Oliver Twist
question
Why not write about real life issues?
Patricia
Oct 12, 2018 03:34PM
So many writers are producing works so similar to what is already out there. The old saying is, "Imitation is suicide." The market probably doesn't need more books about vampires, mystic princesses and super heroes. Why not write about life as it swirls about you? Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and helped to change the world for children. How are the different social forces, religion, politics, economic conditions affecting your life? Can you write about those?
Precisely. Bravo!
Perhaps people have been preoccupied with fantasy, vampires and werewolves because they're from a generation of cushy lives. Absorbed in fantasy like Harry Potter, they've become detached from reality and have no insights to offer. Or perhaps they've been too busy playing video games.
What you're suggesting is what I am doing with my coming-of-age memoir about growing up in a Texas orphanage. County Kid: Life In A Texas Orphanage is written to read as a novel, narrated in first-person by my 18 year-old self. Holden Caulfield meets Jeannette Walls [The Glass Castle.]
My orphanage is real. The events are real. The characters are orphans I grew up with. The villains are cruel management and staff who committed horrific abuse. The heroes are their counterparts who were outstanding examples of good people who strive to make the lives of unwanted children less difficult.
Dickens lied. The vast majority of orphans are NOT adopted by well-heeled benefactors or wealthy relatives. We make it on our own. Without loving parents, we experiment and make lots of mistakes in learning how to grow up. No one helps with our homework or teaches us how to drive. For us it is sink or swim. Mostly, we swim, but it makes exciting stories.
If Roe v Wade gets the guillotine, more and more orphanages will be needed to house a massive surge of unwanted children. My book will shed light on what works and doesn't work in running a children's home.
With luck, County Kid will be in bookstores next year, or I will self-publish.
Perhaps people have been preoccupied with fantasy, vampires and werewolves because they're from a generation of cushy lives. Absorbed in fantasy like Harry Potter, they've become detached from reality and have no insights to offer. Or perhaps they've been too busy playing video games.
What you're suggesting is what I am doing with my coming-of-age memoir about growing up in a Texas orphanage. County Kid: Life In A Texas Orphanage is written to read as a novel, narrated in first-person by my 18 year-old self. Holden Caulfield meets Jeannette Walls [The Glass Castle.]
My orphanage is real. The events are real. The characters are orphans I grew up with. The villains are cruel management and staff who committed horrific abuse. The heroes are their counterparts who were outstanding examples of good people who strive to make the lives of unwanted children less difficult.
Dickens lied. The vast majority of orphans are NOT adopted by well-heeled benefactors or wealthy relatives. We make it on our own. Without loving parents, we experiment and make lots of mistakes in learning how to grow up. No one helps with our homework or teaches us how to drive. For us it is sink or swim. Mostly, we swim, but it makes exciting stories.
If Roe v Wade gets the guillotine, more and more orphanages will be needed to house a massive surge of unwanted children. My book will shed light on what works and doesn't work in running a children's home.
With luck, County Kid will be in bookstores next year, or I will self-publish.
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