What SNI were you psyched to work on, but discovered it was too close to something already done?
I had an idea for a dystopian love story in which the characters learned on their 16th birthdays when they were going to die. Yes, this idea came to me after the spat of dystopians in which significant life-altering choices occurred on the 16th birthday of the protagonists. What can I say? It's a solid story frame! I still want to write this story, for myself, at some point. I've been saying I want to to serialize a story on my blog for a while, so maybe that will be the serial. But I've got my hands full with my WIP, so it keeps getting pushed back. I'm glad I only had a vague idea and had the sense to quash it, because it would be truly horrible to have come up sparkly vampires at the same time--or before--Stephenie Meyer, for example. Although I suppose L.J. Smith is doing all right these days, if "L.J. Smith" actually sold the rights to the T.V. shows and wasn't just a ghostwriter, or ghostwriters plural, for all those novels.
I've noticed that 16 is a popular YA protagonist age. And I think there's good reason for that. Sixteen seems to be a good transition age--you're not a kid, but not quite an adult. You can expect crazy teenager-y things from a 16-year-old, as well as mature insight and responsible actions. Sure, 13-15 year old characters could be this way--but somehow it's more believable for a 16-year-old. So, I wouldn't worry too much about the "something significant happens on the 16th birthday" thing. After all, it's the trigger for the story, not the whole plot.
ReplyDeleteTrue, it is just the trigger. But having seen this frame in DIVERGENT, MATCHED (though maybe that was 18), and DELIRIUM in just the past couple of years, it feels like it might be stale. I'm sure there are tons of examples I'm forgetting, too.
DeleteThis is true. But I'm sure you will have your own spin on it and whatever you write might make you think of/have similarities with another story but it's all in how YOU tell it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, true enough. The same stories have all been retold thousands of times, but they come about different with each teller. That being said, unless there's something fresh about the reteling, I might avoid it. Unless it's the type of story that I am obsessed with (psychological thrillers featuring strong female protagonists) and then I'll just reread the same story over and over ;)
DeleteCall my crazy, but I can't get enough of YA dystopian, even when they're similar to one another. When you like something you often want more of it. I say run with your idea :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's like food, right? If you like a certain thing, you want to eat it. If grocery stores were run like publishing houses, we'd all be out of luck when our favorite cereals became too popular ;) I'm sure there are much more complicated economic factors at play, but sometimes it feels so counter-intuitive that when a genre or sub-genre is popular, that means it's "over" for writers and publishers.
Delete16 is kind of magical - I mean in ths US you guys even get to drive...alone! :D
ReplyDeleteI´d like to read that type of story because now you bring in a lot of questions: does that mean nobody ever gets to 16 + 1 day? who is making the rules? are they older? how did they get older then? how about if someone realizes their birth certificate is fake meaning they´re actually 17 - can it bring the entire society down? is it accepted? :D
Yes. I´m intrigued :D
I feel like my explanation is both too vague and promising a more interesting direction than my idea actually has!! So, the premise was that when you turn 16, you learn how long you'll live. LIke, one person will live to 185, and another to 200 (in this dystopian world people live a lot longer). The conflict occurs when the protagonist finds out that the girl he's been love with since he was a kid has only a few months to live. Then, they embark on a kind of journey to Oz (in the form of a Burning Man-esque festival), where they meet various people who reveal the secret behind the exact death dates, etc. You know, the more I describe it, the more I want to write it ;) One of these days. . .
DeleteI totally dig this idea! Other dystopians have worn me out, but for some reason, this concept interests me enough to give them another try. All you have to do is make the characters outstanding (and not a first-person MC I want to punch in the face), and you've got my read.
ReplyDeleteI particularly love the 'journey to Oz' Burning Man festival. Teenagers going on a vision quest in the desert - with FIRE - just hits a lot of good buttons. Go, woman! Write, write!
Thanks! You've got me reinspired. Now only if I could clone myself ;)
DeleteLJ Smith is a real person writing vampire novels starting a solid decade or so before Meyer. But she wrote The Vampire Diaries for a packager and has since been booted off her own series, so who knows if she got those awesome TV royalties.
ReplyDeleteI knew she stopped writing them at some point, but I wasn't sure of all the details. God, that would suck if she didn't get anything TV related. I can't remember, are you into V.C. Andrews? The Andrews related blog up in my list has an awesome post about the drama behind V.C. Andrews continuing as a "brand" after her death.
DeleteWarning: will depress you: http://www.fanpop.com/spots/stefan-and-elena/articles/94267/title/lj-smith-fired-from-writing-own-novels
DeleteThanks to everybody who left encouraging comments about my SNI. The YA Highway community rocks!
ReplyDeleteI would totally read that book. It sounds gripping. Hope you write it someday!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I do too.
DeleteThe dystopian market does seem to be saturated, but so is the vampire market - and those still have a way of popping up onto the shelves. I think the key is to find something that makes your work stand out. There will always be similarities. So just do the same, but do it differently.
ReplyDeleteEasy peasy, right?
Haha. Exactly.
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