Disability in the Alien Mind

[Fictional World: source]

I've been blogging on how to write in a more literary fashion. One of the most important aspects of writing in a more profound and more meaningful fashion is to do your research, which, if you're crafting a fictional world, may involve a lot of careful consideration about how your characters and world work. If you don't make the effort, anyone who knows the topic or is watching for inconsistencies will be thrown out of the narrative and will find major faults and issues in your writing. If the perspective you're using is vastly different than your own--from a different time or place to an experience you've never had to a disability or race you are not part of--it's important to do the research to present an authentic perspective. If you simply write a perspective without that research and/or careful consideration and world-building, your writing will alienate many readers because it will not ring true or be consistent. 

[Stereotyping: source]

When writing a character from a group not your own, it's easy to fall into the trap of shallow stereotyping. Humans often turn to stereotyping the other without careful effort to avoid it. Even if you are writing characters featuring an aspect of your own identity, research can still be helpful as part of an effort to avoid stereotyping because the reader may not understand the condition or perspective in the same way as you do. For instance, say your main character comes from another culture or time, is part of a minority group, and/or has a disability like ADHD, ASD, PTSD, OCD,  or the like. Even if you have something in common with your character, there may be something about this you don't understand fully, so you can end up writing in a shallow or inauthentic-feeling fashion. You can use your experience and feelings to help you add depth to your character, but there may be a depth of understanding that could be filled out with research. If you want your character to feel authentic, you'll need to fully understand their circumstances. 

[Writing the alien mind; source]

A fellow writer pointed out that if you're writing about an other-minded being with disabilities, it's important to understand what is considered "normal" or "average" then figure out what makes the alternative perspective unique. In other words, if you're writing about an alien, for instance, it's a good idea to understand the neurotypical for that alien, so you understand how your character may diverge from that. Say the race you're writing about views ADHD-type traits as normal for his/her/their/its race. In this case, ADHD would be the neurotypical status, and anything else would be considered different. Research into the ADHD mindset could help you write about these aliens, even if you have that diagnosis. Then, you could work out what makes your character unique. How does the society around the main character react to these traits? Is there a stigma to it? For instance, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson feels stigmatized by the normal human society around him because he has ADHD and dyslexia. Then, he finds out these conditions are perfectly normal for a demigod like him. Riordan would have had to do a lot of research on these conditions to write a character considered neurotypical to this different group. Otherwise, the characters would come off as shallow stereotypes. 

[Writing: source]

If you're going to feature characters with different traits or perspectives than your own, it's critical to do the research. It's important to do more than just shallow stereotyping. Look at the groups and experiences you're drawing on for your story. Have you given the time and work necessary to make your characters feel authentic, particularly if you're writing about the other? 

Satire as a Funhouse Mirror

 

[Satire mirroring back the world; source]

I've been blogging about how to write in a more literary fashion. One kind of literature that has existed as long as literature has, back to Greek plays and possibly beyond, is satire. Satire is comedy, but it's not just that. It's a way to make a statement about something going on in the world in a way that engages the reader through humor. It twists an image of society like a funhouse mirror twists one's image when one looks inside. Satire is a useful literary device that should be used wisely.

[Shakespearean Clowns; sourcesource]

As with Shakespeare's clowns and modern comedians, purveyors of humor can tell truths that others either don't notice or choose to overlook. According to Merriam-Webster's definition, "A satire is a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn." Shakespeare's clowns say what others don't dare, mocking the members of regular society, from the royals to the peasants. These clowns stand outside regular society and hold up a mirror to society to show, "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool" (As You Like It, Act V scene i). Satirists exaggerate events and characters to inspire laughter, which makes people feel and opens hearts and minds to a new perspective.

[Gulliver's Travels; source]

Satire takes something from the world and twists it until it's a ridiculous and extreme version, like a funhouse mirror flips, enlarges, and twists the images of children looking inside. There are many literary satires including Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest, Swift's Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, and Tale of a Tub, and Orwell's Animal Farm. These satirists make people laugh at themselves and their culture.  The Importance of Being Earnest takes the upper crust of British society of the 19th Century and makes it ridiculously self-indulgent and narcissistic. Gulliver's Travels mocks the intellectuals as well as the uneducated. Tale of a Tub mocks religions as well as academic writing through an extended allegory. A Modest Proposal sends up the racism of the British for the Irish and transforms it into shock over suggestions of cannibalism as a solution. Animal Farm roasts the Russian Revolution of 1917, showing it as the transition as one form of tyranny for another. All of these use humor and extremes to illustrate issues with society. 

