What Do You Do When Your Book Idea Isn't Unique?

WHY, OF COURSE YOUR IDEA IS UNIQUE!!!

I recently came across this problem while reading a new book. My work in progress is something that I've  been planning for about three years. It's a concept that has always intrigued me, and I'd never read any other YA book with this storyline. As I plotted the story out, I wanted to pat myself on the back and congratulate my genius brain for being so awesome because NO ONE HAD EVER THOUGHT OF THIS BEFORE.

Then I sat down to read Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. My first thoughts:

• Oh my gosh, y'all this book is so good. 
• Her prose! ACK! ENVY! Beautiful! I want to pet the pages!
• This character is so beautifully broken that I want to jump inside the novel and give her a hug! (Even though, you know, Juliette would kill me... But she wouldn't feel good about it.)

Then I got to a part that completely shattered me. (You see what I did there?) One of her main plot points is EXACTLY like mine. I was crushed. Here is this amazing writer, already agented by one of the top agents in the industry, published by one of the most prestigious YA houses in America, and to top it all off, her prose could suffocate mine like a sugar coated boa constrictor. 

I stopped writing for weeks. I mean, what was I going to do? I was already halfway through my WIP and what was the point of continuing it? Surely no agent is going to want to take on a copycat project. I felt so defeated that I considered scrapping the 20,000 words I had and starting completely over-- even though I LOVED those 20,000 words like WHOA. 

This project was SO different from my previous manuscript that is now shelved, and I just KNEW that it was going to be the one to get me an agent. It had a unique plot and it was science fiction (which is wanted in the YA market right now), so I was going to have to no trouble finding an agent this time. 

But someone got to the finish line before me.

So what DO you do when you see your genius book idea written by someone else? YOU WRITE IT ANYWAY. 

After five weeks of abandoning my manuscript and feeding my depression over it, I said, "You know what? I'm going to write this novel anyway!" My main character is nothing like Shatter Me's Juliette. Actually, my main character is what classifies the novel as science fiction. THAT was different than Shatter Me. 

And that was just the first of a string of things that I realized made my novel unique from Tahereh's. It really is true that the execution of a concept is what makes you different from everyone else who has thought of the same thing. No one thinks exactly alike-- it's what makes us all unique. (There I go, sounding like a kindergarten teacher. Everyone join hands, let's sing Kumbaya) 

So even if you have an idea for the NEXT BIG NOVEL and then see it a week later on a Barnes and Noble shelf, write it anyway! I promise that it will turn out 97.6% different than anyone else's similar idea. (My math may be off by a bit. It's not my strong suit). 

(NOTE: If for some reason Tahereh Mafi ever reads this post, please know: I am a huge fan of yours! No disrespect was intended for you or your amazing book. And how cool is it that Tahereh Mafi is reading my blog right now?)

Good Enough

Lately I've had the writing blues. Wicked Illusions has not done well in the querying process and I hit a big bump with my work in progress (until today I haven't seriously worked on it in a month and a half). With all the rejections I've gotten for Wicked Illusions I started to wonder if I was ever going to be good enough to get an agent, let alone get published. It's hard when you see friends and other writers getting requests when you're not, then getting an agent, then getting a book deal, and so on.

And then it's even harder when you see a terrible book like Fifty Shades Of Grey make millions upon millions of dollars, and then your own book-- which you KNOW is better (sorry E.L James)-- is never "good enough."

I've not seriously considered giving up yet, but I was getting close. I really wanted to abandon my WIP because it didn't feel "good enough." I was going to start on something else, but I'm pretty sure I would have abandoned it too for not being good enough.

WHAT IS GOOD ENOUGH, ANYWAY?

Who knows?

But when I get to feeling this way, I start scouring the internet for blogs, vlogs, and stories from other writers who have been in my shoes. I watched these two videos this morning and they jump-started my motivation. How will I ever know if I'll be good enough if I don't sit my butt down and just WRITE THE DANG BOOK ALREADY?

So my first book wasn't "good enough"? That doesn't mean that the next one won't be. I'll get that first book polished enough to publish one day, but I've got to branch out and push myself to do something better first. Anyway, these two videos inspired me to get going, so maybe they'll help you too if you need a little boost like I did today. (I've written 3500 words and counting today. Yay for getting over the hump!)

