Word Witch Wednesday - balancing formula and originality

This is a battle I've been thinking a lot about lately. Readers want familiarity. Give them their favorite types of genre books with the same formula. Readers also want originality. Something they've never seen before. Giving readers both? It can be done, but it's tough.

Formula - Most publishers will have a sheet on what you're supposed to have in a book in a given genre. For example, paranormal romance (PNR) requires a dual point of view from the heroine and hero, minimum 80% (with some publishers it's 90%) of the plot must have the hero and heroine together, the male must be an alpha, the heroine must kick butt, the key to the climax must hinge on their romance, and it must have a happily ever after or a happily for now ending.

With the formula, I feel like I'm reading the same two or three books over and over again. It's not enjoyable. Every now and then, I'll come across something different within the formula and it will rekindle my love for the genre. But as a reader, the formula is ruining my enjoyment of PNR.

It just isn't in this one genre. I've heard the same complaint about other genres, especially young adult (YA) and romance. The thing is these three genres I've mentioned are the best selling genres in the market.

Originality - Many publishers will not take a chance on a book that isn't written to their formula. Thank goodness for self-publishing! It is in indie books that I see more original tales. Yet sometimes I feel as if these stories are lacking something or wondering what the heck was that!

Making it in the indie world is hard work. Yet there is a lot of fabulous original material out there. Why aren't they selling better? Because readers want the comfort of the formula... while complaining they want something new.

 

The trick is then to give them both. But how?

 

I don't have the secret to that. I can only share what I've been doing. With formula, you can easily Google story structure for any genre and find hundreds of links. If you're aiming for a particular publisher, be certain you know what they want.

Here are some tips for adding originality into the formula:

- stick to the standard main plot but write twisty subplots

- choose a little known mythology to base your story on

- twist the clichés of your genre (e.g. the heroine isn't an orphan but a well loved daughter in a big family)

- have something familiar combined with something new (e.g. a greedy dragon stealing treasure from castles is really a scaly Robin Hood)

- write one main character off trope be it the hero, the love interest, the sidekick, or villain

How do you feel about formula writing? Do you have any tips to add to help make a story original?

Juggling - guest post by Tara Tyler

Happy Monday, folks! This week I'm excited to be a guest blogger at The Really Real Housewives. I love that blog! I'll be doing three posts about geek parenting on a budget. Even if you don't have kids, it's fun geeky stuff!

Today I'm excited to have the fabulous Tara Tyler as my guest. One lucky commenter will win a free ecopy of her newest awesome tale, Jolissa. Take it away, Tara!

* * * * *

Juggling

I cannot juggle. Juggling takes skill, balance, practice, and perseverance - you're going to drop a lot of balls before you get good!

Here's my definition:
juggling - there's something up in the air at all times

And here is my point:
Juggling life is just as difficult.
We all struggle with finding a good balance between family and work and free time. (I heard that chuckle when I said free time!)

But when all the pieces fall into place, there is peace.

The things we want to do the most, we seem to have the least time for! We work to pay bills so we can enjoy time with our families and our free time. If we don't get enough sleep, we are cranky. If we don't work enough, we fall behind on bills. If we don't keep up with our family and chores, the house falls apart. But don't sacrifice your free time to get the other stuff done!

Putting off to tomorrow things I couldn't get done today is NOT procrastination. It's underestimation of time needed.

NEVER FEEL GUILTY FOR ENJOYING YOUR FREE TIME!  We must have our time - our time to do what we enjoy plus sleep re-energizes us so we can go back to work.

And there is the circle of life, a continuous juggling of time management, trying to keep it all balanced.

Inevitably, life throws an extra ball into the mix, so we adjust. It takes a little work, but it's okay to drop the ball sometimes. And make sure you ask for help - you're not alone! Plenty of clowns trying to juggle their own balls.

Thanks for having me over Christine!



Tara's latest publication is Jolissa - An Anti-Princess Story, a novella with an on-going Youtube storybook.

A trouble-making maiden, a clumsy out-of-work squire, a loyal puppy, and a talking goat go on a quest - What could go wrong?

Tara Tyler has had a hand in everything from waitressing to rocket engineering. After moving all over, she now writes and teaches math in Ohio with her three active boys and Coach Husband. Currently, she has two series, Pop Travel (techno-thriller detective capers) and Broken Branch Falls (fantasy adventures). She's a commended blogger, contributed to several anthologies, and to get all these projects in, she economizes her time, aka the Lazy Housewife. Make every day an adventure!


