Imagine a conflicted alien scientist who had to help virtually sterilize another violent race, but he likes to sing Gilbert and Sullivan. There’s a mercenary from that same violent race who is forced into leadership over his world. An operative for a pro-human extremist group was genetically designed from the ground up. A prisoner on a convict ship that was experimented on by said group is also on your team.
Stories also need conflict. The characters mentioned above are rich with conflict potential, and it doesn’t disappoint.
Oh yeah, the main character has to save the galaxy as well.
With high stakes, plenty of suspense, intriguing characters, and a well-crafted story, it sounds like a winner of a book, doesn’t it?
The only problem is that it is not a book.
Writers need to recognize what works from a story standpoint in anything they see. Certainly lots of reading is the primary way to accomplish that, but having a keen eye during TV shows and movies can help as well.
How about video games?
Gaming is a medium that may not get recognized for good writing like a quality book or an exciting movie.
However, there’s a company that has its reputation based on engaging characters, moral dilemnas, and plots with twists and suspense galore. It’s called BioWare, and the funny thing is it was founded by two doctors.
The story I was describing is the Mass Effect trilogy. Number 3 just came out and sucked up all of my free time (and even some non-free time) last week. It has the requisite shooting aliens and whatnot, but what keeps me coming back is the story and seeing what will happen. The consequences in the third game are dire as the aliens have fully invaded the galaxy, and there are sacrifices characters have to make to help Commander Sheperd (your character) fight them off.
Mass Effect is also like a great Choose Your Own Adventure story, as you get to direct how the main character will do things. I enjoyed those books as a child growing up, but there’s more that can be done with the cinematics of a video game.
So this is a geeky writing post. Yes, I’m enjoying blasting the bad guys. However, I’m so invested in the characters and storyline I almost take it personally. “THIS bullet is for Ashley, and this one is for the boy on the evacuation shuttle you shot down…”
The take home point? Watch for good writing wherever you are, and see what you can learn from it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a performance to watch.
Imagine a conflicted alien scientist who had to help virtually sterilize another violent race, but he likes to sing Gilbert and Sullivan. There’s a mercenary from that same violent race who is forced into leadership over his world. An operative for a pro-human extremist group was genetically designed from the ground up. A prisoner on a convict ship that was experimented on by said group is also on your team.
Stories also need conflict. The characters mentioned above are rich with conflict potential, and it doesn’t disappoint.
Oh yeah, the main character has to save the galaxy as well.
With high stakes, plenty of suspense, intriguing characters, and a well-crafted story, it sounds like a winner of a book, doesn’t it?
The only problem is that it is not a book.
Writers need to recognize what works from a story standpoint in anything they see. Certainly lots of reading is the primary way to accomplish that, but having a keen eye during TV shows and movies can help as well.
How about video games?
Gaming is a medium that may not get recognized for good writing like a quality book or an exciting movie.
However, there’s a company that has its reputation based on engaging characters, moral dilemnas, and plots with twists and suspense galore. It’s called BioWare, and the funny thing is it was founded by two doctors.
The story I was describing is the Mass Effect trilogy. Number 3 just came out and sucked up all of my free time (and even some non-free time) last week. It has the requisite shooting aliens and whatnot, but what keeps me coming back is the story and seeing what will happen. The consequences in the third game are dire as the aliens have fully invaded the galaxy, and there are sacrifices characters have to make to help Commander Sheperd (your character) fight them off.
Mass Effect is also like a great Choose Your Own Adventure story, as you get to direct how the main character will do things. I enjoyed those books as a child growing up, but there’s more that can be done with the cinematics of a video game.
So this is a geeky writing post. Yes, I’m enjoying blasting the bad guys. However, I’m so invested in the characters and storyline I almost take it personally. “THIS bullet is for Ashley, and this one is for the boy on the evacuation shuttle you shot down…”
The take home point? Watch for good writing wherever you are, and see what you can learn from it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a performance to watch.
I had written my opening chapters years ago. I had edited them many times when trying to get unstuck, but I had never really revised them. I knew with entering the contest that I had some fatal flaws. The generic weather opening? Check. The first character has nothing to do with the main story? Check.
Since I’ve heard how horrible it is to revise, I didn’t look forward to it, but a handy thing called a deadline forced my hand.
I sat down, hands at the keys.
It flowed.
It wasn’t bad at all! In fact, I rather enjoyed it. It took me a few days to do the first two chapters, but because I had a framework to build off of, I could adjust weak links, build up strong points, and overall tighten things up and make my characters jump out more (I hope).
I guess some of it is I’ve learned so much in the last several years that I can see what didn’t work with my initial thrust, but I could identify the kernel that did click in the writing.
I don’t know if this will be true through the whole novel. I still need to finish it, so I went back to my new work. I really wanted to keep revising, because I felt a sense of accomplishment and improvement. I know that I need to get the skeleton laid down though, and come back to help put the muscles and skin on later.
Hopefully it won’t be long until I get back to revising again. Does that make me strange?
Don’t answer that…
P.S. In an attempt to be a little more helpful, here is a link that talks about revision.
I had written my opening chapters years ago. I had edited them many times when trying to get unstuck, but I had never really revised them. I knew with entering the contest that I had some fatal flaws. The generic weather opening? Check. The first character has nothing to do with the main story? Check.
Since I’ve heard how horrible it is to revise, I didn’t look forward to it, but a handy thing called a deadline forced my hand.
I sat down, hands at the keys.
It flowed.
It wasn’t bad at all! In fact, I rather enjoyed it. It took me a few days to do the first two chapters, but because I had a framework to build off of, I could adjust weak links, build up strong points, and overall tighten things up and make my characters jump out more (I hope).
I guess some of it is I’ve learned so much in the last several years that I can see what didn’t work with my initial thrust, but I could identify the kernel that did click in the writing.
I don’t know if this will be true through the whole novel. I still need to finish it, so I went back to my new work. I really wanted to keep revising, because I felt a sense of accomplishment and improvement. I know that I need to get the skeleton laid down though, and come back to help put the muscles and skin on later.
Hopefully it won’t be long until I get back to revising again. Does that make me strange?
Don’t answer that…
P.S. In an attempt to be a little more helpful, here is a link that talks about revision.
It happens all the time to each of us. We start reading a novel, excited for the promise of a good read. Then we get into it and the book doesn’t grab us. We give it a little while to see if it improves. At a certain point, we realize there are too many stories out there to waste time with one that we don’t enjoy. So the book gets laid by the wayside.
My disappointment was that I had really enjoyed the three previous books in the series. The first one had been one of my favorite books I read that year.
The author released three books in the series, but then was dropped by the publisher. There were plans for up to seven books, I believe. The author had a long layoff before a home for book four was found, with a smaller press.
I finally got book four, and I enjoyed the author’s descriptions and certain aspects of the writing from before. Unfortunately there were a lot of problems with the writing. It wasn’t tight. It hopped all around regarding perspective. There was no struggle for the protagonist. He was becoming an alcoholic, but it was muted, and life just went on. There was an overarching conflict through the first three books that was alluded to once in the first 150 pages, but it was never introduced to grab continuing readers.
Overall I was very disappointed to give up on the book. I wanted to see the author succeed, but I couldn’t keep on. I was lost.
I’ve been pondering this since I put it down. What caused the author to lose me as a reader when I had been hooked before?
Here’s a few thoughts in random order (meaning as they pop into my brain):
The author was with a smaller publisher that didn’t give him good editorial support.
The author lost track of the story flow with the time layoff.
I’ve changed as a reader and just don’t jive with this author anymore.
The story wasn’t that good originally.
I’m leaning toward #1 being the major cause, with #3 being secondary. I know some of the stuff that is bothering me are things only a writer would probably notice. The author loves to use a lot of similie and metaphor to bring points across. Used sparingly it works, but when he does it all the time it makes it hard to read. I thnk the book loses track of some of the central conflict as well.
It is too bad. I might try to finish it, but I have an ever growing to-be-read pile. I wish I loved this latest book, but I am trying to take lessons from it all the same. — What about you? Are there any series you stopped reading because the author lost track of whatever made the books good? How can authors avoid this trap? —
It happens all the time to each of us. We start reading a novel, excited for the promise of a good read. Then we get into it and the book doesn’t grab us. We give it a little while to see if it improves. At a certain point, we realize there are too many stories out there to waste time with one that we don’t enjoy. So the book gets laid by the wayside.
My disappointment was that I had really enjoyed the three previous books in the series. The first one had been one of my favorite books I read that year.
The author released three books in the series, but then was dropped by the publisher. There were plans for up to seven books, I believe. The author had a long layoff before a home for book four was found, with a smaller press.
I finally got book four, and I enjoyed the author’s descriptions and certain aspects of the writing from before. Unfortunately there were a lot of problems with the writing. It wasn’t tight. It hopped all around regarding perspective. There was no struggle for the protagonist. He was becoming an alcoholic, but it was muted, and life just went on. There was an overarching conflict through the first three books that was alluded to once in the first 150 pages, but it was never introduced to grab continuing readers.
Overall I was very disappointed to give up on the book. I wanted to see the author succeed, but I couldn’t keep on. I was lost.
I’ve been pondering this since I put it down. What caused the author to lose me as a reader when I had been hooked before?
Here’s a few thoughts in random order (meaning as they pop into my brain):
The author was with a smaller publisher that didn’t give him good editorial support.
The author lost track of the story flow with the time layoff.
I’ve changed as a reader and just don’t jive with this author anymore.
The story wasn’t that good originally.
I’m leaning toward #1 being the major cause, with #3 being secondary. I know some of the stuff that is bothering me are things only a writer would probably notice. The author loves to use a lot of similie and metaphor to bring points across. Used sparingly it works, but when he does it all the time it makes it hard to read. I thnk the book loses track of some of the central conflict as well.
It is too bad. I might try to finish it, but I have an ever growing to-be-read pile. I wish I loved this latest book, but I am trying to take lessons from it all the same. — What about you? Are there any series you stopped reading because the author lost track of whatever made the books good? How can authors avoid this trap? —
