Question from a Writer - Paranormals

You told us yesterday what you liked in a character, based on the romance genre. You're passionate about contemporary romance, but what about for paranormal writers?

You're tired of the werewolf vs vampire/angel vs demon stuff. Every agent seems to be screaming that lately. Cool, I get that. And that's why I write about something completely different.

My questions are simple. What makes you connect with a paranormal story? What would you find so appealing that you'd decide to represent it? What would turn you off?

Good questions!

I love a paranormal where I am sucked into the mystery of this strange world that might be potentially surrounding us in the present day. In many ways, that's what works with a great ghost story. You simply don't know if it is true or not, but there is a part of your brain that keeps you thinking it might be.

I think for me, the stories that turn me off are those that simply come across as truly unbelievable. I have a hard time believing stories where everything is so over the top. I like the subtle approach. I also tend to shy away from stories that sound like everything else out there.

For me, a paranormal needs to be real and believable, and yet unique enough so I don't say to myself "wow, that sounds a lot like a Showalter or Kenyon."

Scott

Paranormals and world building

This one is for all of you writing those wonderful paranormals out there.

World building is one of the key elements that has to happen and be more than effective in this genre. Sure, world building is important in all other genres, but since we are working with things out of the normal, the stronger the world building, the better the connection you can make with your reader.

I am often reminded of both Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings on this one. One of the challenges the movie makers had with movies like this is to make sure that the world and characters they created are just as strong as what the writer envisioned. I am sure you have all gone to a movie and seen a character, only to scream, "that isn't what he looked like!" If the writer does a great job of this, the movie maker has a better chance of succeeding. In both of the movies I mentioned, the author did just that.

With that said, I often see writers submit projects that have a fantastic premise, but for someone who has not lived with the project for the amount of time the writer has, the weak world building is the one element that results in that disconnect between the reader and the book.

I always like to think of the idea that a writer has to assume the reader has never been there or done something before. They haven't met the characters, they don't understand the language and they certainly have not experienced what the character is going through.Your job is to translate that.

I was recently reading a paranormal with some strong fantasy like elements that really struggled to do this. The writer had the characters referring to each other like they would normally do in real life. The problem was that I had never experienced it. I didn't understand the language, I didn't understand the references they made to things that were very common in their world. The end result? I was lost.

Fixing issues like this is relatively easy. Use contextual definitions. Give the reader something that we would understand about the language or the event. I like to describe Tom Clancy on this one. When he describes some of the weaponry, he uses the technical terms however, by adding the characters actually using the weapon, we know instantly it is a really bad gun. from that pont on, we get it when he uses the term.

So, for your work this week you paranormal writers, make sure to read your story as if you are someone who is seeing it for the first time and probably don't even read your genre. Woudl they get it?

Scott

Thoughts on Paranormal

Before I go deep into this, I have to say that I love paranormal romances. Of course, I have to see a really good one, but I do like this sub-genre. With that said, I think this is one of the toughest genres to write at this moment. Why? It comes back to what I have said in the past about finding something unique to write about.

When the paranormal market really hit the scene, we were seeing some great stories with truly unique premises. The vampires were amazingly hot. The werewolves were beyond animalistic, and the time travels really did have amazing twists with the space-time parallels. But, in my humble opinion, these have really run their course and this genre is madly looking for that something new. The question is: "Is there really something new or has paranormal finally died out (or maybe is dying)."

Now, don't start flooding my email or this blog with the names of the standard writers out there still doing great vampire and werewolf stories. They are doing great, but they are the foundation of the genre. I am talking about the new authors out there trying to find their individual niche.

Let me break these down for you into smaller sections.

Vampires: Brooding, funny? It really doesn't matter. The thing that makes these guys sexy is the biting and the sensuality. We can make them historical, but other than moving to a different time period, they are still the same guys. Stephanie Myers has already brought the vamps to the teen market and done really well. There are a couple of other YA lines but they are still doing the same thing the older generation's vamps are doing.

Werewolves: So many people think by calling these guys "shape shifter" it makes it all better. Nope! They are still this species that struggles between two identities. They still "suffer the pain as the bones crunch back into their original form." I have seen people try to make them were cats, weredogs, weredragons. Guess what? Still the same.

Vamp vs. werewolf battles: Hmmm? Where have we seen this before? Look, we normally see the vampires being the good guys and the werewolves being the bad guys. Switch them and the battle is still the same. Have a group of humans come into play saving (or hunting) one group down? Nothing new here....

Time travels: This one has really worn me out. Simply moving a person to another time period does not make it a time travel. It is simply an out of place character in a historical or a futuristic (depending on which way you move them). Don't get me wrong. I love time travels, but the characters have to struggle with this issue a lot.

So what is left? Ghost stories? Well, this one is tough considering one person is dead. How do you have a happily ever after?

Magic? Hmmm, moving into fantasy now and this isn't so much of the paranormal. Besides, the term paranormal deals with something that is bording the normal and abstract.

Space Aliens? Now you are into sci-fi.

Demons? This one is a little better but see the above comments on werewolves and vampires.

Psychics? The problem here is that most people just use the psychic thing and try to give some romantic suspense characters super-hero powers to solve the problems. Boooorrrrrinnngggg!

Look, I want to see this line continue, but to do so means it is time for a change and time to find that new and unique element.

Surpise me! Please.

Scott