As you know, I relish the company of my
science-fiction/fantasy group when we meet to hash out worlds that bloom into
stories. However, I have noticed a number of dime a dozen, generic features
that seem to worm their way into any discussion of fantasy or science fiction
story development.
You know what I mean, the vampire girl, the were-wolf boy,
the teenage witch/wizard that has undiscovered powers. The human who, with or
without a genius level intellect, can decipher an alien language with ease. The
young man or woman, who suddenly becomes a master swordsman, archer or just undisputed
badass with only a minimal degree of training.
Granted there are always going to be these types of
characters, because frankly, they sell, but as a writer and presumably a
creative genius, you have to set yourself apart from the other 100,000 next
great things in fantasy/science-fiction writing.
Look through the bookshelves and you will see a dozen
stories lined up shoulder to shoulder, with very similar plots, characters and
settings that read the same…generic.
You as the writer, as I told one young man, have to do
something that makes you stand out from the dozens of similar stories that are competing with yours to be published. The
setting, the races, the creatures and the powers or technology is all window
dressing. Of course, they can be richly detailed creating a wondrous place for
your characters to traverse, but unless you can construct a strong plot that is
different enough to make me want to turn the page, your story will not be going
anywhere.
Even if your ideas, characters and elements are done to
death or close to it, there has to be a twist, a uniqueness that you as the
writer have to extract that separates you from the others. That is the trick,
isn’t it? With so many more avenues to publishing, you have to work twice as
hard to elevate yourself from the generic writing and make your work shine.
