Excellent post. Great visuals. I must admit, as I read down the page and kept seeing the ever decreasing odds I was feeling a bit Lloyd Christmas (what was all that one in a million talk?) but appreciated the ending where you provided additional context on the math. Real, yet still oddly motivating for those of us working toward getting published via traditional methods.
Yes yes yes! I completely agree. It should be all about the craft until the day you need to write that query… worrying about anything else is like worrying about entering a marathon before you even have the ability to run 5k
I write to entertain: fantasies---retellings of Greek myths, and mystery/detective stories. (Gotta' have my Heroes.)
I'm learning as much as I can as fast as I can.
Retold myths already have premises. I don't change 'em, just address 'em from new angles. My understanding of the premise of mystery/detective stories is: How will this hero solve this problem and catch the bad guy(s), or at least, see Justice done? I believe that many, many mystery readers love 'the same but different."
I subscribed in order to better my understanding of two things: 1) where and how I'm wrong about my premise(s) and how to fix 'em. (are they strong enough to carry the story? Will the story they support be saleable?) and 2) more about Story and Execution so I can plan a strong, saleable story and execute it as it deserves.
But I'm wide open to learning other things along the way.
Thanks so much for sharing, Bob! I'd argue that retold myths need a strong "new angle" (as you call it). Otherwise, why spin them again? Coming up with a concrete premise in these cases will really serve you. Totally agree with your understanding of mystery stories. And you're right, many readers are looking for new spins on the same general mechanic. I'd recommend Mastering Suspense Structure & Plot by Jane Cleland if you haven't checked it out already for mystery/thriller/suspense execution: https://amzn.to/41wurCT
Thank you so much. I'll get right on it. I've learned a lot of what I've learned from craft books, but I haven't learned from this one yet. Learning from craft books is preferable to learning from experience because learning from books doesn't leave stress marks or scars.
Premise + execution. So good!
Excellent post. Great visuals. I must admit, as I read down the page and kept seeing the ever decreasing odds I was feeling a bit Lloyd Christmas (what was all that one in a million talk?) but appreciated the ending where you provided additional context on the math. Real, yet still oddly motivating for those of us working toward getting published via traditional methods.
Yes yes yes! I completely agree. It should be all about the craft until the day you need to write that query… worrying about anything else is like worrying about entering a marathon before you even have the ability to run 5k
I write to entertain: fantasies---retellings of Greek myths, and mystery/detective stories. (Gotta' have my Heroes.)
I'm learning as much as I can as fast as I can.
Retold myths already have premises. I don't change 'em, just address 'em from new angles. My understanding of the premise of mystery/detective stories is: How will this hero solve this problem and catch the bad guy(s), or at least, see Justice done? I believe that many, many mystery readers love 'the same but different."
I subscribed in order to better my understanding of two things: 1) where and how I'm wrong about my premise(s) and how to fix 'em. (are they strong enough to carry the story? Will the story they support be saleable?) and 2) more about Story and Execution so I can plan a strong, saleable story and execute it as it deserves.
But I'm wide open to learning other things along the way.
Thanks for asking.
Thanks so much for sharing, Bob! I'd argue that retold myths need a strong "new angle" (as you call it). Otherwise, why spin them again? Coming up with a concrete premise in these cases will really serve you. Totally agree with your understanding of mystery stories. And you're right, many readers are looking for new spins on the same general mechanic. I'd recommend Mastering Suspense Structure & Plot by Jane Cleland if you haven't checked it out already for mystery/thriller/suspense execution: https://amzn.to/41wurCT
Thank you so much. I'll get right on it. I've learned a lot of what I've learned from craft books, but I haven't learned from this one yet. Learning from craft books is preferable to learning from experience because learning from books doesn't leave stress marks or scars.