What Makes Your Writing Special?

So, let's just start with that question...

WHAT MAKES YOUR WRITING SPECIAL?

In other words, what is it that I should take notice of when I read that query letter and manuscript? What is it that makes your writing better than any of the other writing out there? I do think that many of you do consider this, but, unfortunately, you are looking at the wrong things that make your story stand out.

A while ago, I answered a question from a writer who had been getting comments from editors saying to "bring something new to the table" in terms of her writing. She was confused. She was trying different tropes. She tried different settings but it just was not working the way people wanted. The problem is, this is not something that makes your story stand out.

Just putting your story in a country different than what others are doing is not making your story stand out. Making your story into an LGBT story does not make the story special. Bringing something special to the table means bringing your unique voice and twist into the equation.

You may write Regency romance. Great! This genre has a specific set of characteristics that need to be there and the tendency is to do what everyone else is doing. But what you can you bring to the table that others are not. Do you have characters that have hobbies that might have been considered on the fringe at that time? Do you have households that might not be as traditional?

I think a good example of this would be Downtown Abbey. The story could have taken the traditional historical approach, but bringing back the Upstairs Downstairs approach brought a bit of fresh air to what could have been a pretty stuffy story.

What I always try to tell people is to find a way to keep a foot on the traditional and then find a way to push that boundary a bit. Find a way to do something that keeps the reader on his or her toes.

So, I'll ask this again... What makes that story you are working on truly special?