Thank you Shannon Messenger and Jackson Pearce!

Why Won't It Sell?

Today on Twitter, several writers and I have been debating the topic of what will and won't sell in today's marketplace. Since I've been querying Wicked Illusions over the past seven months, five agents have requested the full manuscript, and two requested a partial-- which both turned into full requests. All of these requests (except for one particularly mean rejection and one agent yet to respond) have ended in a "nice" rejection:

"Your writing is beautiful and the story is great, but I don't think there's room for it in today's overcrowded market."


"Your prose is fantastic! I loved the main character, but unfortunately, I don't think the story is a topic I can sell."


"I really enjoyed this manuscript, but I'm going to have to pass."  <---- This agent didn't even give me a reason why she was "passing," but I assume if she was being honest and "enjoyed" it, then she didn't think she could sell it to a publishing house.

I COMPLETELY understand that an agent's job is not just to praise your work and hope it sells. They are kind of like literary lawyers. They negotiate a deal for something YOU did-- if you don't get paid, they don't get paid. It's all a business transaction.

I also know that when choosing an agent, you need to find someone that IS in love with your work and is confident that he or she can sell it and make all your dreams come true. (They're also like fairy godmothers.) So it's kind of like choosing a spouse. You have to find someone that will love you and the twisted inner workings of your brain forever, no matter what the market is doing at the moment. He or she needs to be so confident in your abilities that no matter the trends, they can guide you and help you and sell ALL of your books. All this is fine and dandy and is something every writer hopes to find (though some agent/author relationships end in "divorce" just like marriages).

But the problem is, what if BEFORE you find your agent-soulmate you keep writing in the "I can't sell this" genres? We already know that books about vampires, werewolves, and dystopian societies are dead, but today, I was surprised to find that books involving ghosts and dead people is the new no-no. I can't think of very many ghost YA novels that are published, so this must be the next "new trend" that's pending for future release.

On twitter, I asked if anyone had any idea as to what there IS room for in the YA market, and the answers were:

• Sci-Fi
• Contemporary
• Anything Funny
• Thrillers

Now, my WIP is Sci-Fi, so WOO HOO!!! I'm in the "in crowd"! BUT it will probably be five to six months before I'm ready to send out queries for it, and I'm terrified that by the time I send it to agents, Sci-Fi will be the next YA no-no. 

I know you can't chain yourself to trends and that you need to write what you love, but how will I ever get an agent if he or she sees the topic and immediately deletes my query because the marketplace is already full of this sort of thing? 

I know what y'all are going to say: "Don't worry, if the writing is good, there's an agent out there somewhere that will love your work and pick it up."

And maybe that's true. But it sure is an aggravating process to get to that point. I guess that's why artists are temperamental, huh? *shakes fists*

What People Think We Do

The other day, I saw this photo on twitter:

(I couldn't find the original source, but I send thanks to the maker of this!)

It's so true!!

This week, I took a vacation from work so I could stay at home and do nothing but write for SEVEN WHOLE DAYS-- IT'S BEEN BLISS, I TELL YOU!

Except, my husband doesn't seem to realize what I'm actually doing, though I've tried to explain it to him. He has called me so many times today to chat, since I'm "not doing anything." (NOT DOING ANYTHING??? *shakes fist*) Don't get me wrong, I love talking to my love, but every five minutes??? I'm trying to work. He says: "Work, huh?" (*shakes fist again*)

I have only written 1500 words of my 5000 word goal today. (And of course, I am only prolonging my goal by writing this blog post. But it's lunchtime, okay? Don't judge me.)

 Anyway, to those of you are not writers, here is a small tip: When we say we are writing, we are not lounging around eating candy and frittering away our time. Okay, maybe there *is* some candy eating, but when I'm sitting here staring into space, I am CREATING something inside my head.

As one of my literature professors asked my class last semester, "When is loafing not laziness?"
Answer: When you are writing.

Writing involves LOTS of thinking and staring into space, and though most everyone who doesn't write may not think so, it's HARD work. It's FUN work, sure, but that doesn't make it easy.