[Finding Something to Mirror in Your World; source]

In order to craft a satire, one needs to first look around at the world and find something that is causing a problem, something that needs to be exposed. Then, push it to its humorous extreme through a story. If you see a problem with your school, your town, or anything else, you could find a way to twist it and turn it into an over-the-top version of itself to communicate a message. What could you do with satire?

Choosing a Head

[Choosing a perspective: source]

I've been blogging about literary writing. One of the first things a writer must choose when writing is what perspective to use when writing the book. There are many advantages and disadvantages to each kind of perspective. Third-person tends to be distant, though it doesn't have to be. Third-person omniscient, wherein the narrator knows everything about everyone and can show the thoughts of many parties, is an older approach and tends to be less common than it once was. Third-person limited is more personal, like first-person, but speaks from outside the main character's head with his/theirs/hers. This is one of the most common kinds of writing. First-person is a more intimate kind of writing, writing from the point of view of the main character(s). Everything is written in I/me/us/we. Second-person is somewhat rarer unless one is writing instructions. The writing speaks directly to the reader with you and your. This can work with fiction or poetry, but it takes a careful hand and isn't that common. Before one starts to write, one must choose one's approach because it doesn't work to hop between perspectives. 

[Third-person omniscient: the God's eye view; source] 

Third-person omniscient is one perspective, and this was once the most popular kind of storytelling. If one character's perspective isn't enough to share the full story, many heads can be used. Fairy tales and folktales as well as many classics were written in this form. The reader has the advantage of seeing all pertinent events from several perspectives. The reader can listen in on several people's heads in one scene, hopping back and forth to learn everyone's thoughts. When not handled with finesse, this method of writing holds no mysteries. If you're hopping back and forth between the main two leads in a romance, the reader knows all the time what everyone is thinking and feeling, so there's little tension. Hopping heads several times in a scene can get confusing for the reader, especially the young reader. It's often best to spend at least a scene with one character, so the writer can hold the reader in suspense for a short time. Spy thrillers, action stories, sci fi, horror, and similar books can work really well from this perspective. Timothy Zahn books often use this perspective successfully, including with his Star Wars books. 

[Seeing from a distance means seeing more and less; source]

There are benefits and drawbacks to the third-person omniscient perspective. There's a distance in this perspective that many modern readers don't love. Sometimes, in seeing all, the reader feels less. Yes, you hear a little about a lot of characters but less about just one. A perk of third-person omniscience is that the reader knows many things the characters don't, so the reader can use this to build dramatic irony, which is suspense based on the reader knowing something the reader doesn't. Dramatic irony can be used for horror, humor, or any number of other styles. Many classic works make this work; however, many writers have moved away from this omniscience of the narrator in favor of a more intimate kind of writing. 

[First Person: up close and personal; source]

First-person tends to stick to one head and explore the world and story from just one point of view. The writer dives deeply into that person's head and heart as in Twilight, Percy Jackson, and a large percentage of romance novels. Some successful stories tell a first-person story from two or more perspectives. Romance novels will often bounce back and forth between the two romantic leads, usually switching between heads every section or chapter. Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series, for instance, spends chapters with each of five main characters. The more perspectives, the more chances the reader has to be confused. Each perspectival shift needs to be clearly labeled. It needs to be clear who the "I" in the text is for each chapter. 

[Head to head; source.]

There are challenges but also unique opportunities to writing in first-person perspective. For one thing, first person can be limiting because everything has to be told from one character's perspective. If the writer is describing what's in ANYONE else's head, it has to be a judgment based on appearances or insights. If you're in Mom's head, you can't suddenly jump to a view of how Dad views the world. It's okay to say, "I stared and dad as he shrugged, showing he had no idea." It doesn't work to say, "I stood there, looking at Dad. He didn't understand why." That's a head-hop and doesn't work in first-person perspective. Furthermore, it can be hard to describe the protagonist's appearance and the reality of the story if it's different from what the protagonist perceives. 

