Spot on, Kate. Relatedly, I also think trying to write outside your genre—even if only for a small project—is a really useful way to stretch yourself (and stay humble as you’re reminded that there’s so much you don’t know or can’t do). This was made especially clear to me when I tried—cliche alert!—to write a children’s story after having kids. I consider myself a pretty good writer, and children’s books are what, a few hundred words, tops? Yeah, but . . .
Even though the experience was mostly a failure, after a reality check that the best children’s books are an insanely impressive model of efficiency and deliberateness, even (especially?) the shortest ones, I started to love the feeling of being a complete novice again. Suitably humbled, I was ready and excited to learn more and more about the craft. While I still haven’t published anything—maybe someday, maybe not—I really think the experience of dissecting how this entirely different genre works, and struggling with it, has made me a better writer and nonfiction editor.
I just saw the stage musical Mamma Mia over the weekend (having seen the movie many times). It feels like the writers took this exact advice. The musical would have worked just fine if the daughter had wanted to find her long-lost father. She invites him without her mother knowing, he shows up, there are some hijinks, and romantic tension with his old flame, and then everything ends happily for everyone. This is perfectly fine.
But no! The writers upped the stakes with three possible dads and it becomes a question of which one. More plot, more hijinks, more tension. And if it is a little ridiculous, it's fine. It's a stage musical, we've already suspended disbelief.
Going to look at my current WIP with this in mind!
You made me think about the manuscript I'm pitching. I think its a great story and more than interesting. It has some 'big' things that happen, but not on every page. I know that attention spans are smaller than ever, so I'm writing to accommodate that in my current project. But I feel I'm writing with my off hand. It's not comfortable. Maybe with more practice it will get easier.
Great advice. I spent many years as a music publisher working with pop songwriters, and I always challenged them to think whether their song could be sung by 50,000 people in a stadium. That's a different test than writing a sweet, introspective song about a failed relationship. And then there's Taylor Swift, who can write that relationship song in such a dramatic way that it becomes a stadium anthem. Really appreciate your insight in this post!
Good thoughts, but to be weighed with the other end. Sometimes things go to such a ridiculous scope that everything one person does seems inconsequential. I'm mostly thinking of Marvel. 😆
I loved this! At the start of my writing journey, I was writing what I thought agents and publishers wanted. Now, I write what I want to. I'd rather be authentic in my path - and I'm not afraid to delve into the darker, less conventional paths. Why be boxed by genre constraints? Why not push the limits? There will always be someone out there who will appreciate your work. It's just a matter of finding them, much like matchmaking - and never forget, a writer's best tool is connecting to readers. BookTok and Wattpad are wonderful communities for this. You get to learn so much from readers' perspectives by connecting directly with them and building a base for your work. Good luck and thanks for sharing this insightful article x SJ
Love this. Swing for the fences, or some sort of baseball-ish metaphor. And it's interesting to think about what "big" might be: could "big" be simply writing about that-which-didnt-used-to-get-mentioned, like a woman experiencing menopause (in rather vivid detail) at a time when there was absolutely no medical information available (and no Goop website from which to purchase a variety of shady supplements for "menopausal wellness"?) So the events are big in her life and somewhat unexpected in our lives (menopause still not *quite* standard conversation) but it's not... Pigs In Space or something. Big, that is to say, being somewhat in the mind of the viewer/reader? I wonder. Love the train of thought this post sends into my brain...
I can’t speak for all non-fiction, but it almost sounds as if you’re double-dog daring us memoirists to LIVE big. I accept. If getting caught in a Cat 5+ hurricane after relocating to a tropical island yet refusing to give up on the paradise dream by choosing a different less-beaten—though moderately safer, at least from hurricanes—path most would consider “living the dream” qualifies as living big, then I hope my memoir hits as a big swing. Or am I assigning too much existentialism?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The timing on this! I feel like I’ve given myself whiplash over the last year with all the faces of my debut. It’s fun to read what I wrote at the start and to see where it’s going, especially since it’s only in the last month or two I’ve started to think like this. What once started as a rather quiet book (personally, I love books like this but I also get it’s a tough sell) is slowly morphing into something a little bit louder.