New Ideas Solve Everything

1.) I sent out my last queries for WICKED ILLUSIONS. If this round doesn't land me an agent, I'm moooving on a la Rascall Flatts.

2.) I haz NEW ideas. I've written the first three chapters of three different novels, and since I can't pick just one yet, I am writing two of them right now. One may get more focus than the other because I have to submit a new chapter every other week to my Fiction Writing class at school, and it's the one I've already introduced to the class. (Hint? Brain tumor. Society on the verge of downfall. Yes, the two are related. Mwahahaha)

3.) But the other idea is SO tantalizing that I might just write it Kiersten White style. It's something I've always wanted to write, but never really put down on paper. Last night during a particularly loud thunderstorm, I was laying in bed relishing the sound of thunder and lightning-- which I LOVE-- when all the sudden this entire book just flooded into my head. I immediately grabbed my phone and emailed myself a loose outline, but I dreamed about it all night long. I was delighted to find that this morning I still loved the idea-- and actually understood something that I typed half asleep at midnight. I've never had  an entire plot come into my head so strong and quickly. I had to work HARD for the plot of WICKED ILLUSIONS and I still don't really know how the story in #2 will end. But this idea has dominated my brain completely, and I've already got seven characters fully formed and sketched out as of today. These people have obviously been hiding in the back on my brain just waiting for me to finally give up on my three-year-book and move on to something new. I won't say much about it, except this one, tiny hint:

(If you figure it out from this picture, we need to be friends immediately)

4.) On a completely unrelated note, I have been scouring the internet for things to take my mind off of querying, and I came across this little beauty. Watch it-- whether you love Twilight or hate it, this is guaranteed to make you laugh.

ALERT THE MASSES! MY NOVEL IS COMPLETE!

Today has been a very momentous day for me. I finished the novel that I have been working on for three years!!!! The concept of this book has been floating around in my head for quite some time, and has gone through several re-writes. But today, for the first time ever, I finished a NOVEL. I've had a love/hate relationship with theses characters for the past few months since they wanted me to finish their story, and I didn't have as much time to write as I liked. But I worked on it little by little, whenever I could, and I must say: if I can do it, anyone can do it. I am a full-time college senior, a part-time bank teller, and a wife. (my husband is watching the movie Anaconda in the background as I type this, BTW) I have basically no "time to write". But I loved it so much that I found time, and now I have a shiny new novel to show for it! It needs a ton of revisions of course, before I can query agents, but I HAVE A NOVEL!!! Sorry. I just can't get over saying that I HAVE WRITTEN A FULL LENGTH 65,000 WORD NOVEL. *cackles with joy*

Now it's time for me to disappear into the revision cave. 

BUT I HAVE A NOVEL! (Hee hee this will never get old)

How Writing A Book Is Like Falling Down

I am clumsy. I don't mean I bump into things every now and then, or drop things here and there. I am full-blown, Bella Swan clumsy. I laughed when I first read Twilight and saw the description of Bella's frequent injuries and mishaps. I was sure that Stephenie Meyer had been studying me when creating the character. Too bad I don't have a sparkly, hot guy watching me while I sleep, though (insert awkward pause, here). But I fall down and run into walls and trip and slip and drop things and let office chairs almost break my leg while sitting in them A LOT. Plus I'm fair skinned, so my bruises show up like spotlights in a country field at midnight. 

Anyway, I have been writing a book for the past two years. I can't quite get the ending right, but I am pretty much DONE with the book (well, the first draft, anyway). I have rewritten this thing at least four times, and I finally have gotten it where I want it to be. (You are probably wondering why in the heck I am using clumsiness as a metaphor for writing, but I'm getting there, I promise).

While writing this book, which happens to be my first novel, by the way, I have hit so many bumps along the way. I have wanted to write a novel since I was senior in high school, when I wrote my first children's book. Writing the children's book was hard (because it had to rhyme) but I wrote the first draft in about 5 hours, and the revisions only took about a week. That was nothing compared to writing this novel. I think my revisions will go a little smoother, but this first draft has just about KILLED me-- like the time I slipped and fell down this waterfall:

 AHA! I told you I would get there eventually! (And yes, that really did happen, but I walked away with only a few scratches and a REALLY nasty/cool bruise on my hipbone. I don't recommend trying to take a pretty photo on the slippery rocks of a waterfall, btw.)