[Getting creative with perspective; the unreliable narrator; source]

Many writers use first-person to give the reader an honest view of the story, the characters, and the events. However, this is a great perspective for presenting an unreliable narrator, a narrator who cannot be trusted. It can be tricky to make the difference between the main character's perceptions and the reality of the story clear. If you want to try it, you'll want to research and read books with unreliable narrators. A lot of solid literary works have been based on that questionable gap between the truth and the questionable perspective of one character. In the doubt, a lot of meaning can be born. One way or another, first-person perspective can bring in an intimacy and personal touch other perspectives may lack. 

[Harry Potter as an example of 3rd person limited; source]

A lot of writers and readers are drawn to third-person limited. It has the advantage of intimacy, zooming in on one character's perspective to an intensive degree, like first person. For instance, the Harry Potter uses this perspective. If the reader learns about things external to Harry Potter's immediate vicinity only through dreams and similar experiences. It also has the advantage of flexibility, meaning one can focus one more than one character but do a deep dive in each. There's a bit of a distance, but it should remain in the eyes of the character featured in that book, chapter, or section. Once again, head-hopping can get disorienting to the reader, especially the young reader. 

[Different perspectives; source]

There are other kinds of perspectives, but they're more rare. There are second-person perspective stories that walk the reader through what is happening, but that takes a very very careful hand to pull off and isn't common at all. Also rare is the kind of perspective featured in "A Rose for Emily" in which the main character is part of a chorus, a chorus of "we" and has nothing to do with the actual thoughts, feelings, or actions of one character. It's a more observatory approach. I've also read a book or two in which the third-person narrator slowly goes mad over the course of the story, Ever After High book 3 by Shannon Hale. The narrator went from reliable and omniscient to thoroughly unreliable. A character within the book took over at that point as the first-person narrator. In other words, it's possible to start with one perspective and switch, but it's not often done. 

[Exploring perspectives; source]

Perspective dictates the reader's experience with the events of your story. The very same events can feel very differently if you're observing through the eyes of a kid vs. the eyes of an adult vs. the eyes of a distant, third-person narrator. One can choose a perspectival approach and switch it, but it's easier to choose which perspective works for your story, start there, and stay there. It's helpful to read what you plan to write and figure out how it's done then go with it. Does the perspective you are using work for your story? If not, is there another that can work? 

Emotional Symbols

 

[When simple objects in a story don't remain simple; source]

I've been blogging about how to write in a more meaningful, literary way. In life, an object is just an object. Most don't have unnecessary baggage. As s popular quotation goes, sometimes a soup label is just a soup label. However, some objects have much more significance. Think through the things in your bedroom. The bed is likely just a bed. A side table is just a side table. They're just objects. But there's something there, probably several somethings, that mean more. Your trash can may mean nothing unless it's full of tissues you cried into from your last breakup. If your television or lamp were gifts from your late grandma, they may mean more than just the thing. Good writing is usually about making the reader feel. Emotional symbols can make that happen. A scene in a book can be so much more powerful and loaded when it contains one or more emotionally-laden symbols of something deeper going on. 

[Hamlet's Skull; source]

Shakespeare was a master of emotional symbols. Think of Hamlet's soliloquy to a dead man's skull, forever the symbol of the whole play. "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is!" Because he knew the dead man and cared for him, the skull is not just a skull. It's a symbol of death, which can come to anyone, no matter who they are and how we feel about them. 

[Bloody Dagger-source]

Meanwhile, Macbeth has a vision of a bloody dagger, which represents the murderous pathway on which he's about to embark in usurping the kingdom. A simple item doesn't have to stay just a deadweight on the page. It can become something more, something that represents the emotional baggage of the story and the characters. It can foreshadow things to come and bring up critical things of the past that have bearing on the scenes going on right now. 