How to find:
http://taratylertalks.blogspot.com
twitter - @taratylertalks
facebook – Tara Tyler - Author
Really Real Housewives of America

Friday Five for January 17, 2014

1. I'm almost at the end of draft 2 of my paranormal romance WIP. I have less than 5k to go. I rewrote the entire final battle. Last night, the villain did something that was simple and made complete sense. Why didn't I think of this before? It was awesome. I wanted to shout "Bravo!" Then I realized that was the villain. Drat. Okay, protagonist, you need to be equally as clever.

2. I came across a book I could not finish for the first time in a long while. I couldn't get past 10% on my Kindle. I only mention this because I felt really bad about it. I wanted to finish it. Is it strange I felt guilty?

3. My little guy had his first after school special on Wednesday. It's an Animal Science class that goes for six weeks. They learned about frogs. They put sticky jelly on their fingers and felt how it stuck to surfaces. Then they ate goldfish crackers using only their tongues to pick it up. He was really excited about it. (Plus mama got extra time to write!) I'm so pleased I enrolled him in a play-based cooperative preschool. I've been reading a lot of articles lately that reported upon the benefits of this type of preschool. Now that play-based preschools have been around for a while, several studies have shown how well it nurtures a love for school and learning. It is especially effective with boys, and studies have followed students up through the sixth grade with positive results.

4. I'm doing better with finding my balance, but I'm not there yet. I still spend too much time online when I should be writing. I've been going to bed at a better time, though, and that's helped during the days. I also take a little more time at night before bed to wind down. I sit in bed and read or watch a half hour show. Maybe I should use one of those timers and kid blockers to keep myself off the internet! Hmm, hey, not a bad idea. Anyone else ever try that?

5. I have my local critique group meeting tomorrow. Other than that, no plans for the weekend. What about you?

My Writing Goals for 2014

2013 was a great writing year for me, but one that took away time from other aspects in my life. (And how fitting I'm writing this post on the 13th!) I will attempt to make 2014 a year more about balance and organization. I even started off the year with a very clean and organized house. That also includes my online home. Hopefully organizing everything will help me make better use of my time.

Now for my writing goals!

Novel #1 - Revise and query. This is a paranormal romance I wrote at the end of 2011. I didn't like the ending I had scribbled down, and so it sat for a while until I was ready to come back to it. There are hot vampires and some unusual demons. I believe it has a great hook and will be highly marketable. Plus, it made me laugh and cry. That's a good sign.

Novel #2 - Revise and query. With a bit of POW! and a lot more ZAP!, I'll be marketing my superhero novel. I've been a comic book geek since I was a kid, but only recently have I started researching the genre by reading novels. Mine is very different from anything I've read. I hope that's a good thing!

Short stories - Write 6 / Submit 6 for the year. I would love to be able to do one every month, but with working on two novels, I won't have the time. I didn't have any acceptances the last half of 2013, and it depressed me. I was aiming high for an acceptance by a SFWA approved venue, though. I was short-listed a couple of times. That's closer than I've ever gotten before.

The A to Z Blogging Challenge - I've been going back and forth about it, but due to my time restrictions especially in April, I will not be participating in the Challenge this year on this blog. BUT I will be sharing the Challenge with my fellow Untethered Realms writers. We'll each have our days on the UR blog. I'm excited about it. I'm so honored to be a part of this talented group.

NaNoWriMo 2014 - I want to say yes. Let's make it a tentative yes. We'll have to see where I am with my novels in November. The novels have priority this year.

Balance writing, marketing, and home life - Home life comes first. No more grumpy mommy because she didn't get enough sleep. Writing comes in second. I wrote a lot last year, but I spent even more time marketing and networking. This year, I want to set weekly goals for writing. If I reach the goal, I can add extra time to networking, but only if I get my writing work done first. Balance is difficult for me, but I know it's vital to making me a happy person.

Don't forget to check out my post about sticking to your writing goals on the UR blog!

What are your writing goals for the year?

Insecure Writer's Support Group - July 2012

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is Alex J. Cavanaugh's brilliant idea. Once a month, writers share their fears and offer encouragement. Please visit some of the other participants in the group and offer up your support. It really does mean a lot.

I'm feeling anxious about my lack of time recently. I've been putting a lot into networking. I did all the research and set up new accounts on Facebook and Twitter. I've been doing a lot of blog posts and reviews. I'm keeping up with emails too.

But have I been writing? Not very much. It's not because I don't want to. It's because I keep put everything else first. When it's finally done and I'm ready to write, my son wakes up from his nap or it's time for me to go to bed.

I keep telling myself I need to balance it all. Balance is the key. I haven't managed to find it yet. I feel like a horrible person if I don't give every commenter a return comment. I feel guilty if I don't do everything else, but what is everything else for if I don't have anything written? I already feel bad that I don't get around to as many blogs as I would like.

How do you find balance between your writing and other activities?