Looking From All Angles
“Research, like writing, is an
individual, creative process. It cannot be ‘taught’. In his quest for original
material – and who does not dream of stumbling upon a cache of hitherto
unknown, unpublished papers or the answer to a problem that has baffled
scholars for generations? – the writer never ceases to learn.”
Ann Hoffman, Research for
Writers
Many budding writers lack the confidence to take the first
step into the commercial market place because they feel it is impossible to
produce something completely new that no one else has ever thought of before.
But as we’ve already observed : there is no such thing as a new idea. Most
creative ideas have been used before, over and over again. What we are looking
for are innovative ideas, so let us return to the dictionary definition to find
that innovation means: To introduce alterations; to put forward novelties.
To alter or change by the introduction of something new.
This is what will give our work that spark of originality.
In all honesty, even the most block-busting novel is only a variation on a
familiar theme rather than ground-breakingly new. For an example: in an earlier
creative writing book, From An Editor’s Desk, I threw in the
Polti Theory, which maintained that there were only 36 dramatic situations on
which the writer of fiction can draw. By using single situations or several
combinations, the basic theme of every story (long or short) ever told, written
or devised can be summed up in the following list:
Supplication
Deliverance
Crime
pursued by vengeance
Vengeance
taken for kindred upon kindred
Pursuit
Disaster
Falling
prey to cruelty or misfortune
Revolt
Daring
enterprise
Abduction
The
enigma
Obtaining
Enmity
of kinsmen
Rivalry
of kinsmen
Murderous
adultery
Madness
Fatal
imprudence
Involuntary
crimes of love
Slaying
of a kinsman unrecognised
Self-sacrifice
for an ideal
Self
sacrifice for kindred
All
sacrificed for passion
Necessity
of sacrificing loved ones
Rivalry
of superior and inferior
Adultery
Crimes
of love
Discovery
of the dishonour of a loved one
Obstacles
to love
An
enemy loved
Ambition
Conflict
with God
Mistaken
jealousy
Erroneous
judgement
Remorse
Recovery
of a lost one
Loss
of a loved one
Twenty years later and retired from editing creative writing
magazines, I would add that most non-fiction and poetry submissions probably fall into those categories, too. If you don’t believe me, check out the theme of
the major features or stories in any selection of magazines or newspapers and
you’ll find most of them are loosely based on one or more of the above. If we
remove the smokescreen of exotic locations or glamorous lifestyle, we will find
that most of the plots used by our favourite writers are telling the same old
stories, over and over again. The basic theme of murder, intrigue, adultery and
chivalry are all there – they just have an innovative backdrop.
Colin Dexter, the creator of Inspector Morse introduced us
to the esoteric world of academe by casting his novels amongst the traditions
and dreamy spires of Oxford University life; while
Simon Raven did the same for Cambridge. Dick Francis came up
with his own original formula set amongst the racing fraternity where wealth
frequently rubs shoulders with the lower echelons of society. Jilly Cooper
moved from Wimbledon Common to the equestrian set, before turning her
attentions on the international orchestral and art worlds, and has since moved
on to horse racing. Ellis Peters went back to medieval Britain. While in the
fantasy department, Tolkien created Middle Earth and J K Rowling, Hogwort’s … and
more recently Maureen Carter solves her crimes in gritty Birmingham; David
Hewson stages his Nic Costa series in Rome, while Andrea
Camilleri utilises
his knowledge of Sicily to great effect in his highly
entertaining series of novels
featuring Commissario Montalbano
Nevertheless, strip away the mystery, glitz and the glamour and
you’ll find that nearly every single piece of writing, fiction or non-fiction, will
be loosely based on those themes given in the Polti Theory.
Rather than waste time trying to
buck the system by coming up with original thought – go for an innovative approach.