[The Broken Wand; source]

So how do you use emotional symbols in your story? Look through your scenes and find significant items. Is there a pen for signing a marriage or betrothal decree or possibly a law if you're writing about a king? The pen could stay just a deadweight, just a thing. Or it could become something monumental and terrifying, something that reminds the protagonist of a threat of the past. Percy Jackson's pen becomes a sword, a symbol of power and might and a tie to the Olympian gods. The various wands that pass through Harry Potter's hands rarely remain just pieces of wood. They're tied to power of different kinds, dark or light. The sorting hat symbolizes his choice between light and darkness. His friend, Ron's, broken wand becomes a symbol for his broken life and his struggles with everything. 

[Your Writing-source]

Look at how your favorite authors use symbols. How do objects work beyond just the surface level? Does a weapon stay just a weapon, or does it become something more? Does it remind the character of the trauma or loss of the past or obligations of the future? Both? What deeper meaning can you bring into simple objects in your story to make the scene mean more? 

A Focus on the Future

[The future; source]

I've been blogging for over seven years on how to write in a more meaningful and literary fashion. One important technique is to hint at what is to come in the story. It keeps the narrative and the reader focused on the end or at least the next step. It also can hint at some kind of fate or destiny, to make that future feel bigger and more important than just one character. There are multiple ways to do that. 

[Prophecies; source]

The most obvious way to point to the future of the story is through a prophecy. 20+ years ago, almost every story featured some plucky child of prophecy. The protagonist may have been princes, princesses, wizards, peasants, knights, or just a regular human, but they all featured prominently in a prophecy. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and so many others appeared prominently in a prophecy. In the case of Harry Potter, he was one of two who could have fulfilled the prophecy. One way or another, many characters are made special and unique through the prophecy trope. 

[Foreseeing the future; source]

Some still do today, though child of prophecy has fallen out of favor mostly because this trope has been so overused. There's often no meaning or depth to this prophecy, just a trick of the narrative that arbitrarily singles out one character above all others. This is no longer a recommended trope; however, prophecy can still used on occasion. If you're going to use it, I'd recommend finding a way to be subtle, more like signs and foretellings point to events happening or a nebulous prophecy that doesn't explicitly point to one character being a child or prophecy. Better yet, it can be used ironically or in some new or unexpected way. 

[Romeo and Juliet; source]

A lot of literary fiction uses foretelling to hint at events to come and to direct the drama of the story. Foretelling is a technique whereby the author comes out and tells the reader what is coming, like the beginning of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Most people have heard the line that tells us, "A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;/Whose misadventured piteous overthrows/Do with their death bury their parents’ strife." There's no beating around the bush, no hinting. The author just tells us what's coming. 

[From question to question; source]

I read a book wherein almost every chapter starts with something like, "I didn't know then that everything was going to blow up in my face." We have a hint and then become hyperfocused on how everything will blow up. The question of how becomes the question that builds tension and excitement. The reader keeps going because no sooner is one such question answered than another appears. It carries us through. I haven't seen this a lot in modern literature, but it can be powerful when used right. 

[Foreshadowing death; source]

A more common technique even with modern fiction is foreshadowing. Hints in the world, in the narrative, in the dialogue hint at something momentous about to occur. Two characters walk through a cemetery, and the shadows touch on one of them. The cold wind sends a shudder like death down his spine. A sense of foreboding builds up in the protagonist. Everything for pages point to his death, and then, he's poisoned or some such. It feels potent, meaningful, and inevitable. The very world of the story has been preparing us for that loss, building the tension. 

Think of how you may use a focus on the future to help build tension for your reader. Is there some way to bring in prophecy, foretelling, or foreshadowing? 

The Hero's Hand

[When somebody/something else saves the day; source]

I've been blogging about writing anything in a more meaningful fashion. I once listened to a presentation at a writer's conference by Chris Heimerdinger about how the big action should somehow be done by the hero's hand. I have since then read a lot of stories in which the protagonist either overcame or participated in the overcoming of the antagonist/larger forces at work and many in which the protagonist didn't. (Spoiler alert) In Jurassic World 2, the heroine leads one monster through the city strategically to make sure another monster takes it out. She took charge of her fate and saved herself. Meanwhile, in the latest movie, the director got all the heroes of the Jurassic Park series and the ones of Jurassic World together for a dramatic climax in which...none of them did anything but stand there while the dinosaurs took each other out. No hero had to do any heroing. I can't imagine a more disappointing way for a series to end. There is a huge difference in the impact of the two kinds of narratives, and I find myself agreeing that the best stories do, indeed, give the hero a big role in the climax. 

