{"id":2510,"date":"2020-01-16T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/?p=2510"},"modified":"2020-01-21T21:57:40","modified_gmt":"2020-01-22T02:57:40","slug":"5-ways-to-tell-if-you-have-a-good-idea-for-a-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-tell-if-you-have-a-good-idea-for-a-book\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Tell If You Have a Good Idea for a Book"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"267\" height=\"189\" src=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/What-if.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2511\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Every story\nstarts with a \u201cwhat if\u201d idea: <em>What if<\/em>\na teen girl with chronic depression woke up one day with psychic powers? <em>What if<\/em> Germany had won World War II\n(\u2026you see this one a lot)? <em>What if<\/em> we\nfound out aliens had been secretly colonizing Mars for hundreds of years? <em>What if<\/em> a young boy with two progressive\ndads and thick glasses moved to the Deep South? <em>What if <\/em>I lightly fictionalized my own life story (\u2026I wouldn\u2019t\nadvise this one, tho\u2014most authors overestimate how interesting their lives are\nto other people)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>If\nyou\u2019re seriously considering writing a book, then you probably already have a\ngrand what-if idea you plan to base your story around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But\nhere\u2019s the thing\u2014not all what-if ideas are worth writing about. Personally, I\nhave a bunch of what-if ideas floating around in my head at any given time; this\nis almost certainly true of most professional authors. <strong>Picking the right what-if idea to invest your time and energy into is\nthe real challenge.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>So how can you tell if your what-if\nidea is worth writing a whole book about? Well, let me explain!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First,\nyou need to decide if you\u2019re primarily writing for love or money. When I say\nwriting <em>for love,<\/em> I mean you\u2019re\nwriting for your own enjoyment alone and you don\u2019t care whether it gets\npublished and you make money or not. In that case, you can write whatever you\nwant and none of this writing advice matters. Go nuts! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When\nI say writing <em>for money, <\/em>I mean\nwriting with the intention of publishing the book and having other people who\naren\u2019t your friends and family read it. You still might not make any significant\nmoney\u2014in fact that\u2019s standard, unfortunately\u2014but your <em>goal<\/em> is to be paid something for your work. My advice below assumes\nyou\u2019re writing for money, i.e. to get published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s how to tell if your what-if\nidea is worth writing a whole book about:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Does\nit fit neatly into one <em>primary<\/em> genre?<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Too many newbie authors can\u2019t figure out what genre their story is. If that\u2019s the case, then it\u2019s already DOA. See my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/overview-of-genres-and-why-you-need-to-pick-one-dammit\/\">post on genres<\/a> for more info. You can have elements of other genres, but one should be primary. For instance, \u201c<em>What if<\/em> we found out aliens had been secretly colonizing Mars for hundreds of years?\u201d is clearly sci-fi. \u201c<em>What if<\/em> Germany had won World War II?\u201d could be speculative fiction, fantasy, paranormal, or sci-fi, depending on <em>how<\/em> Germany won WWII\u2014did the Allies lose on D-Day in this alternate reality (spec-fiction)? Did they find alien technology that gave them the edge (sci-fi)? Did the Devil help them (paranormal)? Make sure you\u2019re willing to stick to the universal tropes of whichever genre you pick; otherwise, you significantly reduce your story\u2019s appeal (more on that below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Can\nyou create an <em>actual story<\/em> from your\nidea?<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This\nis where most people get stuck. A cool \u201cwhat if\u201d idea doesn\u2019t necessarily produce\nan interesting story. You don\u2019t need to map out the whole plot. Simply apply\nyour what-if idea to an individual person\u2019s situation and see if it goes\nanywhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To do that, take this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/breaking-down-what-a-story-actually-isand-what-it-isnt\/\">definition of a story<\/a> and fill in the blanks: \u201cA story is about [someone] who [wants something], and what they\u2019re [willing to go through] to get it.\u201d Who\u2019s the someone? What do they want? What will they go through? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For\ninstance, let\u2019s say your what-if idea is \u201cWhat if Germany made a deal with the\nDevil to win World War II (this would fall into the paranormal genre)?\u201d You\ncould decide your \u201csomeone\u201d is a young na\u00efve Nazi officer in modern-day\nGermany, who discovers the truth about the deal with the Devil and decides to\nundo the deal (the \u201cwant\u201d), but will have to fight through powerful Nazi\nleadership and demonic forces to get it (what he\u2019s \u201cwilling to go through\u201d). This\nstory has potential; there\u2019s a clear narrative arc implied. Now you\u2019re getting\nsomewhere!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of a what-if idea NOT worth pursuing: let\u2019s say your what-if idea is \u201cWhat if I lightly fictionalized my own life story (this would probably fall into the general fiction genre\u2026already a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/all-about-genres-and-which-is-right-for-you\/\">bad place to start<\/a>)?