Build a Better Mousetrap: Part 2
This is part two in a four-part series on how to write great stories, by Brandt Dodson.
When I recognized that mymarketing efforts weren’t paying off with the dividends I had hoped, I began astudious effort to learn what is was, exactly, I was doing wrong. I began analyzing my writing. Were mycharacters original? Did my plots avoid the tried and true? Was I writingsomething that was different? Fresh?
I had to conclude that I wasn’t.
Before I proceed, for the sake ofclarity, let’s define successful writersas having a very large and growing readership that places theauthor in the upper echelons of the NewYork Times Best Sellers list. It’s alofty goal, and I know that definition doesn’t work for everyone. But it givesa reference point for the purpose of this discussion.
Okay. So I determined that I wasn’t writing great books. Good books,I think, but not great. There are a lot of good books out there. But I’ve neverwanted to write good books or books that are competently done. I want to writebooks that move people; books that inspire conversation at the local Starbucks.
With this revelation, I beganreading and re-reading the novels ofthe literary stars as well as talking with them whenever I could. I’ve taken atwo-year hiatus from publishing in an effort to improve my writing as well asdevelop a workable business philosophy. Here’s is what I’ve learned.
Successful writers break the rulesYep. That’s right. Advice suchas: Make your characters likeable,and never begin with weather, arewell intentioned. Unfortunately, these rules often become restraints tocreativity rather than guideposts for engaging stories.
I recently spoke with Lee Child,creator of the Jack Reacher series,and he said, “Why not begin with weather? If that’s where the story starts, whynot?” In short, he was saying if weather plays a role in your novel, whether itis as a plot device or as a part of your setting or to establish the mood, whycan’t you start with weather? Alistair MacLean did. And who said charactershave to be likeable? Have you read TheGodfather?
I’ve learned there is only oneessential rule that all novelists need follow: You must entertain the reader. However you choose to do that,whatever road you take to achieve that goal, is fair game.
Successful writers develop simple plots that are executed withsimple words in simple sentence construction.Okay,I’ll admit, I was a bit reluctant to point this out because it may sound as ifI’m saying we need to write down to the masses. I’m not. But the fact remainsthat most of the best-selling novelists do not construct lyrical phrases oremploy complex sentences to execute erudite thoughts. They tend to use simplesentences that drive home the point and reach as wide an audience as possible.One bestselling author told me he believes there aren’t enough readers tocreate a large readership for an author. In short, he said he thought that asuccessful career, one in which tens of millions of copies are sold, requiresreaching people who generally do not read. They’re out there, he said. You justhave to give them something they want, and tell the story in a way they enjoy.
Readthe first page of Lee Child’s breakout novel, The Killing Floor, for an example of what I mean. Here’s anexcerpt:
I was arrested in Eno’s diner. At twelve o’clock. I was eatingeggs and drinking coffee. A late breakfast, not lunch. I was wet and tiredafter a long walk in heavy rain. All the way from the highway to the edge oftown.
Simple? Yes. To the point? Youbet. Ambiguous? Not at all.
Successful writers know story
There is a book out now that istitled: Story Trumps Structure. It’san insightful book written by an insightful writer, Steven James. But I’m notsure the title rings true. Story does trump technique. But story is dependenton a proper structure, and this is a technique of craft at which successfulwriters excel. They are first and foremost, great storytellers who understandwhat makes a story work.
Successful writers develop fresh ideas or engaging concepts forold ones
The writer of Ecclesiastes tellsus that there is nothing new under the sun. And he’s right. But as a writer, healso knew that there are different approaches to the same idea. After all,Ecclesiastes echoes the same ideas expressed in the rest of scripture, but doesso in a much different (some would say, slightly depressing) way.
When I was growing up, The Beverly Hillbillies was the numberone rated show on television. Later, as an adult, while watching Crocodile Dundee, I suddenly realizedthe similarity between that movie and TheBeverly Hillbillies. They are verydifferent concepts with verydifferent execution. But they are essentially the same story: A fish out of water. And that type ofstory always lends itself to humor. It is no mystery that both were comedies. (Thistype of story lends itself to great suspense, too. Remember the movie North by Northwest?)
All writers strive for highconcept, but most of fail. Some of us reach so high for the concept that we endup looking foolish. One who didn’t was Michael Crichton.
Jurassic Park is high concept. Could anyone argue otherwise? Dean Koontz,himself a successful, high-concept writer, has said that Crichton’s ideas weresome of the highest concept he has ever seen.
But others have succeeded at thistoo. Some have done it with their first book, right out of the gate.
Take David Baldacci, forinstance. His first thriller, AbsolutePower, took the idea of a man trying to hide an affair (nothing originalthere) and put it into the White House (pre-Bill Clinton). Suddenly, the mantrying to hide the affair, as well as its subsequent murder, was the Presidentof the United States, a man with a large number of resources. That’s highconcept.
Or take John Grisham’s secondbook, The Firm. A young lawyer findshimself working for the mob. Need I mention that The Firm is still in print and launched Grisham’s strugglingcareer?
Successful writers are well readI’ve taught at a large number ofwriter’s conferences over the years and have talked with a lot of writers includingsome of my favorites. Among them are: Ken Follett, Lee Child, Steve Berry,David Morrell, Michael Connelly, Scott Turrow, Tess Gerritsen, Michael Palmer,and Harlan Coben. In virtually every case, I’ve found these authors to be well read.Not just up to speed on current literature, but the classics too.
And I’ve learned that successfulauthors know their genre’s history.They know what’s been done, when, and why. But just as importantly, these authors are well-read outside their genre too. Techniques intelling a romance story will carry over to a thriller very nicely, thank you.
Successful writers don’t readanother author’s book to use it as a template. They study it to see why itworks. Lee Child has said that prior to his own publishing successes he readthe incomparable John D. MacDonald. Child has said that MacDonald’s ability topull the reader into the story was intriguing and, to this day, he can’t figureout how MacDonald did it. Child writes a very different type of book, but thelessons he’s learned from MacDonald have been well applied.
Successful writers are endowed with insatiable curiosity
Ken Follett has said that hisdrive to write Pillars of the Earthcame from years of sitting in the old cathedrals of Europe and wondering about thepeople who built them.
Most successful writers arenatural learners who are easily bored, and a good portion of them have held avariety of jobs. I challenge you to read the biography of writers such as LouisL’Amour, Dennis Lehane, or Ernest Hemingway, to name but three.
I’ve also learned that mostsuccessful writers love to read about obscure subjects. Information as variedas how screwdrivers are made to new discoveries in physics serves as grist forthe mill. All of this information is read and then digested before it isregurgitated in some form or other in their stories.
In my next post, I’ll continuethe characteristics of successful writers.