I have walked along in my life falling and tripping and bruising until it became a routine thing for me. People knew when I was coming to watch out for me because we might both end up on the ground with a lump on the head, and not even know how it happened in the first place. This is what my writing has been like: a routine, falling-down-and-unable-to-get-up situation. I knew what I wanted to do, but I couldn't quite get there without ending up sprawled out on the floor with a new injury. 

The first draft was terribly sad. The main character's ex-boyfriend killed himself, all of her best friends, and tried to kill her, but she survived. She walked around in life sad and refusing to talk, but started seeing a boy in her dreams that eased her pain a little. I re-read and re-read this version of Wicked Illusions and tried to find a way to make it happier, but it depressed me. So I started over.

The second draft was told from a boy's POV instead of a girl's. The plot was basically the same except murder spree didn't happen to the boy, it happened to his cousin and he started dreaming of a girl who eased his pain. It was a little less depressing since he wasn't completely catatonic like the MC in the first draft, but it was still too sad, and too hard for me to write this particular story from a boy's POV. So I got up off the floor and started over again.

The third draft was a little closer to how Wicked Illusions is now, but still very different. I won't go into too much detail about it, but the plot was basically non-existent, and it was kind of boring and pointless. BUT I'd created this neat little creepy town that I really loved. And that was enough to spark a little nugget of a story and move on and start over AGAIN.

The fourth draft is what I am working on now, and it is better than ever. It still needs a lot of work, but it definitely has more potential than any of the other drafts.

But every time I started over and wrote a new draft, it was like falling down face first on a concrete floor. Pain and blood and bruising that left little marks on my skin (i.e. my ego) that left me crying and embarrassed. I didn't want to get up and let everybody see what a mess I'd made of myself. But the thing is, you HAVE TO GET UP. You can't just lay there in a pile shame and humility and let everyone point and laugh. 

Even if you make some awful mistakes and think that you can't drag yourself out of that hole you've just fallen into, you have to persevere and claw your way out. No mistake is permanent-- in writing, anyway. You can always hit the delete button and write something ten times better than before, just as you can pull yourself off of the floor, smooth your hair, say, "I meant to do that", then walk away dignified. 

Even if you hurt yourself (and it WILL hurt) along the way, put on a fresh bandage and keep going. Because falling down only teaches you to avoid that crack in the floor the next time you walk by it.

In case my metaphor isn't clear, because I tend to ramble sometimes: If your first draft sucks like mine did, delete delete delete until you get it right. You can do it! It just takes a lot of practice. Gracefulness must be earned in many aspects of life, like writing-- and walking, for people like me and Bella Swan.

"People Don't Talk In Contractions"

The past two weeks for me have been filled with excitement, disappointment, tears, and smiles. Thanks to the wonderful Maggie Stiefvater, I had my first experience with someone critiquing my novel-to-be. As Maggie and many other authors point out, it is best to have another writer or avid reader to read your work before sending it out to agents or editors. Most authors these days have a critique group, usually made up of one or two other authors. So I asked Maggie on her live journal how she came by her two critique partners, and in response, she set up a post so that other writers that read her blog could find a critique partner or two.

And so began the heart breaking process. I have barely even talked about the plot to my mostly-finished novel because I wanted to know exactly where I was going before I told anyone what it was about. But I was certainly not going to let this opportunity slip through my fingers. So I typed up a little short paragraph about what the main idea of my story was, and waited to be requested as a possible-future-critique-partner.

That day, I had never been so excited in my life. I received ten emails from other aspiring writers who wanted to read my work! People actually thought my story sounded interesting! So I polished my little baby and sent it's first 50 pages out into the world. No one had ever read my private work, and I was SCARED. I knew that there were some grammar mistakes here and there, and I knew that my main character needed to be a little more unique, but I thought the main thing in itself was pretty good for a first draft.

How Writers Write (Maybe?)

I had a discussion the other day with a friend about how it must be hard to live with someone who writes novels for a living. The more I thought about it, the more I felt sorry for my husband. My friend thought it would be tough living with a writer because she imagined that it would be difficult for that writer to transition from the world that he or she creates in his or her books to the real, "normal" world. I pondered that thought for a moment and realized that I have never lived in the real world. EVER. Logical is not my strong point. Now, I may just be crazy, but I have a hunch that many other writers and creative people have this same problem.

