You want to come up with something unique.  You want to find a subject or topic that will sustain you through the marathon writing process.  And whether you are a first time novelist or written 25 books, you are forever searching for that novel idea that will bubble to the surface and have universal appeal.

Every story has been told.  You know that…think.  How many ways can you write about a romance? 

Boy meets girl.  Boy and girl enjoy each other’s company eventually.  Girl gets annoyed, disappointed, or hates boy.  Boy finds a way to make amends.  Boy and girl get back together on some level.

Here’s what is going to make your romance novel different.  You are going to find two unique individuals.  They are in opposition in thought, ideals, careers.  Pick one that your readers will find interesting and will be able to identify.  Then, throw in some “what ifs.”  What if it were set in NYC?  How would it change if it were in Kansas? Or set in Alaska?  Or in Jakarta? 

What do we have so far?  Two unique individuals engaged in an opposing viewpoin and living in a locale embracing who these two are or completely challenging them.  The venue is like a silent character.  Bring texture to your novel by selecting a venue that will heighten the differences or be symbolic of the conflict betwen them.  For example, did the inclusion (like a jounralist’s sidebar) of a mother bear protecting her young, emphasize the nurturing characteristc in the female protagonist?  Or is the salmon’s run to its spawning place highlight a male protagonist goal? 

These examples are stereotypical of the male and female role.  What if you have the nature image switched?  What if you show the male bear protecting its cub and pair that up with the male protagonist?  How does that subtly change the message?

None of your stories will be originals.  What makes them unique and yours are the elements you choose to craft the storyline.  You also bring your unique viewpoint and personality.  These are the things that mask the underlying storyline and tug at the reader’s emotional heartstrings.  Think of all the possible combinations and permutations that are embedded in the simple storyline.  When there are too many similar combinations, we recognize that and think it was a ripoff of another more familiar story.  So use your unique experience and writing style to make the story yours.

A good story has all its elements intertwined and working to support other story elements.  If you are cognizant of why you choose what you decide to include in your novel, you will increase your storytelling power.  Like a large jigaw puzzle, there are pieces that almost fit and really look like they do fit because they are so close in color and shape. But upon closer examination you can tell they don’t quite fit.  The puzzle pieces are not pressed snugly against each other, a small gap along one curve.  To leave that one piece in the wrong place, will not change the result— a piece or many pieces left over; there will be unanswered story threads.   And therefore, under the critical eye of the reader, your novel won’t rate a “WOW!”  It will solicit an: “Oh.”

If you are a writer…and even if you aren’t a writer, there comes a day when you face a blank piece of paper or the glaring whiteness of a blank computer page.  I’m sure you’ve heard the “write what you know about” and still find yourself scratching your head for a topic or theme. 

Why not start here?  Instead of trying to pick a theme or topic, another approach is to define who you would like to read whatever you want to write.   Is it for men?  Women?  Both genders?  For fishing lovers?  Baseball fans?  You get the idea.

Once you get the demographics down, think about what that group of people would like to read about, if you were one of the group.  Oh no, you don’t know anything about that topic?   It is easier to write about something you know, so now your task is to get to know something about whatever you’ve chosen.  Do the research.  Get to know people in the field.  Ask questions. People love to talk about what they know best.  And most people I’ve found are very generous with their time when they trust you.  (and in the process, you might discover a new best friend.  How cool is that?)

While you are interviewing, listen carefully, because the people will tell you stories and subtext, which you will convert into sidebars.  Since I am focusing on novel writing, these stories become your subplots.   You have a bunch of notes, story clips, venue descriptions and vocabulary (topic jargon) at your disposal.  This information is the basis for your skeletal outline.

If you didn’t find story lines in your interviews, you either didn’t ask enough questions, not listening hard enough, or couldn’t get the person to open up.  If this is the case, while you are honing your interviewing skills, find subplots from newspaper and magazine articles (things that happen in everyday).

Now you’ve got the bits and pieces.  Take what you now know and see if you can find a common denominator for a theme.  It could be forgiveness, courage, or love.  See how the main plot and the subplots highlight the theme.  Write it down because if you are like me, brilliance only strikes once.

Once you got this in place, you can start breathing life into your characters.  Do character sketches so you have a backstory and motivation.  Remember each major character must have a goal.  Since goal to me sounds so clinical, I prefer calling it a yearning, something that the character must have to make him or herself feel happy, satisfied or whole.

Whatever you call it, make sure the yearning is clear.  This is what is going to have the readers hooked.  We readers want the feeling of rooting for the character.  We can identify with that void and need to have it fulfilled.

Good luck and let me know how this works for you.

Some predict that the recent surge in gas prices will force publishing to be more choosey about what they publish.  I’m not tapped in.  Maybe they are already.  We can see the increase in food and clothing prices, but have we noticed an increase in hardbound books?  Paperbacks?

It stands to reason that if delivery costs the booksellers more, then this cost will be passed to the consumer.  Will the consumer be willing to pay $30 to read a first time novelist?  Pretty expensive for an iffy read.

Looming gas prices will pressure people to purchase e-books.  While there is something awkward and less satisfying about reading a book on your computer or  on a handheld telecommunication device, the electronic version is the obvious solution to cost. 

However, I don’t think the pleasure of holding a new book and experiencing the anticipation of delving into a good read will disappear. 

Here’s a thought.  Can you imagine reading a book on a 60″ plasma tv while sitting on the couch and pressing the remote to turn pages?  After all, you could probably adjust the text size, change the font, color and whatever else.  At least you may not have  to look around the house for your glasses. 

You should always keep your promises.  I heard it as a kid and when I went to sales training in my late 20’s, it was the mantra of customer service. 

So, I am keeping my promise.  Last week I promised to put together my time line to keep me from getting distracted and stay focused.  In the navigation bar to the right, I posted a page on Project Time Line. 

While there are many ways to construct a timeline, I just listed the tasks to be done in sequence and then set a reasonable due date.  This will hopefully keep me moving forward. 

Oh, another goal I accomplished was to hook up with a writing partner.  I did so on Saturday.  Nancy is a journalist for the local newspaper.  She has already self published a book on cooking.  Although I didn’t have a chance to read it, I did notice that her writing voice is light and humorous.  Well-done humor always adds to the book’s commercial success. Since our first meeting was to see if we both have enough interest to keep moving forward, no writing was discussed.  It was more a meeting to get re-acquainted. 

To my biggest surprise, she hails from State College, PA and we both earned degrees around the same time.  We decided to meet again the last Saturday in June.  I have been thinking we should have some structure, otherwise our meetings might disintegrate before they even get fully established. 

I also have been debating whether writing a blog contributes to my fiction delinquency.  I am still learning about what drives a website.  Reading about it is one thing.  Finding time to execute it is another.

As usual, it is late.  I want to read before I turn in.  In my last entry I reviewed some of my favorite books on writing.  If you have any books you particularly liked, please leave a comment and tell  me a little about the book and why you particularly liked it. 

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