A couple of days ago, we were visiting our family in Alabama. The kids had gotten very restless and were about to start wreaking havoc in their grandparents’ house.
I shooed them outside and shooed myself with them because I was restless too, after having been in the car most of the day before. “Let’s play hide and seek,” I said.
My children looked at me doubtfully. “Are you going to hide too?” asked my daughter.
I said I would. Although I had a feeling I was going to regret it. I’m tall and really, how many places were there going to be to hide?
My son hid first and we finally found him in a huge magnolia tree.
Then it was my turn to hide. The best place for me to hide was behind a brick wall toward the front of the house….but everyone driving down the road would see me. Any motorists that saw children hiding would just smile and keep driving. Any motorists that saw me hiding might call the police.
Then it struck me—I’d hide where my son had hidden! And I’d misdirect the children. “Okay, I’ll go hide. But you really need to count and give me some time.”
While they were counting, I hid really close to them in the magnolia tree. It took them a good fifteen or twenty minutes to find me….long enough for me to cramp up from crouching. It worked.
It’s like this for writing, too. There are only so many storylines. Really, it’s all been done before.
But we can take old ideas or plot cliques and twist them to our purposes and make them work. We might be hiding in the same tree, but we can do our own misdirecting with a fresh setting, original voice and characters, twist ending, or even some genre blending. And what we bring to the table is something no one else has—our unique experiences.
How do you put a new twist on an old idea?
Elizabeth – Thanks for that wonderful story! What a great mental picture, too, of you hiding in the tree. Your underlying point is very well-taken, too. As you say, there’s a finite number of storylines within a genre. Even if one crosses genres, the number doesn’t get that much bigger. But each of us has a unique voice and a unique way to approach those storylines. That is what keeps writing fresh.
Since I write mysteries, your trick of misdirecting your children also reminds me of the value of a good “red herring.” There’s a finite number of those, too, but you never know what might be a red herring and what might be a real clue ; ).
Magicians use misdirection as well. It’s amazing how you can hide an old story behind some flashy new tricks.
I particularly love twists on old fairy tales. Everyone *knows* how it’s supposed to go, so when you deviate from that it’s a great surprise. I remember one where Little Red Riding Hood was acutally the wolf.
There’s an old Hollywood saying (actually there are several variations on it) about what a producer wants in a script:
“Give me something exactly like that only different.”
You want something new and surprising, but still in a familiar context, so you can understand it.
You are the master at finding writing tips in the nooks and crannies of your everyday life. Thanks for this.
Oh I love this post. This is so true. So many things we are looking for are right in front of us. I also love when a writer hides the killer in plain sight.
Yep. Great post.
I was just commenting on this in a Shelfari review of “A Reliable Wife.” The Robert Goolrick book has gotten so much attention nationally–so when I began to read it I was surprised by how familiar the plot was! However, Goolrick’s writing style is what makes this book worth reading. He has an amazing way of using shocking sentences and train-of-thought verbage. I highly recommend it–and there ARE some plot twists unique to the author.
Glad you kids found you!
Michele
SouthernCityMysteries
OK, Elizabeth, now you’re channeling the Murder She Writes blog!
Give ten people the same plot, you’ll get 10 stories. It used to bug me when I’d see elements of what I’d written in another book AFTER I’d written mine, but I know I didn’t ‘steal’ it, and that has to be enough.
Misdirection is a very good way to twist a story. One of Jeffery Deaver’s books – my all time fave mystery thriller writer – was about a magician killer. Title slips The Old Silly’s mind right now, but in one scene the killer evades being caught by simply holding up a white sheet to hide himself while standing against the far wall in a white room while the protagonist does a quick glance around in a frantic search of the building. Apparently this is some technique that actually works if done with practiced skill. Interesting.
Marvin D Wilson
Ah, this is key. Finding ways to put twists on old ideas. Great stuff, Elizabeth!
I’ve got a wonderful picture of you crouching in the tree – thanks. I think the ability to ‘think sideways’ is one of the joys of having an active imagination.
The best example of this from my writing is from one of my games. I had the characters of Snow White and Rapunzel battling over the affections of Prince Charming, each convinced this Prince was their prince. Unfortunately, this Prince Charming had a foot fetish. Oh dear.
LOL at you crouching in a tree! Thanks for the chuckle. Yes. Same old story, needs new clothes. I’ll keep that in mind as my characters drink their coffee, lattes, fresh brews, extra sweet, extra lo-cal, and tea. We’re all drinking, but the insides are different.
You take such good illustrations from real life. I think it’s wonderful that we can make so many wonderful books and movies from only a few different scenarios.
ann
Clever place to hide! I’m not very big, so I could probably crawl in a mailbox to hide…
I think a fresh spin comes when we really dig deep into ourselves. We all come from different backgrounds and with different experiences. We see the world in a way no one else can. I think if we really delve into the depths of our soul, we’ll find that fresh spin.
Margot–Aren’t the red herrings the most fun? And usually I don’t even know which are clues and which are red herrings because I change the killer a few times while writing the book. :)
Lorel–And it’s AMAZING what magicians can do with some slight of hand. I don’t know how they do it.
I like those twisted fairy tales, too! Some of them are funny…my kids have some picture books that are really clever take-offs of traditional tales.
The Daring Novelist–Because the publishers KNOW what sells. They WANT what sells…but a little different! :)
Marvin–Oooh…that would be interesting to try. A little camouflage.
Katie–Thanks!
Glen–I had a lot of time to think when I was in the tree… :)
Journaling Woman–And really, that’s the only way for a mystery writer to plant clues. Otherwise, it’s not fair to the reader…so we really learn to misdirect.
Michele–Thanks for the recommendation for Goolrick’s book–I’ll put it on my TBR list. His style sounds like it made his book different.
I’m glad the kids found me, too. Otherwise, I might have needed some help straightening back out again!
Mary–And some of us take cream in the coffee or lots of sugar. We all make it so different from each other!
Terry–I read pretty frequently about writers who worry about their great idea showing up in print before they can write their book…but, like you say, there are so MANY takes on the same subject that it doesn’t even matter.
Ann–It just shows how creative we all are!
Diane–Good idea…focus on what makes us DIFFERENT from other people and then use that perspective in our writing.
I guess for now I’m just hoping I have put a fresh spin on a new idea!
Elizabeth- Love this! It’s wonderful you play hide-and-seek with your kids. You’re a fun mom!
I’m glad you made this point because it really bugs me when people say it’s all been done before. Sure it has, but no one sees the world or interprets similar experiences the same way you do, so the same storylines are very unique!
I’m giggling picturing you hiding and then having the neighbors call the police on you… that would make a nice misdirection in a mystery, wouldn’t it? Some suspicious lady hiding in the bushes *snort*
It’s true though–limited broad strokes–it is in the fresh presentation and the unexpected details.
Elspeth–LOVE your game. So Prince Charming was a ‘shoe-in’ for Cinderella…now I’m wincing with my own pun.
Alex–I think you will…it’s YOUR material and no one can approach it from your perspective. If you’re genuine, it’ll be different.
Laura–It’s all been done before…but the readers don’t care! As long as it’s not boring and we offer them something that they haven’t seen before–which, really, is easy enough, considering that we’re all so different.
Hart–I’m picturing my in-laws having to bail me out of jail in Alabama…NOT a good thing! :)
I think it’s all subtle. I must have read the same basic story 100 times, but it seems fresh with each author.
Elizabeth, another fun story! I’ve left you a surprise on my blog. I know you’ve received it before, but I wanted to say thanks for all the times you’ve dropped by, left comments and visited me! THANK YOU!!