[Hand of God; source]

It's tempting to solve all the hero's problems with deux ex machina, God in the machine. There are a lot of books out there in which some divine power either literally or figuratively saves the day. Most of the best fiction avoids this because it's too easy. Divine powers can help, but if there is no participation by the main character we have followed along the whole book, it's a major let down. The hero can resolve problems through divine aid, but what's the point of watching a hero develop skills if those skills have little to do with the resolution? 

[Luke vs Darth; source]

I actually read a book recently wherein the heroine didn't have to fight the antagonist on any level. She prayed, and the divine power in the book took care of everything. The author was probably thinking she prayed, right? But the only emotional reaction I had to the climax was disappointment. If Luke Skywalker had stood by, watching a lightning bolt come down and blast away Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine, the movies may have died a quiet death before they become a phenomenon that has affected generations of audiences. Many have compared the force to priesthood/divine authority, in the first series, and Luke's clothing was reminiscent of a priest in "Return of the Jedi," but he used the power, himself, and/or inspired his father to do so through his actions. 

[Helpless heroines--source]

It's almost as bad when some other figure in the book steps in and solves all the problems for the main character, but this is more common. I would have much preferred Disney's "Snow White" had the protagonist actually lifted a finger to take out her evil stepmother and "Sleeping Beauty" had it been the princess to slay the dragon. Of course, one can argue Aurora's prince is a main character, too, which makes the ending somewhat better. It's only with later generations of Disney movies that the protagonist gets to face off with her antagonist, when there's an antagonist to be found. Imagine how exciting it wouldn't have been to follow Harry Potter all the way to the end only to have Dumbledore or Snape stand up to Voldemort in the end. 

[Protagonist faces the dragons: source]

Does your hero take down your antagonist or at least have a serious hand in it? They may send forth the beast that faces the dragon, resolving their story arc and showing the themselves to be master of both the under and the upper worlds. But one way or another, do yourself and the reader a favor by making sure you, the writer, don't become their worst enemy through dull writing and a hero who can't save the day in the end. 

Avoid Bogging down Story and Character

[The Doorway to Understanding Writing is Reading: source]

I've been blogging about writing in a more literary and meaningful fashion. I've read thousands of pages of fiction in the last year, some of it very very good, some of it mediocre, some of it so painful I couldn't finish it. What often made the difference was when information/backstories weighed so heavily in the story that both story and character have been bogged down to the point of being sunk. 

[World and Character Building: Source]

Most stories and major characters need some kind of backstory. If you're writing in fantasy, sci-fi, or a similar genre, you also need to build a world. All of this can be fascinating if you slip it out little by little, allowing your character to fully immerse into the world as deeper and deeper levels are slowly revealed by interactions with each other and their slowly revealed world. Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, for instance, start in a normal world. As they interact with that normal world, we learn more and more about who they are and how they respond to a world that becomes increasingly bizarre, more magical, more surprising. 

[Wall of Words: Source]

However, if that second or even first page, had started like so many amateur writers do their worlds, a reader could not get past that positive wall of info dumping wherein we learn every detail on their past and every detail on their world right away. There are readers that will plow through that, who are just as fascinated by your narrative explaining every little thing about every character and the world right away. But most of us will be turned back. It does not invest us in either emotionally in character or world, which is the point of good storytelling. The reader wants to be swept up, not bored or walled off. 

[Informed Attributes: Source]

The other way you can really turn off a reader with data dumping is by telling your reader all about a character and then never fulfilling your promises. This is called giving your characters informed attributes. Man, this character is hilarious. But he never does anything funny. Wow, this character is a super genius. How smart is he? So amazingly smart. But he never does anything to PROVE he's smart. We just have to take the narrator's word for it. This makes the narrator a liar and unreliable. Which is a whole separate strategy if it's used intentionally. In general, it's better to SHOW he's smart or funny. Then, your narrator never has to say it. The reader just knows.

