Wednesday, February 4, 2015

IWSG: The Deadly Pattern

I need some Me time

State Of Day. How many new experiences can a girl handle in one week, really? I feel exhausted.
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IWSG has rolled back again and today I want to walk you through a classic pitfall of mine.

During my late years of writing I realized a pattern, a not very helpful pattern. It’s about taking or perhaps even stealing ideas from future books (if you call using your own ideas stealing). How you ask me?
I tell you;

One example of many:  I’ve been thinking for almost three years about a book I would want to write in the near future, call it book 2. The other day, inspired by watching Battle of The Five Armies, an idea of a cool super power that would work perfectly with my heroine and even enhance the plot dashed into my mind. The scene in which she will reveal this ability was vivid in my head and so–Ah!-enchanting a grin even Alice’s mad cat couldn’t possibly compete with took place on my face, I was quite pleased. Good? Good.

suddenly another character completely out of the blue comes smashing about to save the day, he was riding something he shouldn’t be riding and people did he entered with class!

John? John! YOU ARE AMAZING! YOU ARE FANTASTIC!



NOT!
Oh you stupid girl it’s the pattern again!

so disappointed I was with myself at that moment, my grin disappeared and a thin pressed line of irritation took place.
Why?

Because the ability he exhibited in order to save the day belonged to another character in yet another future book (call it book 1), and book 1 I had in my head from way back, almost 13 years (which makes changing it now even harder), but a year or 20 is hardly the problem, I was mad, again, because I ruined now both books. It’s just another variation to the writing advice I stumbled upon so many times, that the first idea that jumps to your mind while brainstorming or crafting the first manuscript is probably a cliché, except this time it’s my own brand of clichés.

It almost always happens, so at the end I reached a conclusion:
Since I don’t know whether I’m going to live to write book 2, or even if I will still want to write it when the time comes, I’ll take this idea and put it in book 1, no fear or worries, because the same mind that came up with that idea in the first place is capable of devising an even better one for book 2.
Besides giving two characters in two separate books the same gift isn’t always the sign of a less creative mind.
So steal it, by all means, and stop being such a whiny baby!

Now I have been working with this rule for a while, but sometimes I just wonder; what if I’m making a grieve mistake? the example I gave amounts only to a rock in one’s shoe, sometimes the ideas I want to steal and add to a current WIP are the heart and soul of the book to-be. I should give this a bit more thinking.


But I would love to hear your thoughts on this O Wise Ones.

Also. I can’t wait for this year’s A to Z challenge, I feel giddy already 0_o
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Wait! Wait! I’m not done yet. before I forget, my last IWSG post got so many comments, I couldn’t reply to all but what I’m trying to say some of those lovely comments were so awesome and wise, it warmed my heart, thank you so much everyone I sure appreciate the jims you offered kindly. Productive February to all!  



17 comments:

  1. LOL! I totally get what you're saying. My editor let me have it when I came back with my sequel and it mimicked some of the same patterns of book 1. I'm happy to say that after being adequately humbled, I went back and was able to reshape the story in a purely unique way that readers thus far have loved. There's nothing wrong with falling into our own traps, as long as we're willing to dig new holes around them. :)

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    1. Crystal: your editor is worth her/his money :D I'm with you in digging new holes, I think it helps the creative mind.

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    2. Agreed! My editor belongs to the publisher that took me on, and he's better than gold. New holes=new possibilities. Writers are nothing if not creatures who thrive on creativity, eh?

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  2. Put all your best stuff in the current story. More will come. Honest. :)

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  3. Throw that character and the kitchen sink into the first book. Maybe something even more powerful will come along for the second.
    Glad you're excited about the Challenge!

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  4. I agree with Alex and M - throw it all in one of them (choose one, though) and make it the best you can make it!!

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    1. Liz: I think the winning book right now is going to be the one I will write first.

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  5. I agree with everyone else - it could be that your subconscious is just ahead of you, and that combining the stories/characters is exactly what you need to do.

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    1. Why how flattering! I never saw it that way, Me Like :D

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  6. I've read that you shouldn't keep ideas for another story. Use the ones you have on the current WIP. Quote: “You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
    (Just wondering if you decided whether you're going to participate in both the A to Z challenge, and NaPoWriMo...)

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    1. I like this quote, it's quite suitable :) As for the NaPo matter I haven't made my mind yet, maybe I will present two poems a day, one for the A-Z challenge (put in advance) and the other written specifically on that day for NaPo, kinda sounds like too much work on a busy April so let's just see what's going to happen. Thanks for asking.

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  7. I agree with the other commenters - put it all in there, love on that story, and keep writing. More creativity will come - maybe this character will use the power slightly differently than the other one. Or, you can tie them together somehow.
    I have two separate short stories about characters who can control plant growth/life and I have some tentative thoughts about eventually taking each of their stories further and tying them together - even though one is set in a rural fantasy setting, and the other is in a more modern urban fantasy setting . . . I'm thinking maybe there's a generational "thing" going on, or a society that keeps some of their citizens passive by not revealing "power" to them . . .
    So, you never know what will come of allowing another character to have the same power. It might be really cool! Just keep writing!

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    1. Tyrean: a lot of my characters and worlds are elated, these two characters in particular..hmm..I never really thought of it, but who knows maybe they are, it's going to be quite awesome if they were :) your two worlds are very similar to mine and I like the idea of keeping citizens passive to their powers, thanks, you've been of great help.

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  8. Two people can have the same power. It could make it really interesting too. Sometimes we have to write what is working for us and worry about the other stuff when it comes to revisions/editing.

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  9. I have an award for you at my blog! http://tyreanswritingspot.blogspot.com/2015/02/wow-very-inspiring-blogger-award.html

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