My biggest struggle has been striking a balance between staying true to my original vision — the heart of the characters more than anything—and making it pop with just a little more nuance and drama.
I’m reminded of the advice of William Strunk, the famed teacher of E.B. White. About reading aloud, he said, If you don’t know how to pronounce a word, say it Loud. If you don’t know how to pronounce a word, say it loud.”
Hi Kate, This was a magical post for me and thus, this comment! When not doing the final revise of my novel about fake science in twin research in Nazi Germany 1936, I have been mapping a new novel. In 1426, my brilliant navigator, ship builder, cartographer protagonist, Maris da Pais, a woman, sails across the Atlantic from Portugal with her two sisters and young nephews. They become the first Europeans to visit the indigenous people of what is now known as Long Island. Unlike the known male explorers of 15th and 16th c Portugal , the women come to observe, learn, and be impressed. Because they are women, their maps and log books are scorned by the government keepers of exploration secrets and their names are lost to history--until now! I'm considering a 21st c frame for the 15th c story. In the 2020s, evidence of explorations by women (destroyed, co-opted, lost, and ignored in their own day) is found in the Lisbon archives! Lots of decisions to make, but I am in love with my premise and characters and am loving dreaming, writing, and being BIG!
This new book idea reminds me a bit of Lauren Groff's The Vaster Wild, which is an answer to Cormac McCarthy's machismo-encounter-with-the-"frontier...and also demonstrates that there is a way to encounter new worlds/people/landscapes without wanting to kill or conquer them... GO FOR IT
A friend recently suggested I turn a memoir on my sexual revolution as a divorced mom (which ultimately involved stealthing, nonconsensual pregnancy and solo motherhood) into a psychological thriller and I can’t wrap my head around it but also can’t get the idea outta my head…Could be one way to swing big in nonfiction?
WOW it's like you wrote this just for me and my historical fiction book! I am taking a HUGE swing with my plot to make it vibrant and modern-day, though set in 1950s Appalachia, so this is really encouraging. Thank you!
I love this advice. When I was working with a coach on my first published novel, a murder mystery, I was describing how this serial killer would pose his victims' bodies and all my coach wanted to know was, and? And what else? And he kept asking that until I came up with the most shocking thing we could think of. There are lots of murder mysteries, so it has to be a serial killer. But there are lots of serial killers in fiction, so maybe he poses the bodies. But there are lots of fictional serial killers with posed bodies, so it has to go further, and so on.
My recently completed debut novel definitely takes a bold swing.
A mesmerizing tale of a psychologically haunted family rooted in unforgettable love, abandonment and extraordinary transformation, Luminous Objects propels the reader into the world of a shattered family and spins the tale of an existential triumph.
The dual stories of the major protagonists are told in short, fast paced chapters with alternating points of view and uniquely memorable voices.
In fact, I went to a William Kent Krueger (Ordinary Grace, This Tender Land) author talk and book signing and I brought the first 30 pages of it and asked him to read it. Four days later I received an email from him that read in part. “You have extraordinary talent. The writing is spare and powerful, your characters clearly—and tersely—etched in a reader’s mind. There are moments of painful recognition of the woundedness that is the human condition, moments of hope, moments of deep sadness. In this brief excerpt, you’ve accomplished a lot.
The structure of the narrative may be difficult for an agent to embrace. It is boldly different. Alternating between Harlow’s perspective and Linc’s, and the use of the second person point of view is a unique approach. While I applaud your boldness—agents—who are generally interested only in commercially viable work—may be reluctant to take a chance.”
I’ve sent queries to 35+ agents and no one has asked for a partial or full manuscript.. only silence.
I have begun a second novel in the meantime that I am super excited about.
So, I am looking forward to the moment when one of the amazing agents out there actually reads my manuscript.
In the meantime, I do find your posts extremely interesting. Your love of books and reading shines through at all times.
Spot on, Kate. Relatedly, I also think trying to write outside your genre—even if only for a small project—is a really useful way to stretch yourself (and stay humble as you’re reminded that there’s so much you don’t know or can’t do). This was made especially clear to me when I tried—cliche alert!—to write a children’s story after having kids. I consider myself a pretty good writer, and children’s books are what, a few hundred words, tops? Yeah, but . . .
