Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Quote of the day

"Try any goddam thing you like, no matter how boringly normal or outrageous. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, toss it. Toss it even if you love it." --Stephen King
I thought about this quote when I was reading the Hunger Games trilogy. I mean, the books are pretty outrageous. Kids who kill each other and the winner is the one who survives. I asked myself if I would have written Hunger Games if I had had the idea (I wish) or if I would have thought, "Nay. That's too far out there."
Then I remembered the middle-grade novel I wrote about four middle-schoolers who struggle to save their community from hideous sea snakes that control the brains of humans they inhabit. These are not ordinary sea snakes. They were genetically engineered by the U.S. government as a weapon of war. But the government’s plan failed when the ship carrying the sea snakes on a top secret mission sank.
And, you know, that's really out there, too, and I wrote it so I guess I can write pretty outrageous stuff.
How about you. Do you hold yourself back, thinking it's so outrageous or do you give it a whirl? I think that it doesn't matter how far-fetched an idea is, if you can make it believable, it works.

Thoughts anyone?

And don't forget to do the show, don't tell exercise.

6 comments:

  1. I write fantasy, so I try to create fantastical creatures like you did. I hope it works.

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  2. I wish I could be more "out there"...but it's not who I am and I'm okay with that.

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  3. I think my biggest strength in writing is embracing the outrageous in a plot. However, it makes for blank (or judgmental) stares when I tell people what I write! (Ha, ha.)

    Great thoughts, Buffy! :)

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  4. I hear, "I'm not buying it." from my critique group fairly often. Then I have to go back and make some outrageous thing believable so I guess, yeah...I'm on the outrageous side.

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  5. In today's market, the more "far out there" ideas tend to do pretty well. :-)

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  6. It sounds like most of you write "far out there" stuff. And Sharon, we love you just the way you are so don't change.

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