[Using Informed Attributes Used Intentionally for Humor: Source]

An author can use informed attributes intentionally for a specific purpose. They can work for humor or irony. "You're so hilarious," says the enemy in a dry tone, highlighting how serious that character is.  "What a genius," the main character's best friend says sarcastically. Then, the character has to prove his best friend wrong. Or you build up a big, evil, scary villain only to show the reputation was based on gossip and lies. He ends up being the protagonist's mentor. Or your characters are all about a quest to find the mighty wise one only to find out his reputation was exaggerated, and they're on their own again. Informed attributes can work if they're not used straight but as an emotional strategy. 

[Data dumping: Source]

Large spans of data dump all at once are touchy but can sometimes be done after the first chapter or two. Some authors can get away with it if they first spend the time to get the reader emotionally invested in the characters and world. The fastest way to do this is to show what your character cares about then steal it or some part of it away. Show they love their family and then slowly reveal that their dad already died or show their horror as their sister is stolen from them. Then, your reader is along for the ride, even if there is a bit of dumping here and there.

[A Heart-shaped Hole: source]

Give us the character's heart then punch holes in it. We first see Percy Jackson's bond with his mom, then she's gone. We feel Harry's ache for a family long gone. MCU's Black Widow enjoys an idyllic childhood with loving parents for the first few minutes, then it's all shown to be an illusion, all of them separate quickly. 

[Let Your Readers Be Detectives: Source]

The other place a reader rarely wants a data dump is at the end. The beginning and end of any piece of writing are the most memorable. You don't want to start or end on a data dump. Even if you're writing a mystery, the truth should slowly sneak out over the course of the story. It may be summed up by the detective at the end, but if it all comes out in one dump, the reader may find this frustrating and poorly written instead of satisfied they were able to make some good guesses based on context clues. The ending is about an emotionally fulfilling wrap-up. 

[Invest Time and Emotion in Your Characters and World: source]

Information is good and necessary to telling stories. The backstory is critical in most pieces. But if it comes in a huge dump truck first thing, you'll rapidly lose readers. Invest us in characters and your world as the truth behind them comes out. Now, it's time to look through your pieces and spread out any info you find and make informed attributes into real attributes that tie your reader closer to the story instead of walling them out. 

Troping without Cliches

[Tropes in Writing: Source]

I've been blogging for over seven years, mostly about how to write in a more literary fashion.Tropes are everywhere in writing. In fact, a trope is a building block of writing. Any figure of speech can be called a trope. But when one thinks of a trope in a story, movie, or play, one thinks of a building block of a story such as a character or event in a story. Every story uses tropes.

[Trying to Avoid Tropes: source]

Even when one tries not to use tropes, it's practically impossible. There's even a trope for stories that are striving to be tropeless. It's impossible to avoid troping in a story. When one thinks of a character trope, one thinks of a type of character or plot device, the antihero, the plucky heroine, the sidekick, the man vs nature story structure, etc. However, what is possible is avoiding cliches with those tropes. For most people, the first idea is usually the cliche. If one pushes beyond that, that's where fresh stories begin.

[Tropes as the beginning of Ideas: source]

There are so many tropes that it's impossible to count and it all depends on the definition of a trope. But even if one focuses on character tropes, it would take a very long time to name all the available tropes. One can easily google them online. What it comes down to is that almost every character you will read about or see falls into one trope or another. The best books, literary or otherwise, don't simply plug in a trope and call it good. Authors of good books use tropes as a start but not an end. 

[Starting with a Princess in a Tower: source]

One of the main differences between good literature and simplistic stories is how much work the author puts into making the trope their own, making it something fresh. It's not enough to write about a simple princess in a tower, a damsel in distress waiting for her simplistic prince to come and save her as a dragon prowls its base. What makes her unique? How is he more than he seems? 

[Making a Trope Fresh: Source]

And, often better yet, how can the author flip the trope to make it something that feels new and fresh in order to stand out from the pack? One can simply flip the trope in the obvious way and have the damsel save the prince. One can have a prince or princess save the dragon or the dragon save one of the others. 

