I’m taking a breather from my climb up Mount Publication. I couldn’t resist because I arrived at a lovely little village and someone invited me to a party.
“You’ll love it,” he said. “There’ll be storytelling around the bonfire on the village green.”
As I relaxed in the tavern, my belly full of lunch, I thought about it. Maybe after all my effort so far it would be good to hear some other tales. Maybe it might help me with my own.
I wandered down to the bonfire, found a comfy seat on a log nearby and waited for the others to arrive. It was an eclectic mix, a butcher, a baker and a candlestick-maker to name a few. I think there was an owl and a pussy-cat but I can’t be sure. It wasn’t long before a crowd had gathered and someone lit the fire. Just as it was really catching there was a commotion at the front and seven dwarves arrived. They settled themselves down and everyone looked at a man sitting with a huge brown leather book. He opened the pages and spoke.
“A long time ago,” he said, “in a galaxy far far away…” It sounded familiar.
A while later the baker stood and told her tale. It was a story of Edmund Mullen, Ella Duck and how they fell in love. He would always be a teenager but he had a good heart. Oh, and he glowed blue in sunlight.
Next it was the butcher’s turn. He had an amazing epic tale of a world in turmoil, torn asunder by evil forces. But it would all be fine if there was a bunch of worthy souls, who could take the special pendant back to where it was made…
I left before the candlestick-maker started. Why? Well, simply, I’d heard it all before. I started back up the path on my way out of the village but I didn’t get far. They were almost hidden in the darkness away from the glare of the flames and I nearly fell over them.
“Watch it,” the first man yelled. “You nearly trod on my notebook.”
“Notebook?” My interest was piqued. “Aren’t you going to join the storytellers over there?”
The second man snorted. He tugged at my sleeve and gestured to the space next to him. “Sit, friend. Sit with us. You’ve left the storytellers, now join the storymakers.”
I sat, unsure of what he meant.
And then I thought about it. You see, a storyteller just passes on the same old stories. Sure, the names change, the places change but look beneath the thin veneer and it’s obvious that the basic story is the same. These stories turn up on the desks of editors and agents time and time again. Then they turn up back in the hands of their writers with a rejection slip.
Consider a different perspective. You’ve cooked the perfect meal. It had a taste bud tingling starter, a fulfilling main course and the sweetest dessert. You liked it so much you made it again the next day. And the next. And the next. Sooner or later you aren’t going to look forward to it any more.
Your friend had heard that you love that meal. You go to dinner and guess what is served up. But it’s not the same. It’s lost its edge and you already know what’s coming. But you eat it, because it’s your friend.
The next night you go to a restaurant but it has a set menu. Yes, you guessed it. It’s the same. Would you buy a meal?
In the business world which, don’t forget, includes publishing, marketing people look for the Unique Selling Point, or USP. In a story, whether it’s a novel, a short story, flash fiction, the USP is the spark that makes it different to all the other stories. It isn’t enough to churn out something similar to the books already on the shelves. It does need to have enough in it for readers of a genre to connect to but it is up to us to write.
Writing is taking that spark and nurturing it until the story truly catches fire. Like that bonfire, part way up a mountain, a unique story, set in an imaginative world and full of engaging characters will be easy to spot from miles away. But often, the writers that have those stories in their heads aren’t so easy to see. They are the ones, scribbling away in the wee small hours – or whenever they get the chance – because they are the ones that are compelled to write. They are badgered by their ideas until they reach the page and simply have to get them down.
Be a little bit honest with yourself. Did your idea come to you straight after you’d read something amazing? Does it bear even the slightest resemblance to that work? Don’t worry, if you didn’t notice, the agent will.
So, it’s time to press on again. I’ve a head full of new and exciting tales from my new friends, the storymakers. Now all I have to do is remember – am I telling someone else’s story or am I making my own?
