Hatrack River Writers Workshop: A quote from OSC

This is topic A quote from OSC in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Meenie (Member # 2633) on :

As I read thru the fragments I keep seeing the same complaint: "this has been done before."
In OSC's "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy" he states:

quote:
The novelty and freshness you'll bring to the field won't come from the new ideas you think up. Truly new ideas are rare, and usually turn out to be variations on old themes anyway. No, your freshness will come from the way you think, from the person you are; it will inevitably show up in your writing, provided you don't mask it with heavy-handed formulas or cliches.

Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :

quote:
it will inevitably show up in your writing, provided you don't mask it with heavy-handed formulas or cliches.

the above is the most important portion of the entire quote.

when i say something about something being familiar sounding, it means that it is TOO much like something else i've seen.

it's ok that you will almost inevitably be recycling some of the ideas of other writers, but do your research. know exactly what has been written before and then do a brainstorming session to find out how YOU want to approach it that will sound the most true to YOU, without too obviously rehashing the old.

i highly doubt an editor will even give you the benefit of saying it sounds familiar, they'll just toss it straight to a waste basket and never you the wiser. they MIGHT send you the #1 rejection that goes something like "sorry, but you don't have anything we're interested in at this time"

all the above being said... it's been a few months since i even looked at the frags and feed section, so i haven't been telling anyone anything about their stories, unless they bring them up in this forum or in the Writer's Class forum

[This message has been edited by dpatridge (edited June 12, 2005).]

Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :

But I could spend my whole life reading and never get around to writing anything. Keep in mind that OSC did not and still has not read Starship Troopers. It doesn't have a whole lot to do with Ender's Game so I don't see why it is worth him continuing to not read it. I mean, you look at the Star Wars movies and almost nothing in them is totally unique. It is like there is a periodic table of elements that go into a sci fi story. You can make anything out of them. And, some people like to have pizza over and over. Usually not the same exact pizza, though.

Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :

i didn't say you had to read every single story that ever used an element out of your own story... you generally only need to research the core elements, and even those, you don't necessarily need to read the entirety of the other stories that used it, myself, at least, can get away with skimming over the cliffs notes and then figure out what it was that the author did.

Posted by yanos (Member # 1831) on :

I think someone has missed the point here. It's not about reading everything in the field, it's about being aware of the field. The key is to write in your own style. Even if you are coming close to what has been done before you will be doing it your way, which is hopefully a fresh way.

Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :

So which one of us do you think missed the point? And which point? I for sure missed the poiny of that sentence.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

You can't read or even know about everything that has been done. One of the advantages of workshopping a story is that if it has been done before, someone else may know and can tell you.

And when they do, you can find out how, and then figure out how you can do it differently.

Turn it on its head, add a new twist, bring in a totally unrelated idea or interpretation of what's been done before.

Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :

If something has been done and you haven't read it, then you can't be influenced by it. your story WILL be different.

Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :

i agree and disagree SpaceMan. i have found many a time that i write about the same thing as another writer did, only i've never read a word written by the other.

i go to the library and check out several of their books and find that what i had written was almost exactly the same, far too close for comfort.

so just because you've never read something doesn't mean it'll be different enough. sure, it won't influence you, but who's to say you and the other writer don't think eerily alike?

and i agree Kathleen, indeed that was my point. i tell people when something sounds familiar so that they will know that their twist isn't fresh enough... if they don't want to hear someone elses take on something, they shouldn't ask for it.

as i said, however, i REALLY do not tell people that it sounds too much like something else all that often, and when i do say it, i actually mean it, and i attach an explanation and a few ideas of ways in which they might add a new twist.

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

I'd break it down by saying that "influences" are good. If you're writing about the same thing as another writer and you haven't read what that writer has done...then you're setting yourself up to reinvent the wheel.

And, just a hint, it's gonna end up being round and turning on an axle.

Like d says, you gotta read so that you'll be able to figure out how to make your wheel better than the other guy's wheel.

Which is why I always recommend that someone read other stories that have explored the idea. Sometimes I mention a prominent example or two by name, sometimes I just assume that the author can find them given the instruction "read other stories that use this idea". Only by becoming aware of the body of literature that deals with a concept will you be able to make a real contribution to the field.