Even though the experience was mostly a failure, after a reality check that the best children’s books are an insanely impressive model of efficiency and deliberateness, even (especially?) the shortest ones, I started to love the feeling of being a complete novice again. Suitably humbled, I was ready and excited to learn more and more about the craft. While I still haven’t published anything—maybe someday, maybe not—I really think the experience of dissecting how this entirely different genre works, and struggling with it, has made me a better writer and nonfiction editor.
I just saw the stage musical Mamma Mia over the weekend (having seen the movie many times). It feels like the writers took this exact advice. The musical would have worked just fine if the daughter had wanted to find her long-lost father. She invites him without her mother knowing, he shows up, there are some hijinks, and romantic tension with his old flame, and then everything ends happily for everyone. This is perfectly fine.
But no! The writers upped the stakes with three possible dads and it becomes a question of which one. More plot, more hijinks, more tension. And if it is a little ridiculous, it's fine. It's a stage musical, we've already suspended disbelief.
Going to look at my current WIP with this in mind!
You made me think about the manuscript I'm pitching. I think its a great story and more than interesting. It has some 'big' things that happen, but not on every page. I know that attention spans are smaller than ever, so I'm writing to accommodate that in my current project. But I feel I'm writing with my off hand. It's not comfortable. Maybe with more practice it will get easier.
Great advice. I spent many years as a music publisher working with pop songwriters, and I always challenged them to think whether their song could be sung by 50,000 people in a stadium. That's a different test than writing a sweet, introspective song about a failed relationship. And then there's Taylor Swift, who can write that relationship song in such a dramatic way that it becomes a stadium anthem. Really appreciate your insight in this post!
Good thoughts, but to be weighed with the other end. Sometimes things go to such a ridiculous scope that everything one person does seems inconsequential. I'm mostly thinking of Marvel. 😆
I loved this! At the start of my writing journey, I was writing what I thought agents and publishers wanted. Now, I write what I want to. I'd rather be authentic in my path - and I'm not afraid to delve into the darker, less conventional paths. Why be boxed by genre constraints? Why not push the limits? There will always be someone out there who will appreciate your work. It's just a matter of finding them, much like matchmaking - and never forget, a writer's best tool is connecting to readers. BookTok and Wattpad are wonderful communities for this. You get to learn so much from readers' perspectives by connecting directly with them and building a base for your work. Good luck and thanks for sharing this insightful article x SJ
Love this. Swing for the fences, or some sort of baseball-ish metaphor. And it's interesting to think about what "big" might be: could "big" be simply writing about that-which-didnt-used-to-get-mentioned, like a woman experiencing menopause (in rather vivid detail) at a time when there was absolutely no medical information available (and no Goop website from which to purchase a variety of shady supplements for "menopausal wellness"?) So the events are big in her life and somewhat unexpected in our lives (menopause still not *quite* standard conversation) but it's not... Pigs In Space or something. Big, that is to say, being somewhat in the mind of the viewer/reader? I wonder. Love the train of thought this post sends into my brain...
I can’t speak for all non-fiction, but it almost sounds as if you’re double-dog daring us memoirists to LIVE big. I accept. If getting caught in a Cat 5+ hurricane after relocating to a tropical island yet refusing to give up on the paradise dream by choosing a different less-beaten—though moderately safer, at least from hurricanes—path most would consider “living the dream” qualifies as living big, then I hope my memoir hits as a big swing. Or am I assigning too much existentialism?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I love this! Memoirists should absolutely be living big. We all should, really.
The timing on this! I feel like I’ve given myself whiplash over the last year with all the faces of my debut. It’s fun to read what I wrote at the start and to see where it’s going, especially since it’s only in the last month or two I’ve started to think like this. What once started as a rather quiet book (personally, I love books like this but I also get it’s a tough sell) is slowly morphing into something a little bit louder.
My biggest struggle has been striking a balance between staying true to my original vision — the heart of the characters more than anything—and making it pop with just a little more nuance and drama.
