For those of you who are not aware, Michelle is writing a book. It is a short non-fiction book on… well, I’m not sure I can tell you. Sorry Sweety. Something about technology in conferences. I know it is not specific to libraries so I think it has to do with using today’s social networking and teleconference technology to hold conferences. Anyways, not the point of this post.
I have decided that these non-fiction books aren’t going to fit into my retirement plan. And by retirement plan, you have to realize that I am hoping to just keep my family floating for long enough for my wife to hit it rich and I can leech off her immense wealth. I’ll even settle for mild to moderate wealth, as long as I don’t have to work. So here is where I need to steer my wife in a new direction. These non-fiction books require a lot of research, and believe it or not you can’t just make stuff up. You have to write about facts. Then, after all that, it doesn’t pay great. I mean, don’t get me wrong it pays, but remember I am looking for break the bank type of retire now kind of pay.
Here is what I think Michelle should do. Drop the non-fiction and move into fiction. In fiction books she just gets to make up whatever she wants. I say she goes into the YA field. They sell big right now and readers are more forgiving to all kinds of things because they can just say, “Ah well, it’s just a children’s book.” High reward, low risk. But to make things even easier, she doesn’t even have to be original. Have you seen the top sellers these days? Vampires and werewolves, superheroes, fantasy, greek mythology. None of these are new or original concept. She can just recycle old ideas into a new story. She doesn’t even have to get the mythology correct, she can change it to her whim because it is her universe.
Now, I understand that I have to play my role. So I am currently thinking of a basis for her story or universe. Here is what I know.
- The main character (I prefer ensemble casts so I think I would push her towards a small group of people, 3 or 4) has to be a young teenager with some real life problems. That helps the audience to relate. Don’t worry they can be shallow problems.
- There has to be some love interest. Could be a love triangle. Could be a love destined to be together from the beginning of time.
- Character development is the most important thing. In all seriousness, this is what makes books good. You need a good plot / environment but what makes stories shine is always the characters.
- The main character(s) need something that isolates them. Most likely as both a gift and a curse.
- Needs some kind of supernatural, superhuman, magical, fantasy, futuristic, etc. theme. Something to take the reader out of this universe and into another one while still saying something about our own world.
So far I am thinking something along the lines of angels and demons but even that is a little played right now. I need the new old thing.
I kind of went off on my views on how to write a book. That’s a little odd coming from me since I am neither a good writer or a reader. But I am allowed to have opinions right? Right? Maybe I shouldn’t.
–Ries, unicorns. How about unicorns. Girls like unicorns!
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Defying Genetics 