Tuesday, April 13, 2021

What Type of Cereal Is Your Story

I was talking to one of my clients just recently about a novel she was reading. She just did not understand what was happening. The story was not amazing. The writing was not through the roof, and yet she just kept reading it. As we talked about it, I equated it to breakfast cereal. It was Cheerios or just plain Corn Flakes. 

Think of it this way.l When you eat a plain bowl of cereal like that, is it amazing? No. Does it fill you up and do the job. Sure. But that is about it. These are not blow you out of water level breakfasts. These are functional breakfasts. And in the case of this story. It was doing just the same thing.

Now, if you wonder why your story might not be getting picked up by agents and editors, or maybe it is not getting the reviews you want, it could be your story is like some of those over-the-top breakfasts. Think Capn' Crunch. This is an over-the-top sugary cereal. You either like it or you don't. There is no middle ground about it. If you are into really outrageous breakfasts or your story is REALLY different it means that it will only work with those people who are into REALLY different types of things. 

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