I have words and stories inside of me ALWAYS. I remember even when I was a small child, I would tell myself stories to keep my brain occupied (I get bored very easily). For years, I would tell myself these stories out loud. I'll never forget my older sister warning me that I when I started school, I would have to stop talking to myself because people would think I was weird.

But really, I will always be "weird". Most people don't have characters popping up in their heads having conversations with other characters. But I always have. I know that sounds a bit like schizophrenia, but I never talk back to them, if that counts.

These days, I stick to telling myself stories strictly inside my head or on paper. Hopefully one day, other people will want to read them too. If so, maybe I won't feel quite as weird. And if no one likes the worlds I fathom, that's okay with me. I have to entertain myself somehow.

But my synapses are constantly firing, creating new characters and plots and scenes. And if I let all of these jumble up in my brain, I can't sleep or perform logical, everyday matters. But as soon as I write them down, it's like they leave me forever. Then of course, I immediately (and unintentionally) start thinking of new characters and plots and scenes, creating a circle of inevitable doom.

My point is, the creative process never ends. It starts with a simple idea, and then grows and branches into something bigger. Only you have the power to control those thoughts, so get out your lasso and tame those babies. Because isn't it the coolest thing EVER to know that YOU have the ability to create a person, or a world, or whatever the heck you want, into something that never existed before YOU thought of it? I might be biased, but I sure think so. Living with a writer is probably like living in multiple worlds with multiple people, but isn't that all the fun of loving and living with a writer in the first place? It never gets boring. I promise. Just ask my husband.

Decisions, Decisions

I have now been college for six years.  Yep.  That's right.  SIX YEARS.  Most people that have been in college that long can say that they hold a bachelor's degree, or are in med school, or are almost finished with their master's degree.  I can't. None of those things are true about me. But I have a reason, if you could call it that: I WANT TO BE A WRITER. Not a veterinarian, or a teacher, or a physical therapist, or a speech pathologist, or a teacher (did i mention that one already?), all of which I have majored in at some point in my college career.  I want to be a full blown, accredited with a bachelor's degree in creative writing, WRITER. 

 "Now, why haven't you done this if it's what you want to do?" you may ask.  One reason, and one reason only: other people's opinions.  Every time I would timidly say to some one, "I want to be a writer," they would look at me with disdain in their eyes. "Oh Stefanie," they would say, "Don't you know that isn't a sensible job? Sure you can be a writer, but you need a REAL career too."  So I would just lower my eyes in shame for even thinking I could do such a thing like follow my dreams.  Sure I would be a writer one day.  I'm writing a novel, aren't I?  

But in the meantime, I had to go to college to get a degree for a REAL career.  But as the days ticked by, I began to become antsy.  The thought "this isn't what I want to do in life" raced through my head on a daily basis.  So I would pick up my school books and head on to the next temporary fad of a college major, all the while trying to convince myself that THAT was what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life.  I told myself over and over that adults hold REAL jobs.  Writing was for fun only, and if it turned out in my favor one day, that would be wonderful.  

But all this "self-convincing" that I was doing was only leading me down a dangerous path.  I spent three days in a row crying myself to sleep because I was so unhappy; and I had NO clue why.  I have a wonderfully sweet husband (really, I do. Couldn't ask for a better one) and kick-ass family that I love to be around as much as possible.  I am blessed in so many ways, I just couldn't understand why I wasn't HAPPY.  

Then one day I realized that the only thing that made me happy and let me dissolve the sadness that I couldn't escape anywhere else, was when I sat down at my computer and worked on my novel.  WRITING.  That was the simple trick all along.  At that moment of realization, a tiny voice said, "Hey.  If this is what makes you happy, WHY aren't you doing it everyday?"  That voice eventually got louder and louder until it was practically screaming at me at all times.  So you know what, world?  I am going to make myself happy.  I am changing my major to (drumroll please.........) English with a Concentration in Creative Writing.  And that is that.  I may or may not one day hold in my hands a shiny book with my name printed under the title, but if I never take the chance and actually TRY, how will I know?