Don't Write the Same Old Story - 5 Convenient Tips, by G. Miki Hayden Options

[Cleo_Serapis]

Source:http://www.thewindjammer.com/smfs/newsletter/index.html

One of my big objections in reading short mysteries is the sameness of style of the stories, as if they were all cut from the identical generic story cutter. Don't strive to write based on the model that these writers are using--please! Take a few hints and do it your way--differently.

1. Location, location, location. Or, I could say, setting, setting, setting. Whether you chose a physical locale that is exotic and compelling, a little-known historical period, or an unusual background industry--making a  unique and intriguing choice will automatically transform your story. While it is said that there's nothing new under the sun, placing your characters in Turkey during a cataclysmic earthquake will give you a scrim against which to sculpt a riveting story. The reader is already interested in a topic that represents such overwhelming life drama. Or don't use Turkey, if you feel it's too late to research the event. Pick up today's newspaper and see what  catches your attention. There's enough going on across the globe that will provide a mesmerizing accompaniment to your basic plot and characters. The research has already been done for you, in the main in that tabloid's articles. Add a few details by searching online and you will have a piece that no one else can possibly offer.

2. People are complex. Rather than inserting the generic burglar or standard elderly female persona, try to remember that there are no predictables when it comes to human personality traits. How about mixing and matching characteristics for some surprises? For instance, why not give us a little old lady burglar. But, for goodness sake, don't make her cute. Most of us women over the age of 50 aren't that adorable or gray-haired today. Think Lauren Hutton as the grandmotherly burglar or Elizabeth Dole. Maybe your Dole figure is breaking into the Watergate Apartments for information that will help a charitable organization like the Red Cross.

3. People aren't cardboard. Character is too important a story element to let go at combining disparate elements. Even if you use non-stereotypical outer aspects of those who populate your tales, please also remember to give these beings some depth. Assuming that you, as a real human soul, have certain musings and motivations beyond the superficial, so should your story's cast. While in real life, people might kill, there are generally reasons beyond the "she insulted my hybrid roses" theme. Make us believe that there is a strong enough reason here. Give us a mindset that will chill us, if you like, but don't allow the readers' eyes to roll upward in skepticism or disgust. People are interesting. Characters that aren't true to life are boring.

4. Plot elements should be logical. Logical means that a person with an everyday education might reasonably assume that a character such as you describe, of this social class and gender, and in this setting, will take the action that you, the author, have ordained. While a complex character doesn't have to act exactly to type (see above) a complete absurdity will be taken as such. Sure, you might want to manipulate the plot to give a twist that will come out of left field, but if you do so, be sure that the reaction is not, "Huh?  No way." Too often a plot wrinkle rests on the author's desire to wrinkle the plot and nothing more. Plot has to move from the foundation of what has been set in motion at the start. A twist intended to elicit an "oh!  Wow!" not that "huh?" will be an unthought-of surprise, not a dumb ploy.

5. Add yourself to the story. In other words, personalize the story to the extent possible. That's what authorship, in the end, is about. Add your own humor, your own sense of word usage, your own means of emotional expression.  A story is not simply backdrop, characters, and plot, it is a work of, excuse the word, artistic creativity. Words are the writer's canvas and the magic to be drawn across it is something individual and heretofore unknown. Spread those colors as only you can. That is the most essential ingredient in the mix.

Good writing.

G. Miki Hayden is a frequent contributor to national mystery publications.  Her novel BY REASON OF INSANITY features a psychiatrist.

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