Thank you for this post!
I like your idea, Kate: swing big.
I’m reminded of the advice of William Strunk, the famed teacher of E.B. White. About reading aloud, he said, If you don’t know how to pronounce a word, say it Loud. If you don’t know how to pronounce a word, say it loud.”
Troy Thompson
Hi Kate, This was a magical post for me and thus, this comment! When not doing the final revise of my novel about fake science in twin research in Nazi Germany 1936, I have been mapping a new novel. In 1426, my brilliant navigator, ship builder, cartographer protagonist, Maris da Pais, a woman, sails across the Atlantic from Portugal with her two sisters and young nephews. They become the first Europeans to visit the indigenous people of what is now known as Long Island. Unlike the known male explorers of 15th and 16th c Portugal , the women come to observe, learn, and be impressed. Because they are women, their maps and log books are scorned by the government keepers of exploration secrets and their names are lost to history--until now! I'm considering a 21st c frame for the 15th c story. In the 2020s, evidence of explorations by women (destroyed, co-opted, lost, and ignored in their own day) is found in the Lisbon archives! Lots of decisions to make, but I am in love with my premise and characters and am loving dreaming, writing, and being BIG!
This new book idea reminds me a bit of Lauren Groff's The Vaster Wild, which is an answer to Cormac McCarthy's machismo-encounter-with-the-"frontier...and also demonstrates that there is a way to encounter new worlds/people/landscapes without wanting to kill or conquer them... GO FOR IT
Thanks for the encouragement! Lauren Groff is an inspiration indeed!
I got a big stick and I'm swingin for the fences.
Yes! Here's to boldness!
Did you mean to link to wordle?
A friend recently suggested I turn a memoir on my sexual revolution as a divorced mom (which ultimately involved stealthing, nonconsensual pregnancy and solo motherhood) into a psychological thriller and I can’t wrap my head around it but also can’t get the idea outta my head…Could be one way to swing big in nonfiction?
Fascinating idea! I love the idea of memoir as psychological thriller.
WOW it's like you wrote this just for me and my historical fiction book! I am taking a HUGE swing with my plot to make it vibrant and modern-day, though set in 1950s Appalachia, so this is really encouraging. Thank you!
I love this advice. When I was working with a coach on my first published novel, a murder mystery, I was describing how this serial killer would pose his victims' bodies and all my coach wanted to know was, and? And what else? And he kept asking that until I came up with the most shocking thing we could think of. There are lots of murder mysteries, so it has to be a serial killer. But there are lots of serial killers in fiction, so maybe he poses the bodies. But there are lots of fictional serial killers with posed bodies, so it has to go further, and so on.
Loved this one Kate.
My recently completed debut novel definitely takes a bold swing.
A mesmerizing tale of a psychologically haunted family rooted in unforgettable love, abandonment and extraordinary transformation, Luminous Objects propels the reader into the world of a shattered family and spins the tale of an existential triumph.
The dual stories of the major protagonists are told in short, fast paced chapters with alternating points of view and uniquely memorable voices.
In fact, I went to a William Kent Krueger (Ordinary Grace, This Tender Land) author talk and book signing and I brought the first 30 pages of it and asked him to read it. Four days later I received an email from him that read in part. “You have extraordinary talent. The writing is spare and powerful, your characters clearly—and tersely—etched in a reader’s mind. There are moments of painful recognition of the woundedness that is the human condition, moments of hope, moments of deep sadness. In this brief excerpt, you’ve accomplished a lot.
The structure of the narrative may be difficult for an agent to embrace. It is boldly different. Alternating between Harlow’s perspective and Linc’s, and the use of the second person point of view is a unique approach. While I applaud your boldness—agents—who are generally interested only in commercially viable work—may be reluctant to take a chance.”
I’ve sent queries to 35+ agents and no one has asked for a partial or full manuscript.. only silence.
I have begun a second novel in the meantime that I am super excited about.
So, I am looking forward to the moment when one of the amazing agents out there actually reads my manuscript.
In the meantime, I do find your posts extremely interesting. Your love of books and reading shines through at all times.
Thank you!
Kate Birtwell