise/concept to the novel?
Or is it more about the characters and the wording and so on?
Let's say I had an idea for a female wizard living in, um, New York. And the wizard was totally different from that other Barry/Larry guy :D. You know, the sarcastic dude with the skull in his basement.
Let's say my wizard was sweet, kind, caring, timid, never sarcastic. She has no pets, lives in a huge penthouse with a pool in the backyard.She calls her mom twice a week, hates fast food and soda. Whatever. Like anti-Barry.
And then I give this wizard a bunch of pals like supersexy cop dude who loves her, dates her, and wants to marry her; couple of sisters; vampire buddies. Again, anti-Barry.
So then I write this whole book about this wizard and how she solves a mass vampire killing.
(Don't worry, I didn't actually have the idea to write this, it's just an example. In case Jim's lawyer and agent happen to be around...I am not stealing his wizard. Relax. ;D)
If I were to write said story, what would your opinion be of that story? Would it be, um, marketable? Is it a bad thing to lack originality in a plot?
I know the above was kind of an extreme example, but how about if one was writing a vampire novel or something of the sort? It's hard to step outside a genre entirely and be completely original.
Shecky:
Honestly? Protagonist sounds like a Mary Sue. A bit too perfect.
snowbank:
There is nothing new under the sun; the point is to pour the same koolaid into a different glass. Or make orange instead of grape flaver...I'm not doing this well. Pretty much all stories about humans deal with the same emotions, so adjusting externals like location can cause enough difference to be interesting. How is Harry different from Spenser? Both spend much of their time solving murders. Spenser spends most of his time in New England, Harry goes everywhere.
How is Harry like Paul Atreides? One lost a dad early, one lost a mom earlier. Both were born with certain potential abilities and had to spend time developing them. Both were occasionally overwhelmed by outside forces. How is Harry like Jack Fleming? Both run detective agencies, but I wouldn't mistake one for the other.
Originality is in the externals, I guess. People solving murders is a very prevalent theme in fiction (and true crime). Character personality traits count for a lot, also.
I disagree with your feelings about Vampire Books. The subject has lots of room for innovation, from what I've seen. I'm personally a Buffy/Angel purist, but Stephanie Meyer made a lot of money by bending the rules, Kelley Armstrong and Patricia Briggs have strong Vampire characters and I liked the show Moonlight. Not to mention Charlaine Harris or J.R. Ward or Jim Butcher. I think it's a question of finding an audience that likes your style, because there's more than one type of Vampire. Create a new type, maybe you'll wean me from Joss Whedon. (Probably not, but...)
If you are going to leap, Good Luck!!! :)
arianne:
So basically, would that be a no? Originality is not as important as the characters and tone/style of the writing?
A friend introduced me to the Nightside series, and I'm actually surprised by how much they are similar to the Dresden files. Well, okay, one is in a hidden city in England, and one is in America, but the characters are really very much alike, which is kind of what sent me off thinking about all this.
I'm kind of working on a teenage vampire slayer sort of book right now, but it's not like Buffy. (See, there it is, all you have to say is "teenage vampire slayer", and someone will reply, "Buffy". So much for original there.) And obviously, I'm worried about the Buffy comparison. I won't go into specifics here for fear of violating forum rules, but suffice to say that the main character is not Buffy, nor the anti-Buffy; does that make a difference? I'm worried that people will think it's some sort of warped Buffy fanfic...
Jaeh:
--- Quote from: arianne on June 06, 2010, 02:10:31 PM ---So basically, would that be a no? Originality is not as important as the characters and tone/style of the writing?
A friend introduced me to the Nightside series, and I'm actually surprised by how much they are similar to the Dresden files. Well, okay, one is in a hidden city in England, and one is in America, but the characters are really very much alike, which is kind of what sent me off thinking about all this.
I'm kind of working on a teenage vampire slayer sort of book right now, but it's not like Buffy. (See, there it is, all you have to say is "teenage vampire slayer", and someone will reply, "Buffy". So much for original there.) And obviously, I'm worried about the Buffy comparison. I won't go into specifics here for fear of violating forum rules, but suffice to say that the main character is not Buffy, nor the anti-Buffy; does that make a difference? I'm worried that people will think it's some sort of warped Buffy fanfic...
--- End quote ---
all I can say is to take care and make her seem unique in her own way. change maybe a couple elements from buffy. remember to make your character memorable, relatable character. or something like that.
that probably didn't help, but that's my two cents. heh.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version