[Pushing the Trope further: Source]

Any of these can work, but you can push a trope further. Maybe the "princess" is actually a cowgirl, and the "prince" is a rancher in modern or period days, and the tower and/or dragon is metaphorical. Or maybe a literal dragon shows up in the wild West. Maybe the princess has sci-fi tech and has to steal the tower to take it somewhere to save her kingdom, fighting the mage prince and his training master, the queen of dragons, in order to do so. Maybe the tower, itself, has to fight the other three off to save itself. Who is the bad guy? Who is the good? Or are they all morally gray? Or perhaps anybody winning means the end of the world. 

[Now, it's your turn: source]

Think through your stories. Are you relying on simple tropes? Do you have a story that would benefit from pushing that trope and turning it into something fresh? If you use simple tropes, how can you make them unique? 

Prepping to write your story

[Writing: source]

I've been blogging about how to write in a more literary manner. There are multiple things to consider as one starts a new piece in order to make it deeper, more meaningful from the start. It's not just a matter of just writing or spending endless amounts of time researching.  There are certain steps that will help one fully understand the story before starting. 

[Story bus--source]

1. First, when you have a germ of an idea, do a basic brainstorm about your story and characters. Who is your character? What era? What world? What is your basic plot idea? What is going to drive your story bus? By that, I mean will your story be driven primarily by character development (resolving your character's unhappiness/misunderstanding), plot (something's broken in the world, and your character needs to fix it), question (who dunnit?), or milieu (think Gulliver's Travels or Lord of the Rings--the most important character is the world.) 

[Harry Potter-source]

When you start one of these types of stories, it's not over until you've fulfilled the contract with your reader. Harry Potter, for example, is driven by all four. The story isn't over until Harry is happy, what's broken in the world is resolved, the mystery is solved (in Harry's case, a series of questions, one posed before the next is resolved), and the foreign world is introduced (we understand the basics of the wizarding world). I, personally, had a harder time getting into the latest Harry Potter-adjacent movies because they're more milieu-driven, more about the magic and denizens of the magic land than character development or fixing a broken world. 

[Building worlds-source]

2. Once you have the basics of your story established, this is when you get into more detail, understanding the world of your story. This would be a good time to do your research if you're creating a piece set in a different time or with characters grappling with an event or condition you don't understand. It would also be a good time to create your map of the location. You'll also want to establish a fictional (sci fi/fantasy) magical set of rules. Your characters and plot will want to stay true these rules if you plan to keep your reader involved. They can help you develop the power sources, magical rules, creatures, etc.

[Creating Characters-source]

3. You'll also want to understand your characters on a deeper level. At this point, you may have names, perhaps an interview with likes, dislikes, wants, needs, and a bit of a story. This is a good start, especially when it comes to wants vs needs. A plotline can be built around the conflict between what your character wants most vs what they need most. They may want to stay home and feel safe, but they really need to go on this quest, or their loved one will die. 

[Understanding your character-source]

Their protagonist's fears and desires could be the foundation for a friend or, better yet, antagonist. I always get a rough idea then decide on an enneagram (character) type, which gives me a lot more depth. These types come ready-made with a lot of characteristics. It can help you figure out your character's basic flaw and misunderstandings, which they then need to outgrow throughout their character arc. 

[Outlining-source]

4. Once you have world, character, and rough idea for a plot, those who feel comfortable with outlining can then outline a rough or even specific plotline. I'd recommend you refer to a three- seven- or twelve-act structure (various guidelines that walk you through the hero's journey) as a foundation. I tend to be a pantser who writes then outlines unless it's a plot-based story, in which case I use very basic outlines. One way or another, you'll want a tragectory of your story. 

[Just Write-source]

5. Once you understand your plot, characters, and world, it's time to simply write. I wouldn't edit, rethink, revise, rewrite in any way until I get to the end, or there's a good chance you won't finish. You'll lose steam and get frustrated. Revision comes later.  

If you don't already have all this planning in, you may not be ready to write your novel/biography/etc.  If that's the case, you may have some planning to do.