Writing Tips – Surprises
In our continuing discussions about the art of being published, we have covered editing, criticism, and the author's willingness to act upon suggestions. It's time to move on to a narrative element that never fails to produce good results; surprises.
There are two sorts of surprises—those readers expect, and the text that stuns the reader with its cleverness. Either of the two will do, but at least one of the two is vital to your story hooking its reader and holding them.
In our last post, we alluded to a recent, viral best-seller, which said that vampires sparkle. Without mentioning the name of the book, you know it. The surprise element itself has taken on a life of its own, and propelled the book series into the stratosphere. It has been said that there aren't any new elements in horror to write. Well, that author certainly found one. The best quality about it was that, it was clever and subtle. Only a small thing we had never been told about such creatures before and it stunned readers.
We are earnestly looking in our regular submissions for just such a gem. Every publishing house is looking earnestly for the same thing. Not every author will produce that magical note, but each author has that potential, if they continue to play at their creation with such a note in mind.
When is the best time to reveal this element? Retail Marketing has been reducing that answer down to a specific formula. The first sentence. But, we are in a new generation of publishing, and it is time to admit that readers are more patient than that formula suggests. They will not wait several chapters, however. The first few pages of a narrative, certainly, must at least hint at the surprises to come. The marketing blurb for the book, absolutely must let the reader know there is something unique about the story. Once it is firmly established in the reader's mind that the story is special and entertaining, they will be patient and continue reading.
Readers have always rushed to books that appeared with a surprise as we have just described. What of the writer who writes in a series of books? How do they continue to please their readers? Their narrative must have a surprise element that brings out an entirely new thought; a new character quirk; a setting never visited; a foe never imagined. Writers who write in very familiar genres face this challenge with every page. Most imagine that the best surprise is a clever plot twist. We would suggest that it is not, because plot twists fall into the category of surprises which readers expect. Readers are always deeply satisfied by the 'gotcha' style of plot twist, but they crave the surprising surprise.
Can Science Fiction writers surprise us anymore? Hasn't the genre been written to death by now? Obviously not. It is a genre which continues to thrive because of surprises, and yes, they are becoming more subtle with each generation because the grander themes have been expressed. It may be true, Sci-Fi writers face much larger challenges to surprise the reader now than any other genre. But, Sci-Fi is learning, as Horror writers learned long ago, the story can honor every familiar element in the genre and readers will appreciate that. Tell them those familiar things in a surprising way, and the book will receive praise reviews.
Readers have been pleading with authors, for years, "Tell us something new. Take us somewhere different. Make us feel something we did not expect to feel." So, publishers devote vast energies to finding those special books and putting them into print.
Have we ever found one? Yes, indeed we have. We recently awarded author Brett J. Talley for his book That Which Should Not Be. The entire book is a surprise. It is receiving rave reviews for the beautiful way it honors the best elements of cherished Horror fiction. There are 'gotcha' moments within the text, and there are new ways to be frightened. Brett mastered the entire spectrum of surprising his reader, and they are blessing him for it.
We had the pleasure of surprising him, with his Grand Prize.
