Teen Author Challenge, Week 2 – Story ideas that pop!

Welcome to Week 2 of the Teen Author Challenge!

Now that you know what inspires you to write, we’re going to dive into StoryLand. This week, it’s all about creating a story idea that pops. A story idea that will get agents, editors and, ultimately, readers to stand up and take notice.

Exclusive TAC Quote of the Week

“Write the book that only you can write, something no one else has ever read before. It’s tempting to write a ‘better’ version of something that already exists, but the reason that book was a success was because it was something no one else had ever read before.”

~ Brent Hartinger
Project Sweet Life (HarperCollins, 2/09)

Teen Author Challenge, Week 2

If you want your work to stand out, you need to clearly convey why your work is special. That doesn’t mean you can only write something that has never been thought of before. There’s a popular saying: there are no new stories out there, just new ways of telling stories. I don’t entirely buy into that because I do believe there are wholly unique ideas brewing in the brains of writers. But I think the essence of it holds true. It’s about taking ideas that are out there in the ether and giving them a unique twist to make them feel fresh and new again.

It’s about creating a story only you can tell.

When I set out to write The Cinderella Society, secret society books already existed. They had for generations. But my particular take on a secret society–a secret girl empowering society dedicated to helping girls celebrate their strength, embrace their future, and be extraordinary (while defeating the mean girls of the world in the process!)–hadn’t been done before.

I’m a former corporate leadership specialist who’s passionate about helping people harness their full potential. As a sorority alum, I bring a knowledge of secret societies to the table. And as a writer, I’m all about leaving people feeling energized and inspiring them to embrace their destiny and change their world. All of these weave together to make The Cinderella Society a story that I’m uniquely able to tell.

So yes, our basic story idea may have been done before. In fact, there’s a very strong chance it’s been done many times over in one form or another. But by bringing our own experience, passions, and talents to the idea, we can create something different than anything else out there. That, to me, is our job as authors.

Where to begin then?

It all begins with the story idea itself. Let’s say you love vampires and want to write a vampire story. There are hundreds of vampire stories lining the shelves of your local bookstore. How can you possibly compete? You compete, very simply, by making your vampire book so unique and different that vampire lovers everywhere–including agents and editors–will clamor to read your version.

That can be hard to do with a subgenre that’s fairly saturated. But it’s not by any means impossible. The easiest way to begin is by thinking about what makes your idea special.

How can you make your story idea unique and special? There are zillions of ways. (Yes, zillions is a technical term.) Here are three to get you thinking:

1.   Create a unique setting, somewhere that’s never been done before for your kind of book

EXAMPLE: You’ve got a quirky middle grades book about an offbeat family and their zany community. Instead of setting it in a small town as those books often are, what about setting it smack dab in the middle of LA or on a remote island in the Caribbean?

2.   Take a traditional element in your book and give it a unique twist

EXAMPLE: A girl’s parents get divorced and are involved in a nasty custody battle over her. But what if instead of them both fighting for custody of her, they’re both fighting to make the other person take her? Heartbreaking and memorable.

3.   Take a traditional character type and give him or her a unique twist

EXAMPLE: Instead of the superhero saving the city out of a sense of moral duty, what if the superhero is saving the city because there’s something in it for him on the side? Money, fame, whatever. Suddenly a two-dimensional character is human (figuratively speaking) and flawed and vastly more interesting.

We’ll be talking next week about how to identify the well-loved hooks that make your story most appealing to agents, editors, and readers. But for now, focus on ways you can make your basic story idea itself different and unique and memorable.


Your Weekly Challenge

Grab your Teen Author Challenge notebook and make a list of 10 ways you could tweak the setting, characters, or traditional story elements to make your story idea pop. Anyone who comes up with 15 or more ideas gets a bonus entry into the monthly contest.

The Teen Author Challenge Contest

Throughout the year-long Teen Author Challenge (TAC ends June 2010!), I’ll be giving away a book of the winner’s choice from my personal writing shelf. Why am I doing this? Because becoming a skilled writer has two important parts: learning about your craft and practicing your craft. That’s why active participation in each weekly challenge is so important!

So what can you win? Books to choose from include:

1. The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler
2. Your Novel Proposal: From Creation to Contract by Blythe Camenson and Marshall J. Cook
3. The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing by Evan Marshall
4. The Career Novelist by Donald Maass
5. Writing Dialogue by Tom Chiarella
6. Mastering Point of View by Sherri Szeman
7. Creating Characters Kids Will Love by Elaine Marie Alphin
8. Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
9. Building Believable Characters by Marc McCutcheon
10. Dynamic Characters by Nancy Kress

Everyone who participates via the comments on the Teen Author Challenge posts will be entered into this monthly contest.

Go forth and be creative!

Entry Filed under: Paying It Forward, Teen Author Challenge