\u201d The \u201csomeone\u201d is a fictionalized version of yourself, obviously. But what does this person want? To get through life? That\u2019s not a desire that\u2019ll drive an entire novel; it\u2019s not specific enough. And what will they need to go through\u2014what stands in their way? Society? Mean parents? Both are weak conflicts unless applied to very specific circumstances\u2026which is hard because real life is kinda boring, let\u2019s be honest. This is why writing a fictionalized story about your own life is probably a waste of your time, unless you focus on a very specific, extraordinary aspect of your life\u2014like clawing your way out of poverty or drug addiction or something\u2014and even then you\u2019d probably have more success with a straight-up memoir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Can\nyou stick to the genre tropes?<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Every genre has universal tropes\nthat readers expect when they sit down with a story. Can you adhere to those\ntropes? If you can\u2019t, then you\u2019re shrinking your potential audience and you\nshould probably change genres, or abandon the what-if idea altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, for the WWII\nNazi-Devil pact example above, as a paranormal story, there should be a heavy\nemphasis on worldbuilding\u2014i.e. how the world operates since the Nazis won, and\nhow the Devil fits in\u2014and a detailed explanation of the paranormal element\u2014i.e.\nhow this deal came to be, and how it can be broken since that\u2019s the\nprotagonist\u2019s goal. If you find all that worldbuilding tedious\u2014let\u2019s say you\u2019re\nway more interested in the main character\u2019s inner life and personal struggles\nunder fascism\u2014then you should probably drop the whole Devil part and switch to\nthe speculative fiction genre. However, since speculative fiction isn\u2019t a good\nplace to start for debut authors, and you really want some kind of traditional\npublishing deal, then you should probably bag this what-if idea altogether.\nRevisit the idea after you have an established fan base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Does\nthe story born from your what-if idea stand out from the crowd? Can you kick it\nup a notch?<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s true that there are no completely\n\u201cnew\u201d stories, just new takes on the classics. Most what-if ideas aren\u2019t\nunique; it\u2019s your <em>spin<\/em> on the story\nthat will make it stand out. So does your what-if idea allow you to tell a new,\nexciting story? Or do you end up with a retread of an idea that\u2019s been done to\ndeath, too derivative of what\u2019s come before, or something that\u2019s just not that\ninteresting? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, let\u2019s consider our \u201cWhat if\nGermany won World War II?\u201d example. This general idea has been done a bunch of\ntimes before, so you need to have a unique take on it in order to entice readers\n(or agents) to take notice. If your WWII Nazi-Devil pact story ends up being\nanother version of <em>Hellboy,<\/em> then you\nshould probably scrap the idea and move on to greener pastures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along these lines, does your\nwhat-if idea give you something to say about the world? Good stories have tight\nplots and interesting characters; <em>great<\/em>\nstories also have something to say. Can you use your story about Germany\nwinning WWII with the help of the Devil to make a larger point about the roots\nof fascism? What-if ideas that can be imbued with multiple layers are the best\nones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Is\nyour what-if idea NOT a problem magnet?<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By\n\u201cproblem magnet\u201d I mean an idea that will inevitably court a lawsuit or\nunwanted controversy. For instance, if your what-if idea is \u201c<em>What if <\/em>Superman was evil and helped\nGermany win World War II?\u201d, then DC Comics\/Warner Brothers will eventually come\na-knockin\u2019 with a cease-and-desist order. Unless you stick strictly to fanfic\n(in which case you\u2019re writing for love), don\u2019t waste your time on fleshing out\na what-if idea that involves any trademarks or real, living people who could\nsue you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also,\navoid what-if ideas on touchy topics that could blow up in your face. For\ninstance, \u201c<em>What if<\/em> the South won the\nCivil War?\u201d sounds like it could be a good idea for a story\u2026but if you think\nabout how you\u2019d actually execute a story based on this premise, it involves showing\nlots of racism, graphic depictions of slavery, and probably a lot of\nwhite-savior stuff. That it so say, unless it\u2019s done REALLY well, it\u2019ll be torn\napart as tone deaf and insulting. \n\nIn fact, this very idea was going to be the basis for David Benioff and\nD. B. Weiss\u2019 follow-up series to <em>Game of\nThrones<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiewire.com\/2017\/07\/confederate-game-of-thrones-creators-new-hbo-show-risk-racism-1201857433\/\">called <em>Confederate<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em> That\u2019s right\u2014two\nwhite dudes, who spearheaded a show featuring no black people, wanted to make a\nTV series centered on legalized American slavery. Great idea, bros. What could\ngo wrong??? HBO wisely realized it would\u2019ve been a fucking disaster and\ncancelled the thing, thank God. Don\u2019t make the same mistake.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every story starts with a \u201cwhat if\u201d idea: What if a teen girl with chronic depression woke up one day with psychic powers? What if Germany had won World War II (\u2026you see this one a lot)? What if we found out aliens had been secretly colonizing Mars for hundreds of years? What if a &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-tell-if-you-have-a-good-idea-for-a-book\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;5 Ways to Tell If You Have a Good Idea for a Book&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[551,495],"tags":[549,550,548,547],"class_list":["post-2510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-what-if-idea","category-construction","tag-good-ideas-vs-bad-ideas","tag-story-definition","tag-story-ideas","tag-what-if-ideas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Vyi8-Eu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2510"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2512,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510\/revisions\/2512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